Infra red paint/putty removal

[inwood]

Anyone know if there's a UK equivalent of this tool:
http://www.silentpaintremover.com/

It's an infrared paint remover which softens rather than melts paint making it easy to remove paint (as well as softening putty without affecting the glass).

 

[inwood]

Just found one, a bit more expensive than I was hoping :shock:

http://www.irprosystems.co.uk/Speedheater.html

 

[AMc]

I believe they're also known as putty lamps
e.g.
http://www.holkham.co.uk/linseedpaints/otherproducts/puttylamp.html

Available to hire here, though I have NO knowledge of them just came up on Google.
http://www.heritage-house.org/holkham.html

Be warned that you may be able to get old glass out in one piece but we weren't able to put ours back. It cracked when pressed into the putty - don't know if we were heavy handed, did something wrong with the putty or 100 years had weakened the glass but there it was. When we had to reglaze sashes with 4mm float we needed to rebalance the weights as the thicker panes were heavier.

 

[HeatherJ]

(Hooray! A thread I can contribute knowledgeably about...)

I have a speed heater. It was expensive but I use it all the time so it was worth it. It is great for stripping very thick layers of old paint from large flat surfaces - on a good day with a sharp scraper I can even get the primer off in one go, without damaging the wood underneath. (I am currently liberating the (very soft) gumwood trim of a Canadian prairie style arts & crafts house from layers of peach gloss :shock: without damaging it. )
If you have acres of flat, thickly painted wood surfaces I would highly recommend it - they are popular in N. America for restoring wooden siding. DIY instructions to make your own here: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14819 and that site (The Old House) has lots of threads discussing the uses and limitations of speedheaters. I love it but it does have the limitation that it is truly hopeless if you have corners and fiddly bits, and even with a lot practice I have glass crack when I use it for sash windows... You are welcome to come and try it out when you are next in Toronto :lol:

The other paint stripping idea that is popular in N. America, but I don't think that I have seen mentioned here, is a steam box (for example - http://historichomeworks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481&sid=1d83aefa0184ecce6a347841decd56f8) I am a bit nervous of exposing bare wood to so much water, and obviously it is only useful for wood that can be detached from the house... What are you trying to paint strip?

-H.

 

[d49xc]

In terms of paint removal (in the UK) anyway, I suppose I should mention the usual Health warning about old paint that it usually has lots of lead in it and using a blowlamp/hot air gun on lead paints to strip and remove them is propably not good for your health long term.

In reply to an earlier post: When I need 3mm glass I just ask for 3mm float. Sometimes I get the usual the "standard is now 4mm" but I just wearily sigh and say no, I need 3mm float please: and it gets done for me
Indeed for sash windows it is essential you get 3mm as the sashes will certainly be unbalanced weightwise: to be fair most glass merchants are aware of this issue.
Leaded lights also will need 3mm
You can choose to fit 3mm horticulural glass (ie lower quality) rather than 3mm float to "simulate" old glass.
In other cases uit is simply that the window frame recess was sized up for 3mm and fitting 4mm will make the putty beading look wrong.

I've certainly had "fun" removing very old leaded light panels in a metal window to do a proper repair flat on the table and replace the bodged up repair done many years ago in situ: and then put the panel back in again....all without damaging the panel/leads/panes. The putty on these was as hard as stone: lots of time was spent chipping it out.

 

[biffvernon]

Gosh, I see the price of a putty lamp has about doubled since the last time I looked. They do work - I've used one - but it's going to be an expensive repair if you buy this tool as a one off!

A cheaper option is to use one of those back and forth electric multi-tool things. Carefully.

 

[Feltwell]

Anyone know if there's a UK equivalent of this tool:
http://www.silentpaintremover.com/

That website does a 220volt version that should be OK for the UK - I know we're on 240 volt, but plenty of items I see declare themselves to be 230 or 220 volt and seem to work OK. Still not cheap though!

 

[Moneypit]

We have one of these, and got it from Irprosystems. They are expensive but work extremely well. If working on vertical surfaces they are rather heavy to hold after a while. There is an adjustable stand system but that of course is yet more money. The scrapers are excellent too and well worth buying even if you don't go for the heater.

 

[biffvernon]

I know we're on 240 volt,

Well, that's not the whole truth. Following voltage harmonization, electricity supplies within the European Union are now nominally 230 V ± 10% at 50 Hz

 

[Flyfisher]

Following voltage harmonization, electricity supplies within the European Union are now nominally 230 V ± 10% at 50 Hz

. . . which more than encompasses 220 or 240 Volts. It's a wonderful bit of 'harmonisation' really because it means the UK can stay on 240V and mainland Europe on 220V and equipment manufacturers continue to make products that work on the full range anyway, just as they always have done. In other words some European working party probably spent many years and millions of euros on studies, reviews and recommendations to come up with something that required no change.

Most appliances are designed to be pretty tolerant of our mains power these days and devices that require more accurate power (e.g. computers, TVs etc) typically use 'universal' power supplies that can cope with any mains voltage or frequency throughout the world.

 

[biffvernon]

In other words some European working party probably spent many years and millions of euros on studies, reviews and recommendations to come up with something that required no change.

Or perhaps it was decided during a coffee break, what with it being the bleedin' obvious. Why is Euro-skeptism the default viewpoint? Voltage is actually varied as a load management tool along with frequency which is continuously varying around 50Hz.

 

[Flyfisher]

You have more faith in bureaucracy than me Biff. Having been involved with a couple of European ESPRIT projects in my previous life, I've experience a small part of the European 'machine' at first hand. I doubt they could decided on how to make their coffee during a coffee break, nevermind 'harmonise' a technical specification across all the member countries. Still, nice work if you can get it. :wink:

Agreed about the mains variations for load management though, which is why mains powered devices have to be so tolerant in the first place. However, the frequency variations are strictly managed to a high degree of average accuracy to ensure that synchronous clocks and timers remain accurate. Although even this is a bit redundant these days with radio-based time signals and internet time-servers distributing atomic clock timing around the world.

 

[Moneypit]

and there goes another thread topic off on a tangential journey

 

[Flyfisher]

Only after the original question was answered though.

 

[worms]

I doubt they could decided on how to make their coffee during a coffee break....

One of the delights of Brussels is the variation in coffee breaks! In my experience, EU meetings in Italian offices produce the most wonderful espresso, while the French do a great full roast cafe noir. My experience of British EU meetings is that we have a lot to learn from our continental brethren, at least when it comes to coffee breaks!

 

[Schoolmarm]

hmmmmmmmmmmm