Removing old paint from limestone window sills

tzsteve

Hi Everyone,
Im looking for a bit of advice as to what the best method of removing old paint from cut limestone, I started to strip the paint off the windowsills of our old cottage to repaint them but was surprised to find that the sills are limestone, id like to bring them back to the bare stone now, I was going to sandblast them but im afraid it will take the chiselled finish off it,
any ideas?
Thanks
Steve

jack of all

Best product I've seen for this type of job is "Klingstrip"- a poultice-type mix that you spread on and is great for removing paint without scraping or harsh scrubbing which can damage fine detail on wood or stone etc. Washes off with water so no solvents and easy to clean up after etc. The crowd I bought it from years ago are now gone out of business so not sure where you'd get it now, maybe try the manufacturers in the UK:

http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/pdfs/Kling-Strip%20Usage%20Data.pdf

homerefurb

As Limestone is soft your best option may be a Wirebrush and a load of Elbow grease. They will come up great but you got to scrub like mad to clean the sills