How To Remove Gesso From Wood

Nosotros 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 applied information nigh stripping paint from wood, designed to assist you choose the correct product.

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

Removing paint from woods

You might be the lucky possessor of a lovely menses domicile, or have an onetime woods floor that you're sure will come up beautifully with a bit of work. You may take found a fabulous piece of old furniture smothered with nasty, brown, shiny varnish that's begging for some TLC, or you might suspect at that place's something really special nether all those layers of ancient paint on your doors. Any you want to do, outset y'all'll need to become all of that rubbish off the surface to reveal the stunning forest beneath. Thankfully gimmicky stripping products are relatively simple, effective and prophylactic to apply. Much amend than the bad old days when your just pick was pure caustic soda, nasty stuff!

What kinds of woods tin you strip?

You can strip whatsoever kind of forest, even heavily-carved wood, every bit long every bit you use the correct products and materials and follow the instructions meticulously, specially if you desire to strip something expensive, rare or precious.

Outdoor and indoor furniture
Exterior and interior doors and door frames
Stair track and banisters
Antiquarian and vintage furniture
Window frames and sills
Floorboards
Parquet flooring
Congenital-in furniture
Skirting boards

How to remove paint from wood – 3 ways

There are three ways of removing paint from wood: sanding, using a hot air gun and chemical paint strippers.

Sanding is best kept for pocket-size projects unless you desire to rent an industrial sander to remove paint and varnish from your flooring. A quick word well-nigh sandpaper and wire wool, both of which can cause damage to forest unless you take it easy… When you sand forest you accept the surface off, and you demand to do it as evenly as possible without rubbing it thin in places or creating gouges. Ability tools help because their blueprint forces yous to apply even pressure. Whether you're sanding past hand or with a motorcar, experts recommend you accept information technology slow and like shooting fish in a barrel until yous go a experience for it. There's plenty of skillful advice online nigh sanding wood to perfection, and some excellent guidance here on the Period Property website.
An electrical hot air gun removes paint in no time but tin scorch the wood if you're not careful. Scorching is less of import, of grade, when you're planning to re-pigment the wood. Bear in mind, too, that a hot air gun can only be used equally a paint remover, not a varnish remover every bit varnishes tend to go very gooey, most glue-like, when heated.
Chemical stripping is the best method for stripping carved wood with hard-to-reach, intricate areas, but in reality, y'all will probably use a combination of mechanical and chemical methods for your project, especially if you have layer-upon-layer of old pigment to take off. Chemical paint removers deliver the best results, remove varnishes and paints faster than sanding, and tend to be the least harsh. Care needs to be taken when using chemical strippers, all the same, as these present their own care and condom issues.

Every bit Kirsty Allsop says on the Channel 4 Homes website:

"Chemical strippers, bachelor from DIY stores, are good for intricately carved wood. You will need to follow the manufacturer's instructions as these vary. Make sure you continue the area you're working in well ventilated. Protect the floor with dust sheets or thick newspaper. To go a chemical stripper into nooks and crannies on intricate woodwork, use wire wool. Too, check the manufacturer's instructions to see if you need to neutralise the stripped woodwork."

Different types of chemic wood stripper

Solvent paint removers take off all kinds of finishes, even gimmicky ones. They are normally very gentle on the forest and won't harm it, which is why they're used in the antique trade. There's no discolouration and solvents get the wood cleaner, deeper down into the grain. On the downside, you tend to utilize more of information technology, so information technology can cease up more than expensive than a caustic stripper. Solvents can also have a potent odour and must only exist used in very well-ventilated areas. Last of all, yous might have to work a fleck harder to remove heavy paint build-ups than with a caustic paint stripper. So to sum upwards, solvent strippers are:

More expensive and messy to use
Not so good at removing heavy paint
Crusade no damage or staining
Tin have a strong scent
Give a cleaner, finer finish
Perfect if yous desire that "natural look"
The best production for stripping old, damaged items like beams

Caustic pigment removers take off most finishes and are peculiarly 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 piece of work faster. On the other hand, caustic products unremarkably contain a very potent element of group i which may react with chemicals in the wood resulting in staining or scorching of the wood. This is more common with dense woods such every bit mahogany and some types of Oak, especially old Oak. In summary, caustic removers are:

Perfect for removing heavy paint build-ups
Swell for complicated mouldings
Best reserved for stripping pine doors that will exist repainted or stained
Best suited for use on plaster, rock and metal (Please Annotation: They may not be suitable for aluminium)

What'southward the best paint stripper for wood? You can always test drive a few different products to come across which stripper best suits the job and matches your capabilities. Just bear out testing in camouflaged areas and continue your examination areas small.

Does the paint you're stripping incorporate pb?

Almost paints manufactured before 1960 contain lead, so if you're stripping something older than that it's always wise to check. You lot can selection up a pb testing kit at your local decorating heart or DIY store.

If you find any lead, the British Coatings Federation accept produced a leaflet about how to deal with it, which you tin can read here: "Erstwhile Pb Painted Surfaces – A Guide on Repainting and Removal for DIY and Professional Painters and Decorators".

How practice chemic pigment strippers work?

