Paint stripping from old doors

[Kearn]

Hi all, just looking for some initial thoughts / experience at this stage - I have a number of internal (the oldest may have once been external) doors to strip, some more urgent than others. Some are almost certainly oak and while probably not original to the house, they are old and of battened floorboard construction, the rest range up through Georgian/Victorian and I expect some to by pine, possible pitch, but all are ledged/braced rather than panelled.

I had planned to do this myself outside, but it seems that the British weather and my timescales have conspired against me. So, I may be able to get away with one or two at a time inside, before I lay a brick floor in an empty room if time allows.

So my Qs really are:
- what are people's thoughts/experience with dipping/stripping - having someone else do this, if genuinely not too expensive this may be appealing given the logistics of me undertaking at least 6 doors probably one at a time. Any recommendations of companies local to Berkshire?
- recommendations for paint stripper if I do it myself? I know some would prefer an eco variety - although I've heard differing options on how well this works. I know I should do this outside, but this may not be probable so will be a well ventilated room plus breathing apparatus as undoubtedly there is lead under there somewhere.
- I've also a reasonable amount of cast iron door furniture to clean up, including some lovely old hinges. Any different products/approach to use here?

Cheers
KLF

 

[lee197960_0]

Hello Kearn, although not local to you I have had a few internal doors stripped so have some first hand experience.

I did some research before having mine done and although there are various scare stories about joints loosening/integrity of the door being compromised etc. I can report no such problems. Infact I was really rather pleased with the results!

Although I too did contemplate stripping them myself in hindsight having someone else do it is so much more convienient! The whole process took about 10 days (apparently its longer as the weather gets colder as the doors have to dry completely before being returned). I also read up on how to finish the stripped doors (again there are various different opinions on this). I went with waxing, the wax being applied with some fine grade steel wool, itself quite a time consuming process. It took me about a couple of hours per door.

I personally have only had a positive expereience with chemical stripping and would recommend.

Hope this helps
Lee

 

[Kearn]

I have had a few internal doors stripped so have some first hand experience.

cheers Lee - good to hear - as I am no longer 100% focussed on restoring our house, this option does appeal slightly, especially as winter approaches...! From what I can see, c.£20 per door, collected puts this into the category of get someone else to do it!

A question, did you have your doors chemical dipped or hand stripped?

I'm not too concerned about the integrity of the doors, certainly not the two oldest, they are solid and very tight. Depending on what wood type and condition I uncover, I expect a sand and wax will follow. happy to do that though.

cheers
KLF

 

[steveb]

We just had 6 internal "art deco" style panel doors doors chemical stripped , about £20 per door - as you say, to do anything else is madness

We used these guys, they collected and returned for free. Not sure how far they travel but you can always ask, or find somewhere local.

www.dipnstrip.co.uk

Did a beautiful job though, far exceeded our expectations. The man said he could have sold the doors several times over if we wanted to

-Steve

 

[paulc]

- recommendations for paint stripper if I do it myself? I know some would prefer an eco variety - although I've heard differing options on how well this works.

I've been trying to strip some assorted lengths of wood trim - Having tried several chemical paint strippers, I'm far from impressed by any of them. Got myself a cheap hot air gun and a hook shave and the paint comes off very easy.

 

[Anonymous]

We had our old plank doors stripped a few months back, we took them up the road to someone who then sent them off to someone in the new forest where the alchemy was performed. I was impressed that the thick pain was for the most part removed, however a lot of the doors were not in the best condition i.e. patched together and not from what I could tell very old... There was one really lovely oak door left which is in good condition but the others I'm wondering why I didn't just buy new one's tbh... That's the trouble with centuries / decades of gloss paint, you don't know what you're getting back until you've spent the money. Not the paint strippers fault I hasten to add he did a really good job.... I think ours were £30 per door.

 

[Kearn]

- recommendations for paint stripper if I do it myself? I know some would prefer an eco variety - although I've heard differing options on how well this works.

I've been trying to strip some assorted lengths of wood trim - Having tried several chemical paint strippers, I'm far from impressed by any of them. Got myself a cheap hot air gun and a hook shave and the paint comes off very easy.

Thanks Paul - have both actually, just less than excited about doing 6 or more whole doors! plus the risk of surface damage to the wood as I'm yet to see the underlying condition. The other reason I mention chems is that I also need to clean up the intricate window furniture on my wrought iron windows, where I physically can't get access. Window frames are easy to scrape and have come up well - the complex handles on the other hand are a very different matter...!

Have you tried Kling Strip? Seems to get reasonable mention on this forum.
http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/products.htm

 

[plasticpigeon]

I don't think caustic stripping of oak is a good idea as I believe it darkens it of turns it grey. When I got caustic stripper on Sapele (mahogany) it went black! Pine strips well, but it depends on how careful the strippers are. The pine will go a kind of golden digestive biscuit colour which is quite nice, but if left in the tank too long it can go a bit furry and compromise the structure of the surface. I've had quite a few doors stripped. It certainly offloads a very unpleasant task, but I have also experienced a few warped panels where it was left in the caustic bath too long.

