How to get paint off concrete lintels?

[Bill Wright]

Blowtorch? Hot air gun? Chemicals?

Bill

[The Natural Philosopher]

bead blasting or sand blasting

[RJH]

Which will work well - but create quite a bit of mess and possibly damage the the frames and pointing (IME of sandblasting).

Also, IME, it would cost a fair bit for a small area. I had asked for a trial run on a whole house front - total cost £600, trial area £200. Might be worth it if you're having several done - paint removal is not one of life's pleasures.

As to an alternative - dunno! I'd be interested too.

[Capitol]

Wickes paint stripper. Probably a couple of goes and lots of rinsing with the application of a wire brush. Been tempted by a sandblasting gun for the compressor, but haven;t used one yet.

[Brian Gaff]

Bits of paint or the whole thing painted? Sandblasting works quite well but I doubt you want th4e Sahara desert in the workshop. Brian

[Harry Bloomfield]

on 16/04/2017, Bill Wright supposed :

I had paint and sealant marks on the bricks where painted wooden windows frames had been replaced with double glazing. I managed to remove most of it with a cup wire brush on an angle grinder. It left some steel abraded from the brush, on the brick work, but that soon disappeared.

[Brian Gaff]

I suppose one could paint it concrete colour so nobody would notice. Brian

[tabbypurr]

Just leave it, the paint will drop off in time. If you can cope with it looking rough meanwhile.

NT

[Tricky Dicky]

Seen that done recently, I watched some painters rollering the pillars and portico on some of the recently built houses on a new build. Apparently the y were covering over mortar stains and imperfections in the stonework. A lo t depends on what type of paint was used originally gloss for instance woul d need to be removed whilst most masonry paints could probably be over pain ted.

Richard

[Bill Wright]

I've been waiting 30 years! Yes, it is dropping off, but much too slowly. I can get some of it off with a pressure washer!

Bill

[critcher]

surprised no one told you not to use blow torch, concrete really explodes with a very hot heat source.

[Brian Gaff]

Yes its the pores in the concrete you find it stuck in which is how sandblassting works well, as it removeds a bit of the surface as well.

Brian

[Bill Wright]

Good info!

Bill

[John Rumm]

Much depends on the type of paint and how you want the finish on the concrete to look once done. A brass wire cup brush on an angles grinder is gentler than you might expect and good for getting stuff off less than perfect surfaces.

If you have access to a compressor, then you can get small hand held grit blasting guns. They are somewhat slower and less aggressive than you might expect though.

[John Rumm]

Should have also added a needle "scaler" type pneumatic tool may also work well.

[Harry Bloomfield]

John Rumm was thinking very hard :

+1

[ARW]

Repaint it with concrete coloured paint and don't tell anyone:-)