Author Topic: Removing paint from wood exterior - Updated  (Read 4211 times)

Sibley

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Removing paint from wood exterior - Updated
« on: July 18, 2017, 08:49:18 PM »
Hello, advice appreciated.

1 1/2 car garage, wood siding, kinda rough condition. I'll be replacing some bad wood. 3 of the sides have a fresh coat of paint that was slapped on for sale. Problem is, they didn't scrape the garage BEFORE painting it. So it looks really, really bad. I mean, horrible.

I tried scraping it and didn't get very far. The new coat on top is basically gluing everything into place. I was thinking of using a power washer to get it off, or at least loosen it enough to make scraping possible.

Other info:
No lead paint.
Latex.
Wood siding, not the flat kind (so mass sanding isn't easy at least)

Ideas or advice to get the paint off without spending 6 months scraping it?
« Last Edit: July 22, 2017, 07:17:41 PM by Sibley »

ncornilsen

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2017, 11:40:37 AM »
When faced with this delima, I replaced the wood siding with Hardie board.


Sibley

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2017, 01:31:06 PM »
When faced with this delima, I replaced the wood siding with Hardie board.

If I'm going to do that, then I'll just tear it down and rebuild. Not in my budget however.

sisto

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2017, 03:47:30 PM »
I would try the pressure washer.

paddedhat

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2017, 06:49:50 PM »
I know it's not the best way to do a perfect prep. job, but (typically due to budget concerns), my painting subcontractor painted a ton of old farmhouses and barns in my area with a powerwash, prime, and paint regiment.  No scraping, sanding or screwing around. If it blows off with pressure, good, if not, it gets recoated. A full scrape, sand and feather the edges of all the remaining paint, is definitely best, but damn, that quickly turns into a career.

Sibley

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2017, 07:45:30 PM »
I know it's not the best way to do a perfect prep. job, but (typically due to budget concerns), my painting subcontractor painted a ton of old farmhouses and barns in my area with a powerwash, prime, and paint regiment.  No scraping, sanding or screwing around. If it blows off with pressure, good, if not, it gets recoated. A full scrape, sand and feather the edges of all the remaining paint, is definitely best, but damn, that quickly turns into a career.

I don't need to get all the paint off, but I do want to not wince when I look out my back window :)  Getting most of the offending paint off will do, followed by replacing bad wood, then prime and paint. Also, I haven't gotten a look at the 4th side of the garage, as the only access is from my neighbor's back yard. He's agreeable to me getting back there, so hopefully that's not too bad. It wasn't painted along with the rest of garage for sale.

I've got a coworker who MIGHT have a powerwasher, if he does I'll ask if I can borrow it. Otherwise, there's a rental place close to my house where I can rent one. And it's supposed to be miserably hot and humid this weekend, so I will not mind getting soaked.

DangleStash

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2017, 01:32:31 PM »
For the power washer - price out renting vs. buying new or used.  We picked up a Sun Joe (I think?) for like $110 on sale and it has been extremely useful.  I haven't used that one for paint removal though... not sure if something more powerful would be needed.

WSUCoug1994

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #7 on: July 21, 2017, 04:49:18 PM »
Just be careful if you go the power washer route - it will do serious damage to the wood if you use the wrong tip or get too close.  Thinking out of the box a bit.....is the siding tapered?  If not you could likely pull it off - throw it in a planer and solve a number of issues.

GuitarStv

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #8 on: July 21, 2017, 06:24:00 PM »
I had really good results just taking a big random orbit sander and some medium grit sandpaper to a flaking/peeling wooden garage door.  It's a little time consuming, but will get rid of any paint that's not adhered properly and will give you a good base for your new coat.

Sibley

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2017, 05:09:04 PM »
Update.

First, I was able to borrow a power washer from a friend. Score!

I had great success in cleaning up the garbage bin, recycling bin, part of the fence, the mildew on the house siding, etc. Would do the outdoor furniture, but stuff that couldn't get sprayed was in the way.

I had great success in cleaning the INSIDE of the garage. It is no longer massively filthy with an inch thick layer of dirt over much of the concrete. I will not be turning the electricity back on for a few weeks, just to be safe, since I sprayed everything. Also cleared out a bunch of junk.