 

[plasticpigeon]

If you can take the furniture off, use a caustic stripper like kling strip of peelaway 1 for the metal.

 

[Kearn]

I don't think caustic stripping of oak is a good idea as I believe it darkens it of turns it grey. When I got caustic stripper on Sapele (mahogany) it went black! Pine strips well, but it depends on how careful the strippers are. The pine will go a kind of golden digestive biscuit colour which is quite nice, but if left in the tank too long it can go a bit furry

Thanks plasticpigeon, both concerns I had - lots of local stripping companies popping up, but not really found any I'd trust yet with 300yr oak...the pine I'm ok with re-sanding and sealing to de-fuzz. But it's the oak colour action I'm more worried about plus how they may be treated - might manually have a shot at those first myself and see how arduous it is. At least I have enough experience removing cr@p stuff to know it's very therapeutic! So back to the gentle heat gun and trusty Bahco furniture scraper then...

 

[Abi Cott]

I used kling strip on my front door. It made the removal of 16 layers of paint and primer remarkably easy and minimal labour. I can't say it was quick. You have to leave it on for most of the day to get that many layers of in one go, but you can do other stuff whilst it sits and pickles in its cling film jacket.

The bit of the job that was labour intensive was washing the door down afterwards. You have to do this quite thoroughly, but if I'd been able to take it out in the garden and give it a good blast with a pressure washer I think this would have been pretty quick too.

 

[Kearn]

I used kling strip on my front door. It made the removal of 16 layers of paint and primer remarkably easy and minimal labour. I can't say it was quick. You have to leave it on for most of the day to get that many layers of in one go, but you can do other stuff whilst it sits and pickles in its cling film jacket.

The bit of the job that was labour intensive was washing the door down afterwards. You have to do this quite thoroughly, but if I'd been able to take it out in the garden and give it a good blast with a pressure washer I think this would have been pretty quick too.

Sounds encouraging. Pressure washing outside is no issue, thorough drying out may be a different challenge!! What was the wood?

 

[Abi Cott]

Early Victorian pine.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I've thought, peelaway 7 is a solvent based poultice. This shouldn't damage the oak like a caustic stripper would. Maybe kling strip do a similar alternative. Might be worth a try.

 

[Kearn]

I've thought, peelaway 7 is a solvent based poultice. This shouldn't damage the oak like a caustic stripper would. Maybe kling strip do a similar alternative. Might be worth a try.

I'll take a look at both options - not brand loyal to either, so whatever may give me the least chance of damage!! Thanks

 

[Kearn]

Looks like some samples are required...

For oak, it seems a catch22:
Caustic = risk discoulouring the wood, but can deal with likely lead paint somewhere underneath.
Solvent = shouldn't discolour the oak, but also might not cut through the lead paint, if present.

Frankly, the cost of strippers alone (oh-er), regardless of my time invested, is really encouraging me to just let someone else deal with this on the pine doors! While it feels like cheating, for around £20/door it's a no brainer, surely?!

Time to coax off a few trial patches of paint gently methinks and see what sort of wood we are dealing with...

 

[Abi Cott]

Have a chat with Strippers of Sudbury. They are LOVELY. I called them and they were amazingly helpful, very knowledgeable and happy to impart advice.

I'm wary of dipping for all the reasons you've already mentioned, but for the oak? door I think you should bite the bullet and strip it yourself.

 

[Kearn]

Have a chat with Strippers of Sudbury. They are LOVELY. I called them and they were amazingly helpful, very knowledgeable and happy to impart advice.

I'm wary of dipping for all the reasons you've already mentioned, but for the oak? door I think you should bite the bullet and strip it yourself.

Thanks - I'll give them a call and pick their brains.

Some of the other later pine doors I'm not sure will be that worth dipping/stripping to be fair as there's not too much interest to them, so may hold fire there and focus on the two oldest that have the most potential to be oak - both will be worth getting back to wood regardless given where they are in the house and the detailing is lovely. Downside is the damn detailing!! Bloody mounded battens and other aesthetic surface interest ...!

 

[Abi Cott]

 

[Abi Cott]

It took the paint off 95% of the door in one go. Where it failed I didn't put it on thick enough which was actually on the flat bits. All the paint off all the mouldings in one go. Spread it on like royal icing. A nice thick layer. Wrap it in cling film (this may require a second pair of hands for a couple of minutes my neighbour gave me a hand which helped a huge amount). Squidge out the air bubbles. Sit on your arse or do a bit of housework. When your front door opens onto the pavement there are limits to how far you can wander, though the front yard of the pub across the road is not to be ruled out Give it as long as possible. I discovered that shutting it overnight was possible and didn't appear to effect the stripping potential as the door is a bit loose in its hole anyway. I applied it about 12noon and removed it the following day and used a tub of kling strip. I could probably have stripped it earlier but I was asleep.

The key is applying it thick enough so it doesn't dry out in the length of time you're leaving it.