Painted wood stairs

The painted wood stairs in our brownstone are in pretty rough shape. What’s the best way to remove the old paint so that we can repaint? The catch is, this needs to happen while living in the house with children and pets? Sanding seems like a bad idea with lead dust, and likewise, chemical stripping with the mess and smell. What are our options?

caperdog

in Brownstoner Renovation 14 years ago

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Springs | 14 years ago

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None of the answers here are sufficient to protect against the possibility of lead poisoning.  Painters are being fined at a minimum $37,000 for any of the actions described here, not to mention the proper staging for controlling dust and debris.  Only hire a painting company that is a certified renovator under EPA and local law 1 guidelines for this type of work.

stevecym | 14 years ago

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I was going to comment this morning and suggest a heat gun as well.  Never mind the fire risk, if you keep the gun moving you will not burn the wood.  The reason I did not suggest this is it sounds like you have kids in the house; if you have lead paint there and use a heat gun, you will release the lead into the air.  I have done it and you can smell the lead when you are doing it.   I am not sure what to recommend for this one, sorry. Steve http://brownstoner.staging.wpengine.com/tinkerswagon

BobMarvin | 14 years ago

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cheaper and easier to use than plastic wood) to fill in large gauges.

BobMarvin | 14 years ago

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If you’re going to repaint you’need far less sanding than for a clear finish; you just need a smooth surface. I think you could use a wood filler like Dunham’s Water Putty (IMO far better, chea

RBCG | 14 years ago

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We’ve just embarked on the same project. You’re going to need to sand, I think. Sanding will result in less mess and fumes than any stripping I can think of. The kids and pets (and we have both too) will need to stay off the stairs while you’re working on them anyway. You can always get some plastic sheeting and tape it up around the stair well. Plus, you can do it in stages, cleaning up in between. I would also ask – if the stairs don’t need sanding, why strip? Just scrape the current paint so nothing is coming up, then prime and paint. If the stairs are dinged up, you’re going to need to sand anyway… If you are wedded to stripping, you might want to try the stripper which is attached to thick paper. The name escapes me right now (there may be several brands), but it is often used to remove lead paint, because you just scrape the paper up, so there is no flakes of paint, etc.

BobMarvin | 14 years ago

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I’d be very reluctant to use a heat gun on installed woodwork that has a hollow space behind (like your stairway). It could start a fire in debris that has accumulated behind the wood.

brucef | 14 years ago

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Try a test patch with a heat gun. The trick is to bubble up just enough so it will scrape off with a stiff blade. If you are lucky you will get all layers off in one pass. It isn’t odorless, but if you keep moving so it doesn’t burn, you might get away with a strategically placed exhaust fan.