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yvoflyer
24-08-2008, 10:43 PM
looking for some tips on how to turn white staircase rail and landing rail from white, (been white for over 20 years bout ten coats of gloss) to hopefully a finish that looks like pine

smokeyeyes
24-08-2008, 11:49 PM
I know someone who recently stripped heavily painted wood right back to the bare wood. They used a type of thing (don't know proper name for it ) it looks like a hairdryer (think it was bought in lidl/aldi ) not expensive, and it just burned/melted paint from wood and was easily scraped off. Much better than nitramors (sp) and less messy. Would imagine you would get similar in DIY shop.

yvoflyer
25-08-2008, 08:21 AM
thanks for that advice will check it out

Bunty
25-08-2008, 07:17 PM
Hi,

I think what smokeyeyes is talking about, is a blow-lamp. They are great for removing heavy old paint however unless you are extremely careful, I would be reluctant to use one myself especially indoors, a blow-lamp can be quite dangerous unless used professionally.

This is just my opinion & i'm open to correction.

Best of luck with project.

Regards,
Bunty

sharon2
25-08-2008, 08:27 PM
there is a chemical called nitromore not sure on spelling in any hardware. Very good. but strong u need black rubber gloves. put in a dish not plastic and dab on with paint brush. u will c the paint life stright a way. scrape off with a paint scraper and then sand. works wonders

narki
25-08-2008, 09:53 PM
Hi Yvoflyer

I have done this before on a couple of occasions ( for myself and then for my sister who loved the job I had done ) It can be quite time consuming but worth it in the end . What you need is a heat gun ( they are not as dangerous as a blow lamp ) they are around €30 in argos. You just heat the paint and follow behind it with a scrapper and the paint just falls off , then to remove any last bits of paint you will need to apply paint stripper , nitromors is very good but get the gel kind it stays on better , dash it on a smal area at a time with a small paint brush and leave for a couple of minutes then remove with rough wire wool. After you have all the paint off wash all the wood down with white spirits , it will clean it up and also neutralise the paint stripper. Finally sand it all down and varnish .

A couple of words of warning - wear thick rubber gloves when using paint stripper , it will burn you if you get any on your skin and lastly do not go near the paint stripper with the heat gun - as the fumes that it can give off if heated are highly dangerous .

smokeyeyes
26-08-2008, 01:52 AM
That's the thing I was trying to think of name for. Heat Gun. But when I seen it used they didn't need to use nitramors, paint came clean away. Maybe just give wood a good sanding with either fine wire wool or one off those block sanders. And as Narki says rub wood down with white spirits. By the way the heat gun I heard of was only arount €7 in Lidl, so would be worth keeping an eye out for.

zuess
27-08-2008, 02:29 PM
Hi Aldi has a heatgun this week for €14.99


http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/2867_6823.htm

yvoflyer
27-08-2008, 07:24 PM
thanks to all of u looking forward to gettin it started now

Kernow
28-08-2008, 10:23 AM
WARNING: If the paint is 20 years old, it will be lead based, so if your going to strip it with a heat gun, invest in a really good face mask, it will be worth it.

noddytown
03-10-2011, 05:04 PM
Kernow is right , if using a heat gun wear a good quality breathing apparatus / mask . Not the cheapest one . How much is your your lung protection worth ? It will be a time consuming job to strip it all especially the nooks and crannies . You might prefer to grain the lot . Either sand it all just enough to remove the glossy sheen (to give the paint a 'key' or 'grip' ) Or you can use a product from good paint shops called ' Gloss off' . Rub on with a cloth and it will remove the glossy sheen ( and from anything you spill it on )
Then apply two coats of oil based undercoating paint .To achieve a light oak finish , use a cream undercoat. To make a pine, teak or mahogany finish use pink oil based undercoat paint.
Next go to a paint shop and get a small tin of scumble . (a thick wood stain ) Oil based if possible , though new stock in shops might be water based . Which ever you use stir it well and add a drop of thinners (white spirits or water which ever the case ) Paint each string on the stairs or any small areas first with a 1 inch brush , then have another new 1 inch brush to ''grain'' the piece of wood .
Dip this brush first into the scumble and brush it out on a piece of waste material or cardboard Wipe it with an old cloth , and then lightly brush it down over area you've painted . Wipe off excess paint from around the area. Leave the handrail till last . Leave to dry . Protect from anyone touching before dry as cannot be touched up, really . Varnish over the next day , a few coats .. Take a photo for Jumbletown !!! ZZZzzzzzz........

noddytown
03-10-2011, 05:26 PM
Kernow is right , if using a heat gun wear a good quality breathing apparatus / mask . Not the cheapest one . How much is your your lung protection worth ? It will be a time consuming job to strip it all especially the nooks and crannies . You might prefer to grain the lot . Either sand it all just enough to remove the glossy sheen (to give the paint a 'key' or 'grip' ) Or you can use a product from good paint shops called ' Gloss off' . Rub on with a cloth and it will remove the glossy sheen ( and from anything you spill it on )
Then apply two coats of oil based undercoating paint .To achieve a light oak finish , use a cream undercoat. To make a pine, teak or mahogany finish use pink oil based undercoat paint.
Next go to a paint shop and get a small tin of scumble . (a thick wood stain ) Oil based if possible , though new stock in shops might be water based . Which ever you use stir it well and add a drop of thinners (white spirits or water which ever the case ) Paint each string on the stairs or any small areas first with a 1 inch brush , then have another new 1 inch brush to ''grain'' the piece of wood .
Dip this brush first into the scumble and brush it out on a piece of waste material or cardboard Wipe it with an old cloth , and then lightly brush it down over area you've painted . Wipe off excess paint from around the area. Leave the handrail till last . Leave to dry . Protect from anyone touching before dry as cannot be touched up, really . Varnish over the next day , a few coats .. Take a photo for Jumbletown !!! ZZZzzzzzz........

TickTock
03-10-2011, 11:26 PM
I know someone who recently stripped heavily painted wood right back to the bare wood. They used a type of thing (don't know proper name for it ) it looks like a hairdryer (think it was bought in lidl/aldi ) not expensive, and it just burned/melted paint from wood and was easily scraped off. Much better than nitramors (sp) and less messy. Would imagine you would get similar in DIY shop.

Sounds like a paint stripper.

Eibhlin ni Sheambrai
05-10-2011, 03:15 PM
There is a product you canbuy called 'paint and grain' and despite my scepticism with these easy to use products, I found it did 'exactly what it says on the tin'. I changed all the white paintwork to pine look in a bedroom, which included a pannelled door and carved moldings and architraves. The finish was very hardwearing and never had to do a touch up. Eibhlin. ps if you decide to use the heat gun and nitromors route, dental floss works very well for getting paint out of the carving on stair spindles.