Admins, I don’t know where to post this topic, so feel free to move it to where you seem fit. Or may be start a new forum called “Home Repair Tips” Spring/Summer is the time to fix the houses, from roofing to new grill, to patios, to paints, and so on.
Currently, I am stripping paint in my house on wood door frames. The wood frames have been painted over like 200 times (considering how old the house is), and I want to strip it bare and then stain it. I am using a combination of chemical strippers and heat gun. I was wondering if any other Guppie has better idea? I started this project about a month ago, and so far I have stripped two frames (10 more to go). I can only do about 2 foot stripping in one go. Does anyone have any faster method to strip the paint off? Thanks. Hnadyman in my area wants 200 bucks per door, I think that is outrageous.
p.s. I dont’ want to replace frames with new wood. I love the old wood look.
lol, this thread is going to disappoint a LOT of people who come into it.
We restored an old victorian home in MA and we did most of the woodwork with a heat gun, chemical strippers are so harsh, plus the kids were young and I didn't want to take the chance with a chemical like that. I don't have any ideas for you, but I do have a lot of sympathy. It took us about 4 months to do the second floor, 2 months for the stairway and bannisters and another 5-6 months for the downstairs.
was the handyman gonna use the same method of doing it with a heat gun? cos i know that some places strip doors using a sand blasting thingamabob, it might be cheaper than 200 and might be worth saving yourself the hassle and time of doing it yourself.
Both of you have good points… Minah,,, I prefer chemical strippers, because I am not very good with heat gun, and I have already left two big burn marks… but luckily, they are not in a very obvious place. I use heat gun only on really hard to get spots.
KK, I have never heard of sand blasting method for wood.. I will look into it. Thanks.
Yes, the professional way to do this is with a combination of a chemical stripper and a fibreglass mesh. The stripper penetrates the paint and makes it soft. The mesh is then pushed into the soft paint, and then the fibreglass mesh with the embedded paint/stripper solution is then pulled away from the wood. Very fast, no scraping, no more fumes than a stripper, no fire danger as with the heat gun, and a very clean surface that can be primed and painted very quickly. Will try to find a link for you, there are a number of products ont he market… Stand by…
Have you tried using sandpaper? I always thought you use sandpaper for these sorta things. Why don't you pay someone to do it for you? 200 bucks doesn't sound too bad. Why don't you do half the doors yourself and let handyman take care of the other halves?
Roman...good idea. Sandpaper doesnt work on paint though... when the wood is bare, sander is used for smoothing it out. YOu ain't handy my man. But I like your suggestion of going half and half. I have 10 doors..thats like 2000 dollars...i aint danda rich.
OG, please do let me know about that fiberglass stuff. Yesterday, I discovered a dark cherry under one of the frames. I think someone really had to be an idiot to paint over it, but it was done with an oil based like 20 coats I guess back in the 40s or 50s, and then painted over by subsequent owners. It is so pretty and I cant wait to get it back in its original beauty.
Thanks you guys for your suggestions.
oops OG, just saw the links. Let me go thru them. Thanks again.
OG, I have been using that cheap-ass Home Depot stuff that comes in a Gallon, either 15 mins or 20 minutes strength. This stuff looks a lot more serious. I will order it tonight. Thanks buddy. You have restored my faith in white people.
