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Hi there,
I was wondering if I could get some advice on stripping oil based paints. I recently got a whole bucnh of rough cedar fence boards and want to make boxes out of them. They have on side completly painted with oil based exterior paint. How do I get it off with out damageing the would, quickly and with out going through a package of 50gt sandpaper?
Cheers and thanks.
John
Gel paint stripper - don't know brand names in Canada - then sandpaper
If you have a space outside that is suitable the the best way to remove the paint is to burn it off.
A propane torch or similar and a scraper is all you need.
Set up the boards on some stands or lay them on the ground if you don't mind bending over.
Heat a small section of the paint,(about a square foot ) if its oil base it will blister up, scrape it with the scraper it should come off and leave you with bare timber, which will only need light sanding.
Go easy, too much heat and you will char the timber, sometimes the top layers of paint blister off underneath ones and you have to repeat the heat on them.
The paint usually goes out and you get no flames after blistering but some paint may continue to burn once scraped and removed. Usually a pat with the scraper or a foot puts it out.
Once you get the hang of it its very quick, you will only use a few cents of gas and won't have stripper etc to get off once the paints gone which can be a major pain as it soaks into the wood.
Just use a bit of common sense as to where you do this so the fire doesn't get away from you. A concrete slab in the open or bare ground is good I do it on my driveway.
heh I get to play with fire to do it? Awesome.
Thank you kindly.
john
Feed them through a thicknesser ... quickest and easiest way to do it (or even using a hand electric planer). But note that the blades will be pretty shot by the end of it.