Stripping Paint fom old wooden doors

clodagh_farrell

Hi all,
Looking for advice for stripping several layers of paint from lovely old wooden doors in a 60 year old house. Have been advised against having them dipped as it can cause the glue to seperate. I've seen some stripping ideas on the weband found a system called Peel Away - involve sapplying paste and then cover with a paper/mesh for a number of hours and then all the paint peels away - but can't find a suplier in Ireland. This would work as I want to keep old skirting boards nd architraves as well.

Can anybody advise of the availability of similar product to Peel Away or indeed of someone who stocks it here.

Thanks in adavance

gsxr1

clodagh_farrell wrote: »

Hi all,
Looking for advice for stripping several layers of paint from lovely old wooden doors in a 60 year old house. Have been advised against having them dipped as it can cause the glue to separate. I've seen some stripping ideas on the weband found a system called Peel Away - involve sapplying paste and then cover with a paper/mesh for a number of hours and then all the paint peels away - but can't find a suplier in Ireland. This would work as I want to keep old skirting boards nd architraves as well.

Can anybody advise of the availability of similar product to Peel Away or indeed of someone who stocks it here.

Thanks in adavance

I was involved in a renovation recently. 200 year old pine doors where taken away to be dipped. 200 euro to completely strip 3 doors.

The doors where falling apart and saturated when returned.

the stripping brought to light some damage and showed a hard long life.


nightmare to rehang with modern hardware.

I had to push PVA glue back into the joints and completely remove and replace timber around the locks. the worm had got to it.
After 3 weeks the doors where dry and the new glue worked really well. the damage to the door really added to the character of the old house.

dipping is harsh but had good results with the proper attention

RKQ

gsxr1 it sounds like the dipping removed the old horse glue!

Chemical strippers as mentioned do a good job, but can be time consuming.
Still worth the effort!

gsxr1

RKQ wrote: »

gsxr1 it sounds like the dipping removed the old horse glue!

Chemical strippers as mentioned do a good job, but can be time consuming.
Still worth the effort!

whats horse glue.

RKQ

Its glue make from horses.
Deceased horsed were used as construction materials, horse hair in lime plaster etc.
Still make horse glue in France, I believe.

Before PVA Glue there was Horse glue.
It was used primarily in joinery - old timber pine doors.

Horse glue is easily eaten / dissolved by acid, so dipping doors can cause them to fall apart.:)

mad m

Peel away is Here. Seller might ship to Ireland...Seems cheap enough....

On another horse product you can get a brush called a Flogger, its made out of horse hair and you don't dip brush into paint, you actually flog paint (scumble) till it creates pores to create first stage in imitating mahogany....:rolleyes:

S.L.F

gsxr1 wrote: »

I was involved in a renovation recently. 200 year old pine doors where taken away to be dipped. 200 euro to completely strip 3 doors.

The doors where falling apart and saturated when returned.

the stripping brought to light some damage and showed a hard long life.


nightmare to rehang with modern hardware.

I had to push PVA glue back into the joints and completely remove and replace timber around the locks. the worm had got to it.
After 3 weeks the doors where dry and the new glue worked really well. the damage to the door really added to the character of the old house.

dipping is harsh but had good results with the proper attention

Hi gsxr1, the reason the doors were in bad nick when you got them back was because the character who dipped them didn't give a toss about the doors he just shoved them into a tank for a day or more.

If he was too do a good job he would have had them in the bath for a max of an hour then they would be stripped and dry in a couple of days and you would not have been waiting weeks for them to dry.

I know this because I worked for the best paint stripper in Ireland, we never had doors falling apart they would normally be dry enough to finish in a week.

RKQ wrote: »

Horse glue is easily eaten / dissolved by acid, so dipping doors can cause them to fall apart.:)

You are not totally correct in what you say, it is alkaline not acid.

After 60 years glue in doors doesn't work because it has decomposed totally.

What holds doors together after 60 years is the wedges not the glue so when you have a chancer who dips a door for a weekend and it falls apart and tells you the glue has dissolved he is either stupid, lying or is totally mis-informed.

builditwell

In relation to dipping of doors it takes a minimium of 4-8 hours dipping with another 4-8 hours for paint to be removed completely from period doors.

As you will note the age of the doors are 60 years and at least twice in their life will have been at least painted lets say 3 times. 60 years ago paint contained lead which naturally is an alkaline, this in turn will begin to eat into the glue. The stripper itself is an acid based product and will only show when the paint is removed that it was paint holding structure together. Obviously the glue has now dissolved but bear in mind that the wedges in the tennons that were used in the construction of the door have now rapidly expanded and contracted in the space of a few days at the strippers and will no longer fit. The dipping problem is a natural occurance and happens all the time when older doors are dipped.

S.L.F

builditwell wrote: »

In relation to dipping of doors it takes a minimium of 4-8 hours dipping with another 4-8 hours for paint to be removed completely from period doors.

As you will note the age of the doors are 60 years and at least twice in their life will have been at least painted lets say 3 times. 60 years ago paint contained lead which naturally is an alkaline, this in turn will begin to eat into the glue. The stripper itself is an acid based product and will only show when the paint is removed that it was paint holding structure together. Obviously the glue has now dissolved but bear in mind that the wedges in the tennons that were used in the construction of the door have now rapidly expanded and contracted in the space of a few days at the strippers and will no longer fit. The dipping problem is a natural occurence and happens all the time when older doors are dipped.

