Stone Work That Surrounds Victorian Sash Windows

[sleepy]

Hi

What is the stone work that surrounds sash windows called?
Originally It was grey in colour, plain, curved from the window and sits proud on the red brick work, there is also a ledge. I have stripped recorded the sash windows, new parting bead etc, they look amazing. I have now stripped the stone surrounds, the old white gloss that was painted on unfortunately is still present in places along with a few cracks. It's a shame as these would probably look great if they were bare and natural. Does anyone know how a diyer could completely strip them bare, I have used a sander but am wasting mt time. Most people paint these white, does anyone know of a special paint and colour to use to try to replicate a natural look. The stone is of a grey colour and smooth, it reminds me a bit like pumice stone. Just wondered if there was a particular make of paint or colour I could use. I have looked into this a little and it says use a limewash.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
J

 

[dandrew]

Hi Sleepy,

Ledge sticking out = cill/sill
Verticals = jambs
top horizontal = head/lintel

I've stripped several generations of various oil-based paints off cills and gateposts at my house and have to say don't start it unless you mean to finish it, as it cane be depressingly slow progress. The best method I found was:

Step 1. Hot air gun and paint scraper to get as much off as possible. Use a nozzle so that you don't strip the paint of the sashes or heat the glazing. If you have plasticky masonary paint I found that most chemical strippers won't touch it unless you get rid of as much as possible
Step 2. Liquid stripper painted on and left for a couple of hours. Blast off with a patio washer but be careful with soft stone as the high pressure jet can easily carve chunks out of your masonry. Regrettably methylene chloride Nitromors is no longer available, and the product that still bears its name is not that good. I used a product from Strippers of Sudbury (lots of folks here do, see their website) that is good but not great.
Step 3: Caustic paste-based stripper (again from the Sudbury people) covered with a PVC film overnight. This is the final clean up and works best where you have paint residue on the surface that doesn't penetrate deeply. Clean up with water and a scrubbing brush plus elbow grease.

For me my cills cleaned up quite easily, probably about 3-4 hrs per cill, but the gateposts were tortuous, primarily because of a rusticated finish the mason carved on them - I'm thinking 15 - 20 hrs per post and I still haven't finished (but v. close now).

The benefit, as you know, is that they look much better afterwards !

David

 

[sleepy]

Thanks David, I did it the same way as you said heat gun but with a chisel, then used nitromous,I agree as you say not what it used to be. I wish I still had some of the old stuff. I think the bits of paint are too embedded in. I will post a picture see if you think it will come off with a jet washer.


Regards
J

 

[JoceAndChris]

Limewash is best for replicating stone, you'll need a lot of samples to get close to your local stone colour. Try Rose of Jericho or Womersleys. I've just used "Naples" for replicating the golden Jurassic limestone of Lincs.

 

[a twig]

I've used these on my angle grinder to great effect on our Bath Stone Ashlar - http://www.screwfix.com/p/non-woven-preparation-wheel-115mm/83915, as I have had to use a silicon carbide flap wheel to remove great chunks of poorly applied stone filler etc, so wanted something to polish them flat after.

The prep wheels are not aggressive at all - the wheels wear out quite quickly so worth buying two, use a light pressure and keep the grinder moving steadily and you get a beautiful smooth finish, and it whips off any remaining bits of paint. Usual caveat about having appropriate PPE etc.