However, the paint did not come off the exterior. I am hopeful that it will be loosened because the wood is so wet, so I could scrape it off without a massive struggle. I'll check it later with a scraper. Maybe have had different results with a stronger machine or different sprayer, but realistically, I'd rather not spend the money to find out.

I have no idea what this type of siding is called, but it's very common on wood garages I've seen. It's not flat, and it's got 2 "slats" per piece of wood. There's a curve on the edge of each piece. Sanding is not easy as a result. Been down that route - this is the same style as my parents garage, and we tried sanding their garage

While I don't like the idea of it, if the top layer of paint doesn't loosen, I may just live with it until it does. Problem is, the garage is wood, and it will deteriorate without a protective paint layer.

If I was willing to invest the money, I'd tear down the garage and rebuild it, because it's got issues. However, I am not willing to spend the money on that project right now. Maybe someone will be kind enough to build a catapult and fling some boulders on my garage. I'm good with insurance paying to build a new one.

paddedhat

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior - Updated
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2017, 04:11:05 AM »
It's important that you use a pressure washer that is powerful enough to do the job, and do it properly. If you were using some modest electric unit, or something that is homeowner grade, intended for washing cars and other light tasks, it's a waste of time.

If you don't remove all the loose paint, it literally isn't worth wasting time and material to repaint it. I would recommend watching a few videos on how to do it correctly, then rent a high powered gas machine.  If the issue is flaking, loose and poorly bonded paint, a few hours of properly prepping  with the proper machine, will eliminate days of sanding and scraping. The siding you describe sounds like Dutch Lap. Google images has lots of pics. of it.

Sibley

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior - Updated
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2017, 09:08:28 AM »
It's important that you use a pressure washer that is powerful enough to do the job, and do it properly. If you were using some modest electric unit, or something that is homeowner grade, intended for washing cars and other light tasks, it's a waste of time.

If you don't remove all the loose paint, it literally isn't worth wasting time and material to repaint it. I would recommend watching a few videos on how to do it correctly, then rent a high powered gas machine.  If the issue is flaking, loose and poorly bonded paint, a few hours of properly prepping  with the proper machine, will eliminate days of sanding and scraping. The siding you describe sounds like Dutch Lap. Google images has lots of pics. of it.

It is an electric machine, so yeah, not as powerful. At this point, I'm pissed at the garage! I'm not going to repaint it at this time. Will fix the bad wood and paint that stuff, but I'll wait on the rest of it. Maybe next year it'll be sufficiently weathered to come off decently. (Yes, I have a temper.)

The 4th wall I finally got to inspect last night, and it wasn't painted recently. It'll be fairly easy to scrape, clean, fix, prime & paint. The dirt level on that side is a lot lower, so I may not need to replace much wood too! Biggest challenge is my neighbor - he's agreeable, but unreliable.

hightower

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior - Updated
« Reply #12 on: July 27, 2017, 04:41:30 PM »
If it is an old house be mindful of the possibility that it's lead based paint.  If so, the safest way to remove it without creating dust is to use heat.  I have one of these for this purpose: https://eco-strip.com/
And, no I'm not associated with this company in anyway. 
Works well, but takes time. 

Sibley

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior - Updated
« Reply #13 on: July 27, 2017, 07:50:13 PM »
If it is an old house be mindful of the possibility that it's lead based paint.  If so, the safest way to remove it without creating dust is to use heat.  I have one of these for this purpose: https://eco-strip.com/
And, no I'm not associated with this company in anyway. 
Works well, but takes time.

Familiar with the process. Not sanding or heat gunning the garage, just too much work. Nature will take care of the paint for me, I just have to survive looking at the garage in the process. I'm well aware of the lead paint issues - grew up in old (20s and 30s) homes, and this one was built in 1919.

DangleStash

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Re: Removing paint from wood exterior - Updated
« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2017, 12:26:25 PM »
If it is an old house be mindful of the possibility that it's lead based paint.  If so, the safest way to remove it without creating dust is to use heat.  I have one of these for this purpose: https://eco-strip.com/
And, no I'm not associated with this company in anyway. 
Works well, but takes time.

I've read that heating lead paint can vaporize the lead, which is also bad for you.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!