Removing Old Paint from Woodwork
We are just getting around to sprucing up the parlor level of our new home. We are lucky to have lots of beautiful wood detail in pretty good shape, but years of sloppy paint jobs have marred the finish. We’ve tried painters pal and goof off but it removes the poly and some of the…
We are just getting around to sprucing up the parlor level of our new home. We are lucky to have lots of beautiful wood detail in pretty good shape, but years of sloppy paint jobs have marred the finish.
We’ve tried painters pal and goof off but it removes the poly and some of the stain from the wood.
Short of sanding and staining to match, any tips for removing old paint splotches?
Thanks!
OP – Any product that takes off paint chemically will also take off the poly. Unfortunately, the solution which gives you the best result is either sanding or chemically removing everything and re-applying poly. (I would sand – hard enough to take off the paint spots and lightly on the good surfaces) I’ve heard Easy-Off also works – people use it to get marine varnish off of gelcoated fiberglass surfaces, so you could give that a shot – it may be gentler on the underlying surface. Peel Away and Rock Miracle are both really harsh.
Zip Strip is the best methyl chlorene remove, IMO. Rock Miracle can turn wood like oak gray. Peel Away 7 is gentle, too, but not for the impatient. Hopefully you have shellac as a base; that will make removal easier.
my grandpa always used zip strip when I did painting jobs with him. I assume it is toxic since it worked so well: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1276736
I have an infrared paint remover (I thought there was only 1). It works well on flat surfaces with multiple coats of paint, but I wouldn’t use it on just splotches. You’ll end up having to strip everything down to the wood.
I’m renting (a try before you buy) Speedheater infrared paint remover from Eco Strip to attempt a similar project. Read about it on this board before. Looks promising and worth it to avoid chemicals and dust. Mixed reviews, supposedly there is a knockoff called the Silent paint remover that is to be avoided. But do some Googling before you proceed.
http://eco-strip.com/
Are you sure it’s poly? Could be shellac or varnish. I just did a bunch of doors that were shellac. Denatured alcohol “melts” the coat, so then you would need to re-stain and re-varnish. No sanding involved. I used steel wool.
If it’s poly, denatured alcohol with steel wool should get rid of the paint w/o taking off the sealer. Or you can try mineral spirits, which will take some sealer off. Or acetone.
At any rate, you may need to stain and poly (or just poly) again as these solvents tend to leave a film. The good news is, it goes much faster and it’s much cleaner than sanding.
you have to use rock miracle couple of times defend on how thick paint is, how ever if you want give you a free estimates give us a call.
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Thank You
hmmmmmm
You could try a bit of Peel Away 7. It removes paint quite easily, and should leave the bulk of the stain intact. Not completely sure — we used it on some wainscotting, and the area that was stained rather than painted is still that way. OTOH the varnish had come off long ago and isn’t there.
(You can also spruce up the varnish in spots, not difficult.)
Otherwise, maybe delicately remove just some of the paint with a razor, being careful not to chip the wood, and paint over with one of those dark brown marking pens used to touch up finishes on furniture?
Just throwing out a few ideas. Haven’t tried this myself.