Chemical pigment stripping and varnish stripping products partially deliquesce the paint or varnish. You can purchase paste and gel pigment stripping products, which are handy considering they're so thick that they stick to vertical surfaces – perfect if the particular you want to strip can't be moved.

iv steps to stripping pigment from forest

Obviously every product is slightly different. But equally a general rule your first pace is to apply a thick layer of stripper with an onetime pigment castor yous can throw abroad afterwards. Make sure yous force the production into any carved, intricate areas. Don't paint information technology on like emulsion, dollop information technology on generously and so work information technology into the surface.
Step away! Different products work over unlike timescales. Get out it alone until the product has done its matter, according to the instructions.
Once the paint has softened, scrape it off with a plastic or metal scraper. You can use steel wool to become rid of stubborn areas of paint or varnish, and old toothbrushes and wire brushes are also useful. Take care with metal scrapers when stripping wood so equally to avoid scratching or gouging the forest when removing the pigment or varnish.
If there'southward still some paint left, re-apply the stripper and go through the process once more until it's all gone. Then, if the instructions tell you to, launder the stripped detail to neutralise the active chemicals.

Paint removal from wood – Condom recommendations

Wear old clothes
Chemical paint strippers requite off fumes, some of which are toxic. If the instructions say you should but utilize it outdoors, then follow them
Whatever product you use, information technology makes sense to habiliment gloves and a face mask
To avoid causing damage to the surrounding area, lay old paper, a tarp or drop sheet underneath the particular you're working on
Never get out the lid off – you don't want fumes evaporating into your workspace

What is the best paint stripper and varnish remover?

Paints and varnishes accept evolved over the years, and then accept their formulations and chemical make-up. Paint strippers and removers accept also had to evolve to keep step with these new formulations. As a result, its often the case that where one type of stripper works perfectly with a modern paint formulation, it may be ineffective against an old paint or varnish from the 1960's or 70's. The same applies the other way round, where strippers that are effective against old paints may not exist equally constructive on new paints and varnishes. So what is the answer?

Paint strippers and varnish removers are usually available in sample or small tin sizes of between 250ml to 500ml. Our recommendation is to buy a sample or small can and to trial the effectiveness of a production earlier committing to buying the quantity of woods stripper needed for the project. This could salvage fourth dimension and coin in the long run.

Nosotros highly recommend Paint Panther Paint and Varnish Remover, one of the best wood strippers on the market for day to day paint and varnish removal. Information technology'south great for removing paint and varnish from woods. Information technology's a remarkable product, highly effective and incredibly fast-interim, removing as many as six layers in merely five minutes! Information technology'due south a gel, sticking conveniently to vertical surfaces, and it is ideal for removing h2o, oil and solvent-based paints, varnishes and lacquers.

Nosotros likewise love PeelAway 1 and PeelAway 7, 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 piece of work past applying a poultice or paste over the painted areas. Left for a period 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 paint from deep detailing, nooks and crannies to restore the intricate item and design of the original piece.

PeelAway 1 is ameliorate suited to paints from the 1970's and prior, the old-style metallic and lead-based types. PeelAway 7 works meliorate on modernistic paints, dating from the late 1970's onwards. For some projects yous might need to bring both into play, using PeelAway seven on the newer layers and PeelAway 1 on the deeper layers. PeelAway 1 is caustic-based, and then always attempt a test patch offset. Remember, caustic-based strippers tin can scorch the surface of some forest, such as old Oak and Mahogany.

Both PeelAway products are available in a handy PeelAway i and 7 Sample Twin Pack, making information technology easier to test each product to notice out which works best for your paint removal projection.

All PeelAway products are supplied as a kit including an application spatula and protective blankets, to foreclose the applied poultice or paste from drying out too quickly and before it has dissolved the paint or varnish. If required, extra PeelAway 1 Neutralizer and PeelAway i spare blankets, as well equally PeelAway vii spare blankets are likewise bachelor. These are useful if the protective blankets demand to be cut to shape or into strips for metal pipes, table legs or other required shapes.

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

Cute, clean, stripped wood…revealed. What'south next?

You've stripped information technology. Now it'south time to cull your wood end. Nosotros have a huge selection of amazing products designed to breathe new life into your wood, whether information technology's a gorgeous former floor, a splendid piece of antique or vintage piece of furniture, a pine door or rococo picture frame.

Here are some ideas to aid you become creative with your good-as-new woods:

Smoothen information technology to a stunning mirror-similar sheen with a deep-nourishing woods wax smooth
Colour information technology with a vast choice of superb wood stain shades
Oil it with a clear or coloured wood oil
Preserve it – essential for exterior woods; use a clear or coloured wood preserver
Lacquer it with a loftier quality wood lacquer
Dye it with a water-based or solvent-based wood dye
Re-paint it – off with the old and on with the new. Cull a matt, satin or gloss interior or outside wood paint
Paint and distress it for a cool, shabby chic look with a matt emulsion, clay or chalk paint

Paint and varnish strippers aren't the merely removers we exercise. See our full range of paint, varnish, wax, stain and polish removers to find the production for your interior, exterior restoration or renovation project.

Need more than aid with paint strippers?

We'd be delighted to help. Just contact our team of wood finishing experts. They're e'er on hand to offer friendly help and advice. Alternatively, visit our woods stripper and remover FAQ folio which covers many of our nearly commonly asked questions.

We love to run across earlier, during and after photos of any forest finishing projection. If you lot would like to share your decking project pictures with us, you lot can either ship us some photos or share on our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram pages.

Other dandy blogs that talk over paint stripping

Why Pigment Strippers Often Neglect

PeelAway 1: Revealing the Beauty of ninety Twelvemonth Former Windows