Strongest wood stripper for trim?

Eilif · #1 06-22-2010, 02:54 PM

Oh yeah, this is way-off-topic, but TB hasn't steered me wrong in the past.

This weekend I'm reclaiming a bunch of old trim and built-ins from a greystone that's going to be demolished. Unfortunately, most is covered in 90 years of paint!

What's the strongest, fastest wood stripper?

The wood is going to be loose so I will be doing this job outside, thus I don't care if it's uber-toxic.

All I know thus far is that Methylene Chloride is supposed to be one of the stronger ingredients in wood strippers.

iamlowsound · #2 06-22-2010, 02:57 PM

A heat gun would probably work just as well, but I haven't really ever stripped much before.

lowsound

Third Uncle · #3 06-22-2010, 04:31 PM

You might try Gasket Remover from an auto parts store. I've never used it on paint before but I used to use it a lot when I was a gunsmith for stripping gunstocks and it was pretty aggressive on them so I think it would probably work on paint too. A good countoured scraper would be necessary too.

username n/a · #4 06-22-2010, 04:36 PM

Hehe, you said wood stripper.

carl h. · #5 06-22-2010, 04:50 PM

Try oven cleaner. Cheap and fast.

I've salvaged a few old houses which were about to be demolished. A pro in the salvage business said to use oven cleaner for thick coats of paint/finish or whatever if you were stripping it outdoors. I haven't done it myself, but he had a lot of experience on the resale end of the business.

Webtroll · #6 06-22-2010, 04:59 PM

Man I gotta get my mind checked. I saw the words trim and stripper in the title and immediately did not think of wood finishing products.

XigXag · #7 06-22-2010, 09:48 PM

Having done my fair share of stripping wood, Id go with a heat gun myself. Ive only seen the heat gun fail once, and that was literally battleship paint. There was a great deal of battleship paint available as surplus at one time, and if you find it anywhere, You've been beaten, quit now, you cannot win.
Chemical stippers are ok, but they're a messy, and dont always work.
~400 degree heat strips most anything.

kserg · #8 06-22-2010, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by username n/a

Hehe, you said wood stripper.

He is dirty... But, all strippers need a trim, don't matter if it has wood or not.

MakiSupaStar · #9 06-22-2010, 10:56 PM

Well the best way to work a stripper's trim with a little primer. That's almost always money and alcohol, but sometimes you can talk them into some wonderful compromises if you involve a video camera.

Number27 · #10 06-23-2010, 01:17 AM

ususally the stripper with the nicest rack gives me the strongest wood.

hover · #11 06-23-2010, 05:05 AM

gas and a match. it's practically instantaneous.

buzzbass · #12 06-23-2010, 05:57 AM

wood stripper !? on trim !?!?! must be one tough chick

Eilif · #13 06-23-2010, 07:54 AM

Wow, half the posts were actually on topic. I'm pleasantly surprised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by carl h.

Try oven cleaner. Cheap and fast.

I've salvaged a few old houses which were about to be demolished. A pro in the salvage business said to use oven cleaner for thick coats of paint/finish or whatever if you were stripping it outdoors. I haven't done it myself, but he had a lot of experience on the resale end of the business.

Thanks, I have some oven cleaner at home, I'll try it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XigXag

Having done my fair share of stripping wood, Id go with a heat gun myself. Ive only seen the heat gun fail once, and that was literally battleship paint. There was a great deal of battleship paint available as surplus at one time, and if you find it anywhere, You've been beaten, quit now, you cannot win.
Chemical stippers are ok, but they're a messy, and dont always work.
~400 degree heat strips most anything.

Wow, I hope I don't run into any battleship paint.

I have a heat gun, and I figure that I may need to use it. My concern is that there is so much paint on this wood, and so much wood that A heat gun will be a very long process that might scortch the wood.

How do you avoid wood scortching?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Third Uncle

You might try Gasket Remover from an auto parts store.

I'll check in to this product, thanks!

Any other folks have good experience with any paint stripping products?

BurningSkies · #14 06-23-2010, 09:01 AM

I would discourage you to going to strippers for trim.

emor · #15 06-23-2010, 09:04 AM

Are you sure it's worth the hazard, not to mention the expense?

http://www.health.state.ny.us/publications/2502/

Eilif · #16 06-23-2010, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emor

Are you sure it's worth the hazard, not to mention the expense?

http://www.health.state.ny.us/publications/2502/

Definitely worth the expense/trouble.

-Getting the same quality wood would be quite expensive.
-I'm going to do all work outside with a respirator.
-Since going part-time, I've got tons of time on my hands.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

I would discourage you to going to strippers for trim.

Please explain!

BurningSkies · #17 06-23-2010, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eilif

Please explain!

Trim = a slang term for the female genitalia.

Stripper = a woman who displays her trim professionally.

emor · #18 06-23-2010, 07:57 PM

I have never used this myself, but you might want to do some research on this product:

http://www.dumondchemicals.com/html/peelaway.htm

http://www.dumondchemicals.com/html/appsolguide.htm

Looks like if you want to strip the wood to a natural finish you would use the Peel Away 7. You trowel the stuff on and wrap it in a blanket that comes with the product. Let it set overnight and remove the blanket and multiple layers in one step (supposedly).

Methylene chloride is super nasty stuff. I've used it in the past and developed a sensitivity to it.

"IV. SUMMARY
The PEEL-AWAY System has two major advantages for removing lead based paint:
(1)The paste is always keeping the paint in a wet or damp state preventing any lead particles getting into the air or on the surrounding area.
(2) When the stripping job is finished and the cloth is removed the bulk of the paste and paint come off intact on the cloth for easy collection and proper disposal."

Eilif · #19 06-25-2010, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Trim = a slang term for the female genitalia.

Stripper = a woman who displays her trim professionally.

Thanks for the slang review. I assumed you were making a serious contribution.

Quote:

Originally Posted by emor

I have never used this myself, but you might want to do some research on this product:

http://www.dumondchemicals.com/html/peelaway.htm
...

"IV. SUMMARY
The PEEL-AWAY System has two major advantages for removing lead based paint:
(1)The paste is always keeping the paint in a wet or damp state preventing any lead particles getting into the air or on the surrounding area.
(2) When the stripping job is finished and the cloth is removed the bulk of the paste and paint come off intact on the cloth for easy collection and proper disposal."

Thanks!
This looks like a really good product, and there's a few dealers near me. The paint I'm stripping has at least a layer or two of latex on top, but I'll stop in and see if that's a deal killer.

Eilif · #20 07-01-2010, 08:55 AM

Just wanted to give a report. I got the wood out of the house. Before buying anything, I tried out my heat gun on a door, and XIGZAG was right. All of the paint layers, and most of the original varnish comes off in one step!

I'll probably still use a chemcial of some kind for final cleanup, but I don't think I'll have to use anything super toxic.

Thanks folks!