Stripping

[Penny29]

Hi,

Novice decorator here needing advice.

Normal problem - ancient old house, beams, wood panelling etc etc all covered with thick gloss paint - am using a heat gun and when that threatens to blow up I stitch to decapetant (sp?)- proving to be a horrendously long job (miles of painted woodwork) plus when I get the skin of the gloss off nothing seems to be budging the primer/undercoat beneath it. (I've tried wire wool dipped in paint stripper, wire wool dipped in white spirit). Any advice? Cheats? Tips?

Ditto for similar problem - we are uncovering layer after layer of (horrific)wall paper and the last few layers appear to have been stuck to the walls with Superglue - we are using a steamer but is there any way we can make this process easier/quicker?

Thanks

Penny

[Scalehill]

Never tried it myself, but a decorator told me they used caustic soda mixed with wallpaper paste, applied to papered walls, which left to act made stripping easier.

[Hindhaugh]

Busy stripping old beams in our cottage in 36, doing it by hand is one X!*& of a job and trying to use chemical strippers is also a "!%&* of a job.

I am just about to buy a grit gun from Machine Mart here in the UK - cost circa 30, you can buy grit specifically for stripping wood and it makes an excellent job. You need to borrow or hire a 100 litre compressor as you need loads of air for this job.

The downside is you need your room absolutely clear, seal the doors to other rooms you need a good dust mask with filter and goggles. I have seen adds in certain magazines such as Living France for prople who offer this service in some parts of France.

J&M

[Nick56]

Penny
Have a look at http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/index.htm
I bought some of their stuff, expensive, but worth every penny. Removes acres of old paint pretty effortlessly and without any mess etc.
Rgds
Nick