Hi builditwell,

the man I used to work for would be able to strip a door back in one hour in a bath the type of substance used in the stripping process is Caustic Soda which is an alkaline not an acid.

By keeping the dipping times to an hour the drying out time is much reduced and the doors don't fall apart like what happens when people get chancers to do their doors.

We never had a problem with doors falling apart unless they were structurally unsound.

Lets face facts anybody can get a stripping bath going you don't need any education or brains, put an ad in the paper then watch the suckers come to you to get their doors ruined :eek:...

cltt97

Hi S.L.F.,

could you let me know where I can have my doors dipped? I have three old wooden doors with at least 6 layers of paint on it - I strongly assume they're the originals which means they'd be about 68 years old...
I stripped paint of the doorframes using klingstrip, which worked fine, but the stuff is expensive and dipping would be so much easier and the discoloration (if any) would be even!

S.L.F

cltt97 wrote: »

Hi S.L.F.,

could you let me know where I can have my doors dipped? I have three old wooden doors with at least 6 layers of paint on it - I strongly assume they're the originals which means they'd be about 68 years old...
I stripped paint of the doorframes using klingstrip, which worked fine, but the stuff is expensive and dipping would be so much easier and the discoloration (if any) would be even!

My understanding is I'm not supposed to give out names of businesses in posts.

I'll PM the name to you.

Saggitarius

clodagh_farrell wrote: »

Hi all,
Looking for advice for stripping several layers of paint from lovely old wooden doors in a 60 year old house....
Thanks in adavance

I have seen once an another way when you have many paint layers: burning with a hand-petrollamp (I don't know anybody have seen soon in Ireland 'cos I come from Hungary). Actually not burning only softening up the paint layers and then easy to remove with a scraper or similar tool.
I just find a video a similar method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ILihn64Y4&feature=related
The princip is same heat up the paint and then easy to remove without any chemical stuff and thereafter you can repaint without any delay.

S.L.F

Saggitarius wrote: »

I have seen once an another way when you have many paint layers: burning with a hand-petrollamp (I don't know anybody have seen soon in Ireland 'cos I come from Hungary). Actually not burning only softening up the paint layers and then easy to remove with a scraper or similar tool.
I just find a video a similar method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ILihn64Y4&feature=related
The princip is same heat up the paint and then easy to remove without any chemical stuff and thereafter you can repaint without any delay.

Hi Saggitarius,

Checked the net for one of those lamps $599, you'd need tobe doing a fierce amount of paint stripping to make it worth your while to buy one of those.

Having said that I'm thinking of buying one now.

SLF

Saggitarius

S.L.F wrote: »

Hi Saggitarius,

Checked the net for one of those lamps $599, you'd need tobe doing a fierce amount of paint stripping to make it worth your while to buy one of those.

Having said that I'm thinking of buying one now.

SLF

That was an example only the princip is important not the equipment. I'll try to check the price of equipment that using in Hungary. I think so it will be very cheap not 599USD around 20Eur!
(I fund soon on the hungarian "Ebay" http://www.vatera.hu/benzinlampa_93265893.html 5000HUF=Eur 20.83)

Saggitarius

I fund the modern solution: electronic hot gun like this> http://www.ebolt.hu/product171197_category3713.html as same price with special accessories to paint stripping. If I know right in the near past I seen in the "xxxx" store. (May I write the store name?)

S.L.F

Saggitarius wrote: »

I fund the modern solution: electronic hot gun like this> http://www.ebolt.hu/product171197_category3713.html as same price with special accessories to paint stripping. If I know right in the near past I seen in the "xxxx" store. (May I write the store name?)

Hi again Saggitarius, I bought 2 of those guns in the same cheap shop with a name that consists of 4 letters quite sometime ago.

I use that particular type of gun doing my work all the time, I was looking for something to make my life easier.

Thanks SLF

CatD

S.L.F wrote: »

Hi gsxr1, the reason the doors were in bad nick when you got them back was because the character who dipped them didn't give a toss about the doors he just shoved them into a tank for a day or more.

If he was too do a good job he would have had them in the bath for a max of an hour then they would be stripped and dry in a couple of days and you would not have been waiting weeks for them to dry.

I know this because I worked for the best paint stripper in Ireland, we never had doors falling apart they would normally be dry enough to finish in a week.



You are not totally correct in what you say, it is alkaline not acid.


Thanks.

After 60 years glue in doors doesn't work because it has decomposed totally.

What holds doors together after 60 years is the wedges not the glue so when you have a chancer who dips a door for a weekend and it falls apart and tells you the glue has dissolved he is either stupid, lying or is totally mis-informed.

Hi SLF,

I know its been a while since you wrote this message, but would you mind sending me the details for this man please?

1chippy

The only way to get a good result and at reasonable price (allowing for tool and labour) is the heat gun. peel away in my opinion is an absolute waste of time as is nitromorse on heavily built up layers of paint. the dipping can bring out a hairy finish which is very hard to bring back to good. This will be on whatever side gets the sun. dont know the technicalities.
I have had to restore sliding sashs on various occasions and find time, patience and a good quality heat gun is the best option.

gsxr1

bound to be cheaper than the prices quoted at start of thread. I cant even remember those doors now

dubext

S.L.F wrote: »

My understanding is I'm not supposed to give out names of businesses in posts.

I'll PM the name to you.

Hi SLF,
would you mind sending me the details for this man please also please?

thanks a mill