Removing Paint from Walls

[Seanie_230]

Hi All
What is the best way to remove white paint on a house.
It is so ugly and is fading away over time but i want to give it a helping hand.
its that or repaint the lower half white again as it looks tired at the moment
Cheers All

 

[Penners]

That's a "how long is a piece of string" question!

What is the construction of the house? Are you removing the paint from brick, concrete render, lime render. timber-frame and daub... or what? What type of paint is it?

 

[robgil]

A photo might help.
You could use chemicals , machines or good old elbow grease and sandpaper.

 

[Seanie_230]

there we go, sandpaper what about an electric sander with a low or high course paper?

 

[Penners]

what about an electric sander with a low or high course paper?

Try it and see. I suggest using a good quality silicon carbide paper. Try a P80 grade and if that's not aggressive enough, reduce to P60 or P40.

Just be careful to take off the paint without cutting off the face of the brick.

 

[agbagb]

A chemical stripper and power washer would be an easy start. A cup brush on an angle grinder should sort out the remaining tough bits.

 

[robgil]

I would probably go with chemicals on that.
Have a word with these guys,
http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/
They are very good and are very much into building conservation, their sister company is Anglia Lime.

 

[worms]

Try a P80 grade and if that's not aggressive enough, reduce to P60 or P40.

How about a P45?

 

[vicky whitworth]

Hi Seanie, funny how we are all different. I quite like the faded out paint look and it helps brighten what looks like a darkish corner. I'd have to do something about the back door though

 

[AMc]

I'd start with a scrubbing brush and a bucket of water.
If that doesn't work then on to a pressure washer.
I might consider a stiff brush and steam wallpaper stripper if you have one to hand.
Then I'd try a cup brush on a drill or grinder.

I can't see any point in trying to sand porous brick unless they're very smooth you'll still end up with lots of paint in the dips and an immense amount of horrible dust - if you do go that route then googles, gloves and mask are a must.

We had a large internal painted wall in similar nick and a working over with the pressure washer (while it was open to the elements) brought it back to brick without issue. Once stripped back it was repainted in "slaked lime" coloured distemper from Little Greene which looks great.

 

[Penners]

How about a P45?

If I've heard that phrase once, I've heard it a hundred times.