Tongue and groove panelling

[Ed Holloway]

I've just moved into a Victorian 2-up, 2-down terrace house, which has what I'm guessing is pine tongue and groove panelling half way up the wall in the hall and on the stairs. The previous owners have painted it with a very thick coat of silver gloss paint which I'd like to remove, but I'm not sure the best way to do this without ruining the panelling. Or am I better off removing the panelling entirely? Any advice on how best to get the house looking the way it should rather than a changing-rooms style disaster would be very welcome.

Thanks

Ed

 

[Nemesis]

You can use chemical stripper to get rid of the paint - try Nitromors (the white spirit washable) or contact Strippers of Sudbury for a poultice stripper.

You will probably find the wood is pitch pine and if you don't want to repaint it will respond well to wax polishing.

 

[Ed Holloway]

Thanks Nemesis, I’ll give that a go.

I found the following quote on this website http://www.makingdiyeasier.co.uk/faqs/nitromors.html#pvremovers, which seems to indicate that working on large indoor areas isn’t a good idea. Are they just being over precautious, or can there be a genuine problem with fumes? Presumably if work on smallish areas at a time it should be alright?

Thanks

Ed

Q. Can I use Nitromors indoors?
A. We always recommend that you try to do any paint stripping outdoors but always in a very well ventilated, cool place. We strongly recommend that you do not use Nitromors Paint & Varnish Removers indoors for large surface areas.

 

[citizensmith]

What ever you do, only strip relatively small areas at one time or you will get into one hell of a mess very quickly. Get some good rubber gloves as it burns skin quickly and only work on small areas so tha the stuff doesnt dry completely before you scrape it.
Open some doors/windows to get a good draught going and i think you should be OK.

 

[Moo]

Or - use one of the paste systems, such as Peelaway. No fumes at all (though you must protect your skin).

 

[Nemesis]

Well I've used it and I'm still here... But yes a small area at a time, and obviously take care it burns, and ventilate the place well. Dispose of safely.

 

[Ed Holloway]

Thanks everyone, I'll make sure I invest in some decent rubber gloves etc

 

[Silas]

I have done doors and skirting with a heat gun, I think you can hire them,
You sould practice on some scrap wood first as you have to judge the optimum point at which the paint bubbles and can be scraped off ( hook scaper is the best tool) as if you leave it too long the wood will skorch.
After stripping the wood give it a sanding and then wax. As with chemicals open doors and winows and wear a mask when both stripping and sanding.

 

[sarahj]

yes it burns - i got some in my eye last week and it hurt alot. :wink: no long term damage done though I think the bread man thought i was winking at him the next day. :wink:

 

[middi]

Heat guns are a short cut to strip unwanted paints etc.. from wood surfaces, in most cases you will end up with blotchy charred patches and from a restoration point of view a complete mess.

The various stripping chemical agents on the market are more suitable if the manufacturers instruction are followed together with a good bit of patience and effort.

 

[Antwerpman]

I bought a bosh 'professional' heat gun with a digital read out on the back. This allows you to alter the heat of the gun in 10° steps and to alter the flow in about 5 or 6 levels. Once I got this set up I have scraped doors and windows without a single burn mark anywhere (I used other heat guns before and did indeed get the dreaded burning). Well worth it in my opinion and much easier/quicker/cheaper than chemicals alone (if you have enough to justify the original investment)

What I actually ended up doing was applying kling-strip after I had used the heat gun and it brought the wood up like new, and doing it this way saved considerably on kling-strip

 

[Silas]

I agree Heat guns can cause patchy results, but like any tool or skill it is simply a matter of practice before you are able to get good results, after using one for several jobs you begin to get an eye for the optimum point at which the paint blisters and you ease the heat away and scrape the paint off. I have acheeved excellent results on both ledge and brace and panel doors skirtings architraves and stairs. The oldest layers of paint do not respond as well and this is were the highest risk of scorching the wood is as the temptation is to try and burn it off when infact its best to leave it to chemicals or sanding. In short a gun will remove the bulk of generations of paint very effectivley but forget it when trying to remove very old paints and varnishes, slap on a poltis for that. As always put on a mask and eye protection keep the place well ventilated and dont bite off more un you can chew.

 

[Geoffrey]

I just used a very basic heat gun for the first time and didn't have a problem with scorching. It was only one window frame though - and relatively recent ie not too many coats of paint. I guess a stripper is better for a large expanse.

 

[plumbers mate]

When my mother had our house repainted when I was a kid we had the fire engine called out because they set the front bay window alight ... proper blow tourch flames in them days, none of these poncy electric heat guns..... I understand they use blow torches to burn the top of your dinner in some posh caffs now. (Called "caramalising" I think)

Seriously, when I stripped the paint off my internal doors with Nitromors I realised the error as there was a lot of early scorching from the previous paint removal - not only that but the doors really should be painted!

 

[Nemesis]

I have one of those posh heat guns for creme brulee, but since I read it could cause the sugar to become carcinogenic I have only used it to light firelighters for the stove - a task it performs remarkably well.


I do recall we had long posts in the past about heat guns and lead, but I can't recall if this kills you eventually or not.

 

[CHRIS]

When using a heat gun I use it to heat the blade of whatever I am using to scrape with, this seams to be the best way I have found of getting the thick stuff off, but as Silas says it is upto the person using it to not get carried away and then scorch the timber! like most things go sloooooooooooooow and it will be ok.

 

[Silas]

If you leave the iron in one place too long it will burn your trousers, same principle with a heat gun, gently dose it , slowly slowly catchey monkey.

As for fumes and dust as I stressed do don an apropriate mask and open doors and windows, also when sanding old wood it is prudent to both ventilate the area and seal the rest of the house ie close doors to other rooms and tape them up, also if possible keep a hoover going to suck away as much dust as possible, you can attach them to electric sanders or hold them near when manually sanding.

If you love to see bare wood go for it, however a painted finish is more in keeping with period property, my preference is for a mixture of both, ie painted door and stripped architrave or vice versa, T&G looks better with a painted finish IMHO but its your house.

 

[Becka]

based on a bad experience when i decided to burn some old painted wood, I'd say avoid heatguns + lead paint, esp indoors.. can't say for certain what it was in the old paint that gave me an almighty headache and made me feel distinctly nauseous, but it was definatly not something I'd want to repeat, i suppose melting would be a little less gassy than full on burning, but I doubt it'd be good..