Anbody used Soy-based paint stripper?
VintageSeattle
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hi All,
I’m starting a job on a house where both adjacent houses have young children. The outside of the house currently has vinyl on it and the owners want to bring back the “splendor” of the 1910 clapboard cedar siding.
I am quite familiar with the process of grinding and heat stripping lead paint off of my own house, now need to do the same on one side, to start, of this house.
Looking for some alternatives to creating huge plumes of lead dust without turning the project into a time and labor nightmare!
I just found this stuff:
http://www.wahkeena.com/SoyGel.html
I have also been looking at the current rage in Old House Journal, the heat stripper tool that is about $400.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Contractor Bob
Replies
I did not have much luck with that product in my tests which involved many layers of lead paint. It also has a difficult consistency to use for vertical work. Too runny.
It did work very well on shellac and varnish.
Call them and have them send a sample before you drop a lot of money on it.
Back to Nature Multi Strip and Peel Away 7 performed better in my 8 product test.
Still, it will take multiple coats to get it bare, and the chemical costs are quite high.
For flatwork like clapboards, I doubt it is worth the money or trouble. Cheaper and less labor to replace them.
Plus, you may find the condition of the material beneath the vinyl is not that great.
Thanks Snowman, kind of what I thought.....
Stripping lead paint is a specialized task. There is a large chunk of liability. Make sure your insurance policy covers you for this type of work. Most don't. Then you need to get the homeowner to read the lead brochure and sign that they have received it.
Any mechanical stripping is out of the question , whether by sanding, chipping or heat-aided scraping. Ordinary chemical wet stripping is OK but you must properly dispose of the residue, which is toxic.
The best method is alkaline stripper. It is labor intensive and cumbersome, but perfectly safe. The residue only contains bound lead compounds and as such can be simply thrown in the garbage in most jurisdictions. Check with your local garbage authority.
DG/Builder
The SoyGel from Franmar chemicals is not at all runney. In fact, it has to be the most gelatinous stripper I've ever used.Not sure how many layers it will do through though.
"The SoyGel from Franmar chemicals is not at all runney. In fact, it has to be the most gelatinous stripper I've ever used."
I found it difficult to get it from the container to being spread on the vertical surface without losing globs of it.
Some of the other products with a pastier consistency or a "marshmallow" consistency were easier to work with.
I put an inch or two in a metal paint bucket, and use a disposable brush to apply it. I try to hold the bucket up right under what I am coating to both minimize the distance I carry the paint brush and to catch any glops that fall.
Bob,
I have used the Silent Paint Remover extensively. I find it works very well on multiple layers of old paint. Supposedly it uses infrared heat which goes through the paint layers and heats the siding which then releases the paint. The paint comes off in large soft clumps which dry to large hard clumps. Small particles of dust are minimal. As long as you tarp well cleanup is easy. Supposedly the SPR does not get the paint hot enough to release the lead. Not sure if that claim is correct or not.
On clapboard this tool rocks. On my 1890's house is took all 7 or 8 layers of paint off the clapboard at once down to bare wood, in one pass. After scrapping the wood is smooth and requires little sanding or repairs, see attached photo
Unfortunately for me I have a Shingle Style house which is 75% cedar shingles. The cedar shingles were a little more difficult with this tool as they have a little grain which holds the paint better. Seems like the tannin in the cedar causes the heated paint to harden faster. It wood probably be easier to just replace the cedar shingles, but would cost more.
The only problem I have had with the SPR is using in under roof overhangs. An old birds nest in the soffit caught fire. Luckily we had the hose nearby to put it out.
Good Luck what ever method you chose.
Here is the "After photo". Still have to pop out the windows and redo them.
Wow! That's gorgeous!
"Would someone please give Bush a BJ so we can impeach him?" bumper sticker
is that a curved double hung window on the corner? Does it actually operate?
Don't let the kids play baseball in front of the house!!
splat
Yes we have a curved double hung window on the corner of the house. When the house was for sale and we were walking through I tried to open several of the large DH windows on the front of the house. The only one that opened was the curved one. I has what appear to be original pullman spring balances, not weights. It's amazing that after all these years the spring balances still have some tension.Kids have been trained not to go within 6 feet of the window.
>>"Here is the "After photo".
Holy cow! You sure that's the same house? ;-)
How long did the stripping take you? Looks like you worked very hard on that one, but looking at the after photo, I'm sure it was worth it for you.
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
Working by myself it took me about 6 weeks to scrape and paint the front of the house. It worked out well because I had a month off work between jobs. The clapboard was a breeze, but the cedar shingles took longer. I rented a man lift to work on the third story gable. The cedar shingles appear to be original from 1892 based on the number of layers of paint. Amazingly they were in very good condition. This is the North side of the house, so it gets very little sun. The Back of the house, the South side, the shingles were in much worse shape. We ended up residing the back of the house with hardie plank.I can not stess enough how well the Silent Paint Remover works on Clapboard and other flat, smooth surfaces.
>>"can not stess enough how well the Silent Paint Remover works on Clapboard and other flat, smooth surfaces.
You've got a convert. Looks darn near miraculous.
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
Hey Mike,
Nice job on your house, looking fantastic! I have a 1908 house that I did the same thing too...I had to start by removing the fantastic mobile-home look wide vinyl siding first, what a chore. Ya, gotta watch those fires in the soffit area!
Looks like I'm not going to be removing the vinyl on my client's house though, too much liability with kids in houses close on both sides and the cost is too prohibitive. My insurance has a lead paint exclusion and I'd have to get an abatement co. to remove the paint which would cost a fortune from what I understand.
So, talked to the clients and they're on board with leaving the vinyl,now if only they could get a pleasant darker green color with cream trim and get away from the yellow body and dark brown alum. trim they'd be happy....
Thanks for the help all!
Bob