Stripping technique (paint!)...Any suggestions?
Question:What I have is an interior door, about 100 years old, a four panel door. It has the T-shape in it. Does that describe it at all?
It has been stained, varnished and had several layers of paint applied over the years. What I'm trying to do is get the paint off. What I have been doing is using a heat gun and putty knife to scrape and then applying a paint stripper. It's tedious and messy. The varnish melts with the heat and makes a glue-like substance that gums up the knife.
So...What should I be doing? What's the easiest, most effective way to remove this paint, etc? Also, am I going to need to take the door apart (to get the paint out of the seams)? What do you recommend as far as technique and which product is the best? Or...if this is something that should be professionally done, how much would it cost? (I think I can do it, I would just like to know the best way.) Thanks very much for your help!
Answers:
Heat is good to remove the top layers. It does get gummy, that is part of the deal. You will have better luck with a pull type scraper than a putty knife or the cheap scrapers you find at DIY stores. The blade is much sharper and the gumming is less of a problem. You can use a putty knife or regular scraper, but it will take a bit more time.
After you get the bulk of the paint off, you will need a chemical stripper to clean it up. If you can find it, Stripeeze is the best I have ever used. You will need to change and add to your tools a bit. Sharp putty knife for wide surfaces. Brass bristle brush for the detail areas. Toothpicks (round kind with a point) for the corners, cracks and crevaces. After all of the surface material is removed, clean with chemical stripper and fine steel wool, followed by mineral spirits and steel wool.
It is important that you get rid of all of the material before you paint. Old varnish will bleed through anything -- including stain block like Kilz.
Sand smooth, prime and paint.
make sure you post it on youtube
you must go to a nightclub to learn stripping techniqes
Use a hair dryer to heat up the paint..then use a plastic puddy knife this way you should be aboe to get it off in strips..and it is not that messy..Ive done this before..found it the best solution :)
Could you maybe sand the paint off? By the way, thats funny in your question... how you specified PAINT after you said stripping technique!!
Sounds like someone made a real mess.
There are chemical/citrus strippers that might get all the goop at once. Not sure. You may have to use mechanical means (wire brush attachments for a drill, sanding belt, etc)
I would spend some time in the finishing aisle at the hardware store reading labels, or if you are lucky enough to have a woodworking store, ask them.
Yuk.
It sounds like you're already doing the right things. Stripping paint IS tedious and messy. Some removers are better than others - ask at your local store which product they recommend.
You can pay someone else to do it, but it won't be cheap. But it may be worth it to you. Check the phone book for local strippers (paint).
i once has kitchen cabinets in a place that i lived that had 7 coats of paint,, and it was very time consuming.. take the door off and lay it flat --- put down newspaper or cloth--- then put the stripper on with a paint brush real heavy all over, even in the seams.. start at the top and work ur way down... by the time u get to the bottom,,, go back to the top with scraper... it will not be easy... scrape the whole door, At the hardware store they have real good (expensive stripper products). You may need to repeat this process more than once.. good luck. PS You may only want to do half of the door at a time as it is hard work.. you can do the solid part first then go back and do your seams. Seams are the hardest..
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