Removing paint from red brick masonry

Discussion in 'Painters' Talk' started by Gaulirmorn, Jul 13, 2005.

  1. Gaulirmorn

    Gaulirmorn New Member

    Hi folks,

    Our house is a 1920’s red brick terrace. It was council owned until we purchased it in 2002, and originally had a veranda on the back.

    Before we moved in and without our approval, the council gutted the house, demolishing said veranda in the process. Much to our frustration however, they deigned NOT to remove the concrete floor, rubble, rotten window/door frames, or the large chunks of mortar still attached to the brickwork where the veranda joined with the back wall of the house.

    More frustratingly, the veranda’s interior was painted, not papered and this paint has also been left on the back of house, covering pretty much the majority of the bottom half of the house. As you can imagine, this is pretty ugly, and I have recently turned my attention to trying to remove the paint. And this is where I could do with some advise.

    The mess is made up of several layers of paint, none of which appear to be emulsion. There seems to be a cream layer, followed by a blue layer, then another cream and then white. I have my suspicions that the blue layer may be lead based, I don’t know why, and the white topcoats (there are several) seem to be gloss!

    I have tried Nitromorse paint stripper, which only sent the white paint ‘goopy’, and smeared it everywhere. I have had more success with a heat gun in that it removes the layers of white paint, but the blue and cream remain fervently glued to the brickwork! I have spent about 120 hours stripping over the past few months, and have not even covered a quarter of the area yet, AND I’ve STILL got the blue paint to tackle ONCE I’ve got the white off!

    We discovered an original bricked up hearth in our kitchen, which my husband opened up, cleaned up and sealed. It’s our pride and joy, but my husband spent several weeks removing the paint with the heat gun, then scraping it, then sanding it and finally scrubbing it with a couple of coats of an acid based compound.

    Considering the size of the chimney breast, it is going to kill me if I have to follow the same procedure as my hubby on what is effectively 4/5ths of the lower back wall of the house!

    I really need some advice on a paint-stripping product that will remove this paint as quickly, effectively and cleanly as possible. There are so many products about, and I don’t want to waste my money (which is very tight as present) buying something that is going to be ineffective.

    I was wondering if anyone has tried Kling Strip, Peel Away 1, or Peel Away 7?

    Thanks for your input,

    Debs
     
  2. What was the question????

    1) If you think there is lead in the paint insist the council test it (environ health dept).

    2) If money is tight and you have a system that works, however laborious, then keep at it...One sq m at a time.

    I think you only have two options. Both require external appointment.

    1) Have the back of the house rendered or
    2) Approach a removal specialist e.g sand blaster

    Approx cost of either £400-£600. Bear in mind that any chemical treatment has to be applied very liberally(cost£££'s), allowed to soak and reapplied over and over again. It then requires elbow grease and patience.

    Did your solicitor agree that this would be the condition of the property when you purchased it? If so I hope you negotiated a discount, if not i'd want to know why not.

    Good luck,

    DFP
     
  3. Gaulirmorn

    Gaulirmorn New Member

    What was the question????

    "I was wondering if anyone has tried Kling Strip, Peel Away 1, or Peel Away 7?"


    1) If you think there is lead in the paint insist the council test it (environ health dept).

    Trying to get our council to collect the rubbish is hard enough, getting a test out of them is going to be nigh on impossible...

    2) If money is tight and you have a system that works, however laborious, then keep at it...One sq m at a time.

    Yes, money is tight, but if any of the products mentioned above do 'what it says on the tin', then I would be prepared to give them a go.

    I think you only have two options. Both require external appointment.

    1) Have the back of the house rendered or

    Neither my husband or I would even consider render, it is ugly, unsympathetic and hides a multitude of sins/problems. Red brick terraced houses in our locale that have been rendered have suffered serious damp problems over the years.

    2) Approach a removal specialist e.g sand blaster

    I have been advised by other sites not to sand blast under any circumstances as the seriously damages the exterior of the bricks / mortor.

    Approx cost of either £400-£600. Bear in mind that any chemical treatment has to be applied very liberally(cost£££'s), allowed to soak and reapplied over and over again. It then requires elbow grease and patience.

    Did your solicitor agree that this would be the condition of the property when you purchased it? If so I hope you negotiated a discount, if not i'd want to know why not.

    We bought the house at a vastly reduced rate, for a quarter of its current value.

    Thanks for your advice.

    Good luck,

    DFP
     
  4. G Bush

    G Bush Member

    Seems to me that your danged council should award themselves an ASBO. However, you asked about paint removal from your brickwork using Kling Strip, Peel Away 1, or Peel Away 7. You may wish to try a similar and probably cheaper method that will work for oil-based paint. You will need a plastic bucket, rubber gloves safety goggles and a short length of wood to stir the mixture
    The Mixture:- caustic soda and water and any old baking flour (about a pound).
    Method:- Make up a caustic soda solution by adding the soda to the water at the rate of 300grams per liter (N.B. First pour the water into the bucket before adding the soda). Then stir in the flour to a porridge like consistency. Apply the mixture like a poultice to the painted area using an old brush or a flat paint scraper. Leave for two days then remove the mixture and hose down brick work with preferably a high pressure hose.
    Thar ya go
    Dubya
     
  5. clooney clone

    clooney clone Member

    I stripped paint off the whole front of my house. I used a product called 'Peelaway' by Langlow and I bought it at B&Q but don't know if they still sell it. Saw it in local hardware shop recently though. It is a bucket of caustic soda in a paste, 2 sq m/pot. Work from top to bottom in columns. You chalk or pencil a square 1m x 1m, smear it on, apply sheet of special paper that comes with it and smooth out bubbles and leave for 24 hours (doesn't work in cold weather, I found to my cost). Peel sheet off and paste & paint comes with it. Hose off with HOT water and a real bristle scrubbing brush. Soda residue will eat your window frame paintwork (and possibly frames themselves if aluminium or PVC!) so accept you will have to repaint them. I wore serious elbow-length rubber gloves (from Travis Perkins) but still have an upper arm scar from the rinse-off process.
    If you really work the paste into every crevice and leave it for long enough you will never know your house was painted.
    Sand blasting or abrasive discs ('spinning machine') will penetrate the kiln-fired skin of the bricks and leave them porous and looking a different colour to your neighbours'. Set aside a few weekends and for about £200 you will have an immaculate wall.
     
  6. Sugerandspice66

    Sugerandspice66 New Member

    Am trying this today April 2015 thank you for posting help there are finger splodges of emulation on our brickwork quite a bit I tried to Scrub off with caustic soda and water but seemed to make wall worse and spread paint hopefully this will work! Kids were severely reprimanded!
     
  7. Boolay

    Boolay Member

    Peelaway 1 or 7 is very good. 1 is for older paints (lead) but requires neutralising with acetic acid before repainting (if required) and 7 is for modern waterbased paints and doesn't need neutralising.
     
  8. Jitender

    Jitender Screwfix Select

    Make sure you wear some gloved when working with peelaway, it is very acidic and will burn you hands. Good product though.

    If you are not sure whether to go for 1 or 7, there are tester pot available.
     
  9. Ghost-1

    Ghost-1 Active Member

    Go into any decent Hire shop, they do quite a few machines that will do the job, depending on severity of surface.
     

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