11520 Paint stripping

A chemical paint-stripper is called "sverniciante", the tool to remove old paint is a "raschietto"
Good luck with the hard job!!!!!

We have an oak front door that we tried various chemical peels on, in the end we used an angle grinder with a wire brush attachement, and then sanded it down....worked out well .

[quote=deborahandricky;109057]We have an oak front door that we tried various chemical peels on, in the end we used an angle grinder with a wire brush attachement, and then sanded it down....worked out well .[/quote]

I firmly believe, from my own experience, that your solution is the best. Paint strippers tend to make a mess of the old paint or varnish, but you need something very radical to remove the old paint. Particularly when there are several coats to remove.

speaking as somebody with 42 years experianc working with wood the advice given above is not good ,to give ablanket answer to this problem is dangerus , first you need to assertane what wood is the door made of if best italian wallnut a wire brush on a angle grinder i dont think so . treat the wood with the care it deserves

The door in question is made of oak I see. What about an acid bath as a possibility oil di lino ???

hi sally and everrybody ,no i would not recomend dipping any hard wood as this can drasticly change the coulor and in some cases ruin the wood

So what is the best way???

Personally I use caustic soda mixed with water. If used on a horizontally object I mix in wallpaper glue. In a short time you can strip off old paint easily. After the job is done, neutralise the object with vinegar.

Though I am quite enamoured of the wire brush on an angle grinder solution, another alternative is oxy-acetylene (using the most fierce wide nozzle burner). I'm not kidding...seriously. Proper heat (not these girly hair dryer clones) works.

Okay, I hear what oliodilino is saying - respect your wood - (and if your wood is walnut, for christ' sake let an expert handle it)...but oak, or chestnut, forget the svernicatore products - they won't work...they'll just cost you money.

If you have anyone coming over from uk, get them to bring a packet of "peel away" (b & q) it's the best thing invented, even if theres 10 layers of paint it all comes away in one go- just paint it on wait 10-15 mins and peel it off (like leg waxing!) it's brill

You could always contact too the manufacturers of Peel Away and ask if they can ship it to you or if they have a distributer in Italy - [url=http://www.peelaway.co.uk/]PeelAway Poultic Paint Removal System[/url]

Depends what state the surface of the wood is in, If it has been painted then possibly the idea was to cover up a dodgy surface finish. I don't like chemicals because it only takes one coat off at a time and they are not particulary eco friendly and don't work on water based paints. Heat can burn the surface as you can imagine. Sanding can takes hours and doesn't get into the corners.
On 40 painted 3" x 4" oak beams I used a wire brush on an small angle grinder, dusty job and the hardness of the Oak resisted any damage, Chestnut is possibly harder than Oak. I bought a brass wire and a steel wire brush and tested a small area first. The brass didn't touch it at all so I used the steel and didn't press hard, took my time and respected the wood. Amen

Hi,
I understand your problem.
I think you should take help of any expirenced person or any site who have knowledge about this site.
I just suggest you one site who is deal with this type of work.For site see below at my signature.
Best of Luck

_______________________
[URL="http://www.industrialtouchup.com"][B]Paint stripping[/B][/URL]

[quote=mariyadisuja;109447]Hi,
I understand your problem.
I think you should take help of any expirenced person or any site who have knowledge about this site.
I just suggest you one site who is deal with this type of work.For site see below at my signature.
Best of Luck

_______________________
[URL="http://www.industrialtouchup.com"][B]Paint stripping[/B][/URL][/quote]
Think they do not do doors, as only automotive products

please do your selves a favour DONT use any chemical strippers they will take the natural oils out of it and probably weaken if not ruin any glue that has been used in making the door.
Im sorry to say that ,unless you have a belt sander and a couple of other sanding machines lots of elbow grease and even more patience,ther are no other ways of removing the paint from the door without damaging it .Hot air guns and gas axes may be fast but will also dry out the timber.
Royfreezer has the right idea trust me I have also been workin with wood for quite dome time now.
Good luck!!!

I spent quite a few years as a restorer of Antique Country Furniture & I can tell you that for every piece, every timber, every paint type there's a different story. If the door is Oak then any Caustic Soda based stripper will not only turn the wood grey but remove all the desirable surface patina & raise the grain. Unless they have changed the formula, the paste type products are Caustic Soda based. Combined tactics is my recommendation but it all depends on the effect you want to achieve. My preference is minimal intervention & often the funky old blistered paint is far more aesthetically pleasing than sanding & angle grinding (good lord) the life out of the thing. If you want it to look like a new door go out and buy one & give the old one to someone with some soul.
If that paint just has to come off then use a cabinet scraper to remove the top layers. Italian hardware shops sell them in various sizes & many have a toothed edge, a bit like a Skarsen Scraper. They are cheap. Use it two-handed bending it slightly between thumb & forefinger pushing it along the surface of the old paint at a slight angle from the vertical until, with a positive approach & a bit of downward pressure, the paint should start flaking off. Unless you dont mind removing the original patina dont remove the bottom layer of paint or varnish. Next use a hot air gun to soften anything thats left especially the bits in corners & mouldings. But go very light with the gun as it will easily scorch the wood if too close or not kept moving. Next use some Nitromores (Spirit based), or whatever the equivalent is here in Italy,agitated with a stiff (not nylon) scrubbing brush & course wire wool. If some of the paint layers are pale blue, pale green or pale cream colour then they might be "milk paint" which doesn't respond to well to the heat gun but the scraper or Nitromores gets it. Clean it all off with copious amounts of White Spirit & clean rag.When the white spirit has dried "ping" the little stubborn sods in the corners etc off with the cabinet scraper or a pointy knife, Burnish with course wire wool & give it a coat or two or three of whatever you fancy. If it's for outside, use a waterbased microporous satin varnish.
It will take you ages, make a real mess & exhaust you. You couldn't pay me to do it for any price.
If that has put you off then either leave the paint on or throw it into a bath of hot caustic soda solution & suffer the awful consequences.
Pilch