Home Improvement Painting Exterior Painting

6 Ways to Remove Exterior Paint

Cropped Hand Of Man Scraping Paint On Wall At Home
Marlene Bocast / EyeEm / Getty Images

When the paint is peeling on a house, many homeowners opt for replacing it with fiber-cement siding or covering it with vinyl siding. But if you've got an old house with a great exterior, such as real clapboard, you may not want to hide its beauty. In that case, removing the paint is your best option.

Removing paint is hard, dirty, and, in the case of lead-based paint, dangerous. Fortunately, you have several methods of stripping paint at your disposal.

Warning

Before working with the paint, have it tested to make sure that it is not lead-based paint. Home testing kits are available or you can call in a local testing company.

Propane Blowtorch

The blowtorch has been a perennial favorite of homeowners for many years because it is cheap and relatively fast. High heat causes acrylic-latex paint to soften, making it easy to peel away with a putty knife.

But its disadvantages far outweigh its advantages. First, using an open flame is dangerous. Applying a very hot flame to old, often-brittle wood siding may cause a fire. Not only can you start a fire on the wood siding, but you can unintentionally hit pockets within the walls that may contain other dry, highly flammable items.

Applying a flame to lead-based paint may release harmful lead fumes. For some older homes, there is a good chance that the exterior has lead-based paint. Be very careful if you want to use an open flame to remove exterior paint.

Warning

Experts do not recommend the use of an open flame to remove paint, though it is an effective option. If you do use a blowtorch for this