stripping lime paint from wood

[charlie-ia]

we just rebuilt a sash window. first attempt and im really proud! we tried this one because we thought it was about ruined and we couldnt make it much worse. perhaps we used too much filler and should have used more wood, but never mind. the putty was the hardest bit! (dont try removing putty handprints with white spirit from a freshly painted surface )

we tried various strippers (nitromors, klingstrip and a thick one whose name i forget but didnt like) all worked ok, but none seemed to remove the bottom layer which i am assuming was limewash. (if its not, any suggestions? offwhite and chalky). perhaps i should have left the clingstrip much longer? the gloss came off so easily as it was very flaky to start with.

is sanding the only way to get this bottom layer off?
i tried vinegar but this made the wood soft and fibery and didnt really affect the paint, and because it was only in patches sanding/wire wool removed the wood at the edges of it as much as removing the paint.
eventually i painted over the whole lot and it doesnt look so bad, but id like to do a better job on the rest of the windows.

we got 3 free sash window catches in the hardware store cos "they dont sell them anymore." work that one out?! real brass too!
:lol:

 

[NT]

Congrats - good isnt it

I've seen it recommended not to remove sound older paint layers paint from sashes as its generally leaded, and lead paint has greater protective properties. Never sand it to remove it, people have landed in hospital like that. Ditto blowtorches, lead should be wet stripped to avoid dust.


NT

 

[Lady_Mari]

Couldn't that base coat just be primer?

 

[charlie-ia]

im fairly sure it wasnt primer(though i dont know) all the other layers blistered off almost immediately, and it wasnt a difficult job. the hardest bit was not fiddling with it untill the 20 minutes was up! the final layer didnt seem to be affected by the stripper at all, though it did seem to absorb it - turned chalky beige insted of chalky white, and dried out to its origonal colour.same with the application of white spirit. and vinegar, and water.

our local joiner put in a new window in 1977, and rekons the rest of them are "surely at least 100years old" Did they use some kind of primer back then?

i bought a good dust mask too, makes me look like some wierd spacemole.