I have 3 rooms in a 1931 house with cornice moulding that the paint is peeling off. I believe the orginal finish was paint (the other trim in the house was shellac which also has been painted). I made a scraper blade out of 3/16″ steel cut to match the curve of the cornice and sharpened it. When I pull the scaper with the force needed to remove the paint it chatters and leaves a series of dents in the wood. What am I doing wrong. I’m thinking of using peel away 1 stripper instead of trying to scrape all of the moulding. Is there a better scraper to remove the paint? Does peel away 1 work? We are going to sell this house in a couple of months and the orginal plan of removing the trim and stripping it does not fit in the new time line.
Thanks for any help
Replies
archyII,
Did you put a burr on the scraper?
Chuck S
No. I sharpened it like a chisel. It has a beveled edge.
Now take a drill bit shank and roll a slight burr on that chisel edge...ya want a hard burnisher like a drill shank, not a screwdriver. When that dulls, flatten the BACK with the same burnisher, lightly file the feather off the bevel and re-roll a small hook.
try using a heat gun to soften the paint, then scrape small sections at a time. old paint gets very hard though. to end up with a completely smooth finished product will take lots of time. count on having to sand after you've scraped.
That is a pretty thick piece of metal and it sounds like you are trying for al at once.
take a smaller chord section at a time and play with the angle you are holding it at
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Thanks all. I am trying all at once. I back beveled the blade and it stopped the chatter. Not all of the paint is coming off so I am going to try the peel away. With regard to lead my state does not really have any mandatory lead abatement requirements for a home owner that I can find. No kids live in the house. I misted the trim, have a respirator, hepa filter on the vac and have sealed the room. I also wear a disposable tvek cover all that I leave in the room along with my shoes. Last time we did something like this (scraping the paint off of all of the trim in the dining room) my wife bought a couple of lead testing kits and tested the dust that had settled in the adjacent rooms. No lead was found. We will test again when I done (or I should say if I get done)
Thanks to everyone for your responses.
I have 3 rooms in a 1931 house with cornice moulding that the paint is peeling off
I hope you checked for lead before scaping!!