How to cope with thick nasty old paint on woodwork/doors

[darksquid]

Well, this is my first DIY-related post, and I apologise if it's a crap question.

We've just moved into a late 19th century flat, and I'm just starting on the DIY projects that are bothering me the most. My biggest problem atm is the icky old paint. All of the woodwork and doors are painted THICK with multiple layers of glossy paint. It is so thick that the detail on all of the surfaces is almost completely obscured. The paint around the doors is built up so much that the doors barely have enough clearance to open, and the hinges are almost obscured by it. It is chipping off in many places, revealing at least 8 layers of glossy white paint (and one layer of flourescent ORANGE!!!), probably 1-2mm thick, and really gloopy and uneven in appearance. Gross.

The doors are not original and we're planning on replacing these (don't get me started on the weird sizes....most are 208cmx82cm). But is there anything at all we can do about the woodwork other than having it all ripped out? I've been reading other posts, and I don't think I've found anything that would apply in this case. Would heat work well on thick built-up layers? I'm a paper conservator by trade, so I have infinite patience and a steady hand, and I don't care how long it would take! I can't see chemical strippers having any effect on it. Help, it's just gross and nasty and it's driving me crazy!

Thanks in advance. I'm glad to have found this forum, and I look forward to tackling all the other nasty bits in my flat with its assistance!

-kate

 

[Thermo]

darksquid, not a daft question! Theres several options. A carfully used blowlamp will lift it quite well, but will be smelly and youll need a mask, as well as damp rgs to wipe down the surface reguarly. you can use paint stripper and it will shift it but it is just as messy and will take time, although patience is the key. You can also get a stripper which is applied, covered in clingfil and left overnight to lift most of the layers. I cant think of the name of it and have never used it but i have seen the results and it is good.
Whatever you use remember that some of the paint will probably contain a high proportion of lead, especially any pink priming layers you come across. Dont sand it and wear potection

good luck and welcome

 

[darksquid]

Thanks, for your helpful reply, Thermo

Can you recommend a blowlamp? I'm literally a complete beginner when it comes to this sort of thing, and I wouldn't know what to look for. I do like the idea of using one, as I use a similar thing in my work to lift adhesive tape off paper.

I'd be interested to hear from someone who knows more about the stripper. I remember seeing something in another thread...sounded like it goes on like a paste.

Thanks again!

-kate

 

[Thermo]

thats the one, cant think of the name though. something like this will do the trick (you can get them from most diy sheds)

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/sea...=blowlamp&n=&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=0&y=0

and one of these

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=36959&ts=22785

and one of these

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=62687&ts=22785

oh and one of these

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=58042&ts=22856

and definetly one of these!!!!

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=13262&ts=22903




but use a low flame and move it around over a small patch to avoid scortching.

 

[darksquid]

sweet - that's exactly what I needed, thanks!

 

[masona]

Make sure all the windows are open for plenty of ventilation.

 

[Panjandrum]

darksquid
Please don't rip out your original wood. You will come to love it.
Burning is by far the most efficient way to get the paint off. With that many layers of old paint it should come off really well. Modern paints don't seem to be so ready to come off with heat, but if your bottom layers are old then they should be just right for burning.
Practice and take your time.
Try not to let the paint catch fire but make sure it is really soft and wanting to come off - then it will almost fall off by itself. Then give the wood a good rub down with sandpaper or wire wool. Clean off carefully. The results, in terms of bringing out the detail, will be well worth the effort.
Be glad you have a flat. I have stripped 50 turned banisters with blowlamp.......

BUT PLEASE be very careful.
The bottom layers will be lead-based if white, and either sanding (as Thermo warns) or burning is potentially hazardous. I found this out sometime after I burned the paint off all of my 1896 sash windows then sanded them before repainting. Mind you that was 15 years ago and I am still alive.

Thermo
That is totally hilarious. Thanks.
I have just picked my way through your links to the last one and it is SO right. When I was stripping the sash window frames with the blowlamp I set fire to some old newspapers that had been stuffed into a gap between wall and frame. Tinder dry - flames in behind the frame going goodness knows where. I had to rush for the hose and soak the lot and hope it was really putting it out

 

[darksquid]

hey Panjandrum, thanks for your help,

I've had mixed reactions from some tradesman friends of my husband when I've asked them about burning off the paint. One said definately DON'T burn it off, as it will almost certainly be mostly lead paint, and the fumes will be very dangerous. He recommended Nitromors.

Another one of his mates has suggested 'Peel-Away', which sounds like the paste stuff that Thermo was referring to. Apparently it will lift all of the paint in one go if you do it right.

I actually prefer the idea of blowlamp/heat gun to take it off, but the ventilation in my flat is not ideal, and I really don't want to deal with lead fumes. I inhale enough dangerous stuff day to day at my work!

Plus, my dad tells me this is how my grandfather burned his house down when I was little!

I might do a bit of spot-testing before committing myself to one method. Thanks again, guys!

-kate

 

[Panjandrum]

If you can be really really patient, a hot-air gun will do the job just as well, with less risk of burning the house down and, I think, less risk to health. But you need to go at it very gently and make sure the paint is nicely soft before trying to peel it off. I don't have the patience.
The chemicals work, although they are pretty noxious too. But with all your layers, it would probably take several applications.
Much depends on what bits of wood we are talking about. Another option is to remove the wood and take it to your local Jimmy Strippit. Works for doors and architraves - as long as you are sure you can put them back again OK.

 

[masona]

Another option is to remove the wood and take it to your local Jimmy Strippit.

I have heard many complaints about door dipping, I don't think it's the chemical bath but when they soaked it again in a clean water bath to wash off the chemical and have seen many doors swell and open joints.

 

[Thermo]

trouble with chemicals is it strips the moisture and natural oils out of the wood

 

[Panjandrum]

Interesting. Only had a door done once, and assumed the gaps had already been there under the century of paint. Other bits I have bought already stripped have been OK - for painting again.

 

[Thermo]

it seems to dpened greatly on the wood and the people carrying it out, seems to be a gamble whenever its done