I've heard of some sort of paint stripper which is applied as a gel and left to soak into the paint and - allegedly - remove quite thick layers in one go. Anyone used any? Does it do what it says on the tin? Good types?
I have an Edwardian cast-iron fire surround to strip. I don't think the paint is particularly thick, but there's a flower pattern in the metal would will make scraping the paint off very fiddly.
tia
My sister has just used it on some door frames - "amazing" was the cry!
Jonni
Errm wire brush.
Wire brush in an angle grinder if you want the best result in the shortest time. Wear goggles and gloves and a mask.
Personally wouldn't do that as (through one time experience) it leaves marks which are still visible even after liberal dosing with grate polish. If you were planning on repainting then maybe it's viable, but IMO cheap black fireplace paint looks too shiny when compared to polish.
Avoid hot air guns as well. Go with the paint stripper poultice.
In the past someone suggested stripping paint by applying paint stripper and removing it with a jet-wash. Not very environmentally friendly, but sounds like an ideal solution here? I wouldn't do it too close to your car though ;-)
Colin
And I would only do it if I had a 50ft lance. You'll get fine water droplets loaded with paint stripper flying about in your breathable air.
Andrew
[snip]
You don't have to lean on it like a lunatic. I've lost track of how many cast iron items I've cleaned of paint this way. Chemical stripping is the least satisfactory of all.
In article , John Stumbles writes
I have heard of the stuff you mention, but can't remember the name, expensive I think & this method I find to be very effective:
I've been using the basic Nitromors gel (green tin, puppy friendly) protected with a layer of cling film to stop it drying out - works wonders. Detail comes out clean with a small wire brush/wire wool soaked in the stuff, poss a small screwdriver on the reall deeply engrained stuff.
I have a 'pro' in at the moment helping me with a but more stripping than I can handle & he is using a heat gun get off the thickest part then tidying up with Nitromors 'Master Craftsman's' (Yellow Tin). Can understand if you don't want to go this route 'cos of lead paint or whatever; we are both wearing carbon filtered respirators.
HTH
I used it once. I wouldn't use it again. The ready-mixed gel is awful to use (don't for God's sake get a splash in your eyes), but it's quick and in my opinion less messy. Get the Focus or Homebase own brand - last time I looked, both were cheaper than (spits...) B&Q. Don't pay over the odds for a branded variety, as it all comes out of the same tank at the manufacturer.
MM
it. It also seems to stop working as soon as the volatile chemical evaporates which is why it has to be kept wet with more stripper. I am pretty sure that the gel is only to slow down evaporation.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
ISTR Max Bone posting some replies to various questions about this stuff, I think that there were three or four various formulations of the stuff that they sell. Google should reveal all... not sure what the description of it was, I think it may have included the word "paste"
-- Richard Sampson
email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk
If you go down this route then don't wear shorts while doing it. Bits of the brush fly out and dig in your legs, quite painfull, you only do it once!
They are the dogs danglies at stripping rust and general muck though.
I have used the water based paint stripper Home Strip to remove lots of lead-based yellowing gloss paint from our house in the last year. When I suggested someone try the artex remover from the same range, it got poo-pooed by someone here because it's "Water-based, Non-hazardous, Non-caustic, pH-neutral, Solvent-free, Non-flammable and Non-combustible". Whoever it was couldn't believe that such a product would have any effect on the artex, but I've used the paint stripper and that certainly does work! I can't say if it would work in your application, but if it does, it is much nicer to use because you don't nearly so much protective equipment.
I used similar stripper to take emulsion paint off tiles in a bath room. I have also seen it used very effectively to take paint of gasoline pumps in a service station forecourt [ a torch was a no no ].
My method was, apply the stripper, wait awhile and then wire brush, worked real well. On flat surfaces sometimes I could get a scraper in. Altogether I cleaned maybe 2 SM area. Tedious but it works.
PS. Do Goggle, I believe that Caustic Soda solution does exactly the same thing as the stripper - maybe that's what the jar contains anyway....
Luck
John Hewitt Malaga Spain
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