Stripping cast iron fireplace

[Martin Pentreath]

Having done floors and doors my stripathon is now moving on to the fireplaces. I want to get the paint off them and black them properly.

I made a start at the stripping last night without looking at the archives here first. Following my success at stripping the coalhole cover I used some wire brushes in a drill, which seemed to do the trick OK, albeit fairly slowly. But now looking at the google archives I don't see anyone else having done it this way - chemical strippers or heat seem to be the preferred methods. Is there anything wrong with using the rotating steel brush technique? As far as I can see the cast iron seems to be hard enough not to be damaged by it, but I've not got very far yet.

[Andy Dingley]

Doesn't get into the corners.

You'll probably find a range of techniques are needed, right down to picking the last bits out of the corners with a darning needle lashed to a handle.

[Stuart Noble]

Endlessly frustrating and, unless it's 100% clean, it'll look like a bodge. How you strip it depends what type of paint is on there. If it's oil based paint, you could try this for a cheap solution: Dissolve 10% caustic soda in water, add enough toilet rolls (take the cardboard middle out first!)to give you a pulp. Pack it on with a trowel or similar, and spray the surface with a flour and water mix. The latter forms a kind of seal and helps hold it all together, but you can use cling film instead. The whole thing has a tendency to slide once it starts to dissolve the paint so you may have to keep re-packing it. After about 24 hours you should be able to peel it off in layers and drop it in a bin liner. Easier to have it dipped professionally if you can get it out easily.

[David Lang]

Hi Martin

Have them bead blasted - like shotblasting but with glass beads, removes paint without surface damage.

Dave

[Mathew J. Newton]

When we did ours we didn't think the brush wheel would be effective in the corners and patterned detail however, surprisingly, it was. It took a long time (i.e. all weekend) but I can honestly say it was more the flat areas that took the time - perhaps the rust and other crap had less of a grip on the corners/detail.

Having stripped it all down the 'graphite grey' looked stunning - to keep this look we looked high and low for 'Zebo' which appears to no longer be made. However, the chap at

made me a tin of 'isinglas with graphite' (with no black added unlike the original Zebo) for something like =A38 and it looks superb.

The job was captured at

[Andy Dingley]

Even Tesco still sell it. It's surprisingly common. Look for yellow and black tubes down the cleaners aisle.

[Andrew Mawson]

If Tesco sells it they are using up stocks - it's not made under the Zebo brand any more. 'Black Grate Polish' is still made and is indistinguisable from Zebo however.

AWEM

[Mathew J. Newton]

We ideally wanted a 'graphite' finish as opposed to 'black' so our initially-unsuccessful search was fortunate. Admittedly, however, I'm from what you might call the 'Internet generation' so I must confess to not having searched any retailers in the 'real world'!

Mathew

[Andy Dingley]

Well in that case make your own. Colloidal graphite (locksmith) in walnut oil. Adjust the proportions of flake graphite to ground charcoal to adjust the colour between metallic grey and black.

Just don't use a black wax on it, even one sold for ironwork. They look great, but they don't like heat.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I am pretty sure the best thing to do wolud be to phone up a sandbasting company, and ask them to run a gun over it in their lunch hour, and slip them a six pack of lager...

You MAY find a pressure washer lifts the muck off too. Ive seen it strip paint off a car...