Does Chemical Paint Stripper Damage Wood

We get a steady stream of customers asking us for advice about paint stripper use and how to remove paint and varnish from woods. Here's some practical information near stripping paint from wood, designed to help you cull the right product.

paint-stripper-and-varnish-removers — Fast and effective removal of paint using a paint stripper and scraper

Removing pigment from wood

You might be the lucky owner of a lovely menstruation home, or accept an quondam wood flooring that you're sure volition come up beautifully with a chip of work. You may have found a fabulous piece of onetime article of furniture smothered with nasty, dark-brown, shiny varnish that'southward begging for some TLC, or you might suspect there's something really special under all those layers of aboriginal paint on your doors. Whatever you want to do, first you'll need to become all of that rubbish off the surface to reveal the stunning woods beneath. Thankfully gimmicky stripping products are relatively elementary, effective and safe to utilise. Much better than the bad onetime days when your only choice was pure caustic soda, nasty stuff!

What kinds of wood tin can you strip?

Y'all can strip any kind of wood, even heavily-carved wood, equally long as you use the right products and materials and follow the instructions meticulously, particularly if y'all want to strip something expensive, rare or precious.

Outdoor and indoor furniture
Exterior and interior doors and door frames
Stair rails and banisters
Antique and vintage piece of furniture
Window frames and sills
Floorboards
Parquet flooring
Built-in article of furniture
Skirting boards

How to remove paint from forest – iii ways

There are three means of removing paint from forest: sanding, using a hot air gun and chemical pigment strippers.

Sanding is all-time kept for small projects unless y'all want to hire an industrial sander to remove paint and varnish from your flooring. A quick word most sandpaper and wire wool, both of which can cause impairment to wood unless you lot accept it piece of cake… When you sand woods you lot accept the surface off, and you need to do it as evenly as possible without rubbing it thin in places or creating gouges. Power tools help considering their pattern forces you to apply even pressure. Whether you're sanding by manus or with a machine, experts recommend you accept it slow and easy until y'all get a feel for it. There'due south enough of practiced advice online virtually sanding forest to perfection, and some fantabulous guidance hither on the Period Property website.
An electric hot air gun removes pigment in no time but can scorch the forest if you lot're not careful. Scorching is less important, of grade, when yous're planning to re-paint the forest. Bear in mind, likewise, that a hot air gun can simply be used equally a paint remover, not a varnish remover as varnishes tend to go very gooey, almost mucilage-like, when heated.
Chemical stripping is the best method for stripping carved woods with hard-to-reach, intricate areas, but in reality, you volition probably utilize a combination of mechanical and chemic methods for your projection, particularly if you take layer-upon-layer of old pigment to take off. Chemical paint removers evangelize the best results, remove varnishes and paints faster than sanding, and tend to be the least harsh. Care needs to exist taken when using chemical strippers, notwithstanding, every bit these present their own care and rubber problems.

Equally Kirsty Allsop says on the Channel 4 Homes website:

"Chemical strippers, bachelor from DIY stores, are proficient for intricately carved forest. You will need to follow the manufacturer'southward instructions as these vary. Make sure you keep the expanse y'all're working in well ventilated. Protect the floor with grit sheets or thick newspaper. To get a chemic stripper into nooks and crannies on intricate woodwork, utilise wire wool. Also, cheque the manufacturer's instructions to see if you demand to neutralise the stripped woodwork."

Different types of chemical woods stripper

Solvent pigment removers take off all kinds of finishes, even gimmicky ones. They are commonly very gentle on the wood and won't damage it, which is why they're used in the antique trade. There's no discolouration and solvents get the forest cleaner, deeper downward into the grain. On the downside, you tend to utilize more than of information technology, and then information technology can end upwards more expensive than a caustic stripper. Solvents can also have a strong olfactory property and must merely be used in very well-ventilated areas. Concluding of all, you might accept to work a bit harder to remove heavy paint build-ups than with a caustic paint stripper. So to sum upward, solvent strippers are:

More than expensive and messy to use
Non and so expert at removing heavy paint
Cause no damage or staining
Can have a potent odour
Requite a cleaner, finer finish
Perfect if you want that "natural expect"
The all-time product for stripping old, damaged items like beams

Caustic pigment removers take off almost finishes and are particularly good at getting rid of thick layers of paint and varnish. They give off fewer fumes than solvent-based paint strippers, are cheaper and tend to work faster. On the other manus, caustic products usually contain a very stiff element of group i which may react with chemicals in the wood resulting in staining or scorching of the woods. This is more than mutual with dense woods such as mahogany and some types of Oak, peculiarly old Oak. In summary, caustic removers are:

Perfect for removing heavy paint build-ups
Great for complicated mouldings
Best reserved for stripping pine doors that volition be repainted or stained
Best suited for employ on plaster, rock and metallic (Delight Annotation: They may not be suitable for aluminium)

What's the all-time pigment stripper for wood? You tin always test drive a few different products to see which stripper best suits the job and matches your capabilities. Simply deport out testing in camouflaged areas and go on your examination areas small.

Does the paint you're stripping contain lead?

Most paints manufactured before 1960 incorporate atomic number 82, so if you're stripping something older than that it'southward always wise to check. Y'all can choice up a lead testing kit at your local decorating eye or DIY shop.

If you find any lead, the British Coatings Federation have produced a leaflet near how to deal with it, which you tin can read hither: "Old Lead Painted Surfaces – A Guide on Repainting and Removal for DIY and Professional person Painters and Decorators".

How practice chemical paint strippers work?

Chemic paint stripping and varnish stripping products partially dissolve the paint or varnish. Yous can buy paste and gel paint stripping products, which are handy because they're so thick that they stick to vertical surfaces – perfect if the item you want to strip can't be moved.

