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Mary asks:
We're about to start a painting project and wanted to know if anyone had any advice on stripping a metal frame door (as far as we can see it's about 20 layers deep) down to the metal.
Paul says:
February 01, 2008 06:03 PM
In the past I've used a propane torch or heat gun. This softens the paint and all you have to do is scrape it off. Do this outside or use a respirator. The fumes can be toxic.
Anne says:
January 28, 2008 09:16 PM
Me and my husband did this a little over a year ago. I'm going to be upfront with you. Stripping paint sucks. But the results can be amazing. This is what we did... We went to Janovic Paints and they filled us in on what our options were. From the most toxic to the Greener products. Since we were doing it ourselves we went down the less toxic route. And used a product called Peel Away. Look it up, it was great. Be warned it will take 2 possible 3 applications for you to get down the the metal. And the smell wont kill you. You'll have to go back with a sandpaper disk (attached to your drill) to get the metal shiny. And if you want to keep the metal shiny make sure you polyurethane it before it oxidizes (turns rust color) Good luck!
Tim says:
January 26, 2008 06:05 PM
Sorry, but forget going green. I tried to strip my door and windows with Peel Away and almost lost my mind. My hands were cramped from scraping and it took hours off my life in labor. Before I went any further, I went back to the store, asked them to give me the hardcore stuff. I got a big old can of Rock Miracle, a crazy respirator, goggles and some heavy duty gloves. I cut through close to 15 layers of paint in half the time. No joke. It begins working in minutes and you can watch it bubble away. Very satisfying. (The other stuff takes 24 hours to work. No thank you.) You do have to be careful with Rock Miracle, it will burn you and cause you harm if you aren't careful. But some things in life are just not worth the wait. Throw open those windows, turn the fan on high, send your loved ones out for the night and get down to work. You'll be able to play soon enough and you'll have smooth, stripped frames to come home to.
