Need to strip paint off stairs

[Lindsey]

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the site. I just bought an 1840 greek revival in Michigan. It's my first house and I'm up to my ears in projects! I have one big one that I need some help with. The staircase has been varnished and painted about a million times, but I really want to get all that junk off so that I can stain it. I have tried using 3M "Safest Stripper" and after 6+ hours, it's really not doing the job, I end up scraping so hard that I gouge the wood and I'm still not getting through all the layers. I'm also going to have a lot of detail work to do on the banister and I just don't think this is going to cut it.

Is this is a good product? Or can you recommend something better? Maybe a better technique?

I have very little experience with stripping paint and need all the help I can get!

[calclan]

My husband uses the infra red paint stripper. It cost about $300.00 but with all the wood he has to get paint off it was worth it. There a web site somewhere that shows you how to make one with yourself but... you just hold the lamp up to the paint it bubbles up and all but falls off wiht just some scrapping. The detail work needs a little more coaxing. My hubby also uses a heat gun. Heres a pic of him using it"

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h310/ ... 0_7887.jpg

and a pic of all the paint off

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h310/ ... 0_8917.jpg

now we're up to the sanding part yuk Send some pics we love to look at the houses! and good luck!

found a web site that shows it working
http://www.eco-strip.com/?refH=goog&t=psr
hope this helps
paula

[rrobinson720]

I've had terrible luck in the past with that 3M Safest Stripper. I just got some SoyGel from The Real Milk Paint COmpany and my sample patch worked pretty well.

I really want a Silent Paint Remover, but I cannot justify the $300 for my needs.

[Lindsey]

Thank you for the replies. I did a search for the web site with instructions to make your own infrared paint remover and I found this http://www.oceanmanorhouse.com/paintremover.html I found it very interesting. I don't know if I'm up to repackaging the quartz heater like he did, but I might see if I can find an inexspensive quartz heater that is the right shape and weight. If that doesn't work, I'll probably try a heat gun. Does anyone have a particular brand or model of heat gun that they prefer?

Thank you for sharing your experience with the 3M safest stripper, I feel better knowing it's not just me I'll keep the soy gel in mind, please let me know how it works out.

[Lindsey]

I am going to order one of these http://www.amazon.com/Marvin-Ceiling-Mount-Heat/dp/B0002VM3KC/sr=8-2/qid=1153676825/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-5058205-3651258?ie=UTF8

I'll let you know how it works out.

[4packgirl]

hey lindsey - i'm new here too & before you go to all that work - be SURE the wood underneath all that paint is decent. it took me HOURS to strip paint off ONE stair step only to find that the wood was NOT nice at all. total bummer!! good luck with your numerous projects.

[Jeanne]

Does anyone have a particular brand or model of heat gun that they prefer?

I recommend a Milwaukee heat gun with 10 temperature settings. I had a Wagner, but it lasted only about a year. I've had my Milwaukee for 5 years now and it's still great.

I stripped the paint off my stairs 97% with the heat gun, then 3% with a chemical stripper. I stripped the shellac off with denatured alcohol. Lots of posts all around this site explaining how to do it easily.

Good luck!

[Lindsey]

Jeanne, do you use any of the heat gun accessories?

[Jeanne]

I used the "pinpoint" attachment when I wanted to focus the heat on a small area. I also used the rectangular attachment when I wanted a broad, flat stream of heat, such as for wide flat areas like the risers and skirtboard.

By the way, if you have a lot of paintstripping to do in the rest of the house, getting an infrared device like the SPR might be a good investment. I did not buy one because at the time (7 years ago) the cost seemed crazy and I, luckily, did not have a lot of rooms that needed paint stripping. And, of course, you can always sell it when you're done with it.

[Lindsey]

I was not able to find any heat guns with multiple or variable temperature settings locally, but I did find a decent deal on a Makita heat gun at Amazon, it had a pretty good review from someone who used it to strip all of the paint in their house. I went ahead and ordered it, hopefully it will be here by this weekend so I can get back to work!

I figure that I'll probably need to have both the heat gun and the infrared heater, which as it turns out is just a plain old quartz heater. I found one at Amazon for $59 http://www.amazon.com/Marvin-Ceiling-Mount-Heat/dp/B0002VM3KC/sr=8-2/qid=1153830933/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-1352154-2960134?ie=UTF8 I have read on other forums that this does work for paint removal, so when it comes time to do the doors and other large surfaces, I'll probably end up ordering the heater too.