Our bedroom has a wooden wall that is heavily paneled, as well as miles of wainscoting, and wooden molding in the corners and around the ceiling. It is painted a very correct shade of blue (for 1803, when the house was built) but we hate the color and want to paint it a creamy white. We don’t want to damage the old wood, but also don’t want to spend years scraping. (The guy who restored the dentil molding in the formal living room literally used toothpicks to get out some of the layers of paint.) This is not us.
Is there a product you have personally used that does a good job stripping wood without wrecking it? We don’t necessarily need to go to the bare wood, just to get off a few layers so that we can paint it a lighter color. We also do not want to cover the blue with yet another layer, because there is enough paint on the wood already.
No idea what would work best for your application, but just an FYI - the paint is most likely lead paint. So be careful, control dust, and don’t use heat guns.
We had a wall of wood. Rather than try to remove it or paint it, Mr. Thumper put a thin layer of Sheetrock over it, taped and compounded it…and painted the Sheetrock. Way easier than removing.
@Thumper, this is actually a hinged wooden wall that at one point, swung upward, attached to the ceiling with hooks and created a large ballroom out of two bedrooms. We can’t do anything like cover with sheetrock. Besides, the panels are beautiful, even if they’re going to be a royal pain to paint.
Sounds like it would be relatively easy to remove the hinge pins, and send the entire wall out to professional strippers (not the pole kind ) who could safely take it down to bare wood with no chance of lead contamination in your home.
Okay, THIS I know all about. We are restoring a century home right now and have removed miles of peeling paint.
I have tried all techniques except for infrared (tool costs way too much). The ‘orange’ citrus stuff. The toxic stuff that works quickly but I think is banned in CA now. The stuff you paint on and then cover with paper, ‘peel away.’ I think. None of it works like it is shown on TV. Mainly because it takes several applications. Remove 10 layers with one application? Nope.
The good news is with that chemical stuff you are okay with lead paint. The bad news is if you have a large square foot area, expect weeks and weeks of work on this.
Here is what I would do. You need to figure out how many layers you have. Find a hidden spot and use a sharp clad to peel away to investigate. If you have a ton (like 5+), then scrape anything loose, get a good primer and paint over the whole thing. You’re welcome.
If only a few layers, then the chemical remover is doable as it will only need 3 or so applications to get you to the point where you can wet sand (because of the lead paint) and then prime/paint.
Note that this is an extremely messy job. Cover the floor to death. That stuff will ruin your floors.
@tdy123 Thank you! I would love to send the wall out. but there is no way to get it out of the house (it’s 20 feet long), plus, I still have all the other wood in the room to deal with. @cypresspat we definitely have more than 5 layers. Otherwise, I’d use Kilz or some other heavy primer and paint over it. So which chemical remover? I have googled this and have some idea, but would like to know what you’ve tried. And thanks for the heads up on the floors. Those are also “precious,” wide eastern white pine. Don’t want to mess them up.
I think she is saying that if you have more than five layers…get it to a point where you can Prime and paint. Do not plan to strip the paint. Is that correct @cypresspat
So with your more than five layers…figure out what the best primer would be and use that…and paint.
If it were me…this is a job I’d hire someone else to do!
@thumper1 , we have been thinking of hiring someone, but finding good people to do the job here isn’t easy. We haven’t been happy with the painters (two projects) we have hired for other rooms. Lots of people know how to paint a relatively new house, but one that is over 200 years old has different challenges. Even if we do hire someone, I want to know what to look for and how to be sure the person knows what they are talking about.
For example, sanding old paint with a power sander is a great way to dispatch it quickly. But it is also dangerous because of the lead, and destructive to the old wood. I’d absolutely do this on a 30 year old house, but on an older one, no way.
I’ve refinished A LOT of painted furniture and I can’t imagine the time and energy for doing a full wall/room with layers of paint. No matter the method I think it would take so much time!
There may be an obvious reason - sorry I don’t know all the rules for lead based paint - could you just use sand paper in a can on the top layer and then paint?
Do you seek a smoother surface but can’t sand because of the dust?
Is there a restoration company in town that you could ask? Or a historical society?
In my area there are restoration specialists as there are so many old homes. Do you have that in your area? I would try to find someone that way rather than just a regular painter.
@abasket , there are so many layers already. With historic stuff like this, you don’t want to obscure the details with 20 layers of paint.
I am thinking a pro might be the way to go. We are in a rural area, and even though there are tons of old houses, it’s not easy to find someone who knows what they’re doing. Lots of skilled painters, but not so many skilled old house people.
) who could safely take it down to bare wood with no chance of lead contamination in your home.