4 steps to stripping paint from wood

Plainly every product is slightly dissimilar. But as a full general rule your first step is to utilise a thick layer of stripper with an former paint brush you can throw away afterwards. Make certain you force the product into any carved, intricate areas. Don't paint it on similar emulsion, dollop it on generously then work it into the surface.
Step abroad! Different products work over different timescales. Leave it lone until the product has done its thing, according to the instructions.
Once the paint has softened, scrape it off with a plastic or metal scraper. You can use steel wool to get rid of stubborn areas of paint or varnish, and old toothbrushes and wire brushes are also useful. Accept care with metal scrapers when stripping forest so equally to avert scratching or gouging the wood when removing the paint or varnish.
If there's all the same some pigment left, re-apply the stripper and go through the procedure again until it'due south all gone. So, if the instructions tell you to, wash the stripped item to neutralise the agile chemicals.

Pigment removal from wood – Safe recommendations

Article of clothing old apparel
Chemical pigment strippers requite off fumes, some of which are toxic. If the instructions say you should only employ information technology outdoors, so follow them
Whatsoever product you lot use, it makes sense to article of clothing gloves and a face mask
To avoid causing harm to the surrounding area, lay sometime paper, a tarp or drop sheet underneath the detail you're working on
Never leave the lid off – yous don't want fumes evaporating into your workspace

What is the best paint stripper and varnish remover?

Paints and varnishes have evolved over the years, so have their formulations and chemical make-up. Paint strippers and removers take also had to evolve to keep footstep with these new formulations. As a effect, its oft the instance that where one type of stripper works perfectly with a mod paint formulation, it may be ineffective against an former paint or varnish from the 1960'south or lxx's. The aforementioned applies the other way circular, where strippers that are effective against quondam paints may not exist as effective on new paints and varnishes. Then what is the answer?

Pigment strippers and varnish removers are commonly available in sample or small can sizes of between 250ml to 500ml. Our recommendation is to buy a sample or small tin can and to trial the effectiveness of a product before committing to buying the quantity of woods stripper needed for the project. This could save time and money in the long run.

Nosotros highly recommend Paint Panther Pigment and Varnish Remover, 1 of the all-time wood strippers on the market place for twenty-four hour period to day paint and varnish removal. It's great for removing paint and varnish from wood. It's a remarkable production, highly constructive and incredibly fast-interim, removing as many equally half dozen layers in but 5 minutes! Information technology'southward a gel, sticking conveniently to vertical surfaces, and it is platonic for removing water, oil and solvent-based paints, varnishes and lacquers.

We also honey PeelAway 1 and PeelAway seven, which are both used to restore antiques and items like decorative or carved fireplaces, wooden or plaster coving, cornices and ceiling roses. The 'Peel Abroad' paint removal systems work past applying a poultice or paste over the painted areas. Left for a menstruum of between 12 and 48 hours, the PeelAway poultice dissolves the many layers of paint accumulated over the years. The dried poultice is then removed with a spatula, pulling out the dissolved pigment from deep detailing, nooks and crannies to restore the intricate detail and design of the original piece.

PeelAway 1 is better suited to paints from the 1970'southward and prior, the old-manner metal and lead-based types. PeelAway 7 works better on modern paints, dating from the late 1970'southward onwards. For some projects yous might demand to bring both into play, using PeelAway seven on the newer layers and PeelAway 1 on the deeper layers. PeelAway ane is caustic-based, so always endeavor a test patch first. Remember, caustic-based strippers can scorch the surface of some wood, such as old Oak and Mahogany.

Both PeelAway products are available in a handy PeelAway 1 and 7 Sample Twin Pack, making it easier to test each product to observe out which works best for your paint removal project.

All PeelAway products are supplied as a kit including an application spatula and protective blankets, to prevent the practical poultice or paste from drying out as well quickly and before it has dissolved the paint or varnish. If required, extra PeelAway 1 Neutralizer and PeelAway 1 spare blankets, as well as PeelAway vii spare blankets are also available. These are useful if the protective blankets need to be cut to shape or into strips for metallic pipes, table legs or other required shapes.

Here's a blog post in which we give the Peelaway pigment remover a rigorous trial.

Beautiful, clean, stripped wood…revealed. What's next?

You've stripped it. Now it'south fourth dimension to choose your wood finish. Nosotros take a huge selection of amazing products designed to breathe new life into your woods, whether it's a gorgeous former floor, a first-class slice of antique or vintage furniture, a pino door or rococo pic frame.

Hither are some ideas to assist you get creative with your skillful-as-new wood:

Polish it to a stunning mirror-similar sheen with a deep-nourishing forest wax polish
Color it with a vast choice of superb forest stain shades
Oil it with a clear or coloured woods oil
Preserve information technology – essential for exterior wood; employ a articulate or coloured wood preserver
Lacquer it with a high quality woods lacquer
Dye it with a h2o-based or solvent-based woods dye
Re-pigment it – off with the old and on with the new. Choose a matt, satin or gloss interior or exterior wood paint
Paint and distress it for a absurd, shabby chic look with a matt emulsion, clay or chalk paint

Paint and varnish strippers aren't the only removers nosotros do. Run across our full range of paint, varnish, wax, stain and smoothen removers to find the production for your interior, exterior restoration or renovation project.

Demand more help with paint strippers?

We'd be delighted to help. Only contact our team of forest finishing experts. They're always on mitt to offering friendly assist and communication. Alternatively, visit our woods stripper and remover FAQ folio which covers many of our most commonly asked questions.

We dearest to see before, during and after photos of any forest finishing projection. If you would like to share your decking project pictures with u.s.a., you can either send us some photos or share on our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram pages.

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