Removing paint from Beams

[OldCottageBlooms]

Hi I have joined today. I live in a 300 year old cottage, formerly a country inn up until early 1960’s. I moved here 3 years ago. Previously, owners have painted beams black gloss, the next set of owners went for white matt paint. Realise it will be a huge job, but doing it piecemeal. Don’t want to contemplate sandblasting, the very thought makes me shudder. However, chemical process also makes me uneasy, although I realise this is most likely my only option. I was wondering if any of you could recommend a paint remover with a low volatile organic compound (VOC)? I am sure this subject has been covered numerous times on here, so apologies if you’re rolling your eyes and thinking “oh not another newbie asking the same old questions.”

 

[Cubist]

History does repeat itself with sometimes annoying regularity - I'm sure that one of our regular contributors, with more experience of 'stripping' than I will soon be along to provide chapter and verse. Good luck.

 

[malcolm]

If the first layers of paint are oil based paint then a heat gun and scraper might be worth a shot.

Paint strippers tend to be focussed on specific types of paint. If you have one type of paint on top of another the stripper for the coat underneath might not get through the paint on top.

 

[OldCottageBlooms]

If the first layers of paint are oil based paint then a heat gun and scraper might be worth a shot.

Paint strippers tend to be focussed on specific types of paint. If you have one type of paint on top of another the stripper for the coat underneath might not get through the paint on top.

I have done a patch test with Nitromors and the paint did come away quite easily, easier than I thought it would. I’m just concerned about possibly damaging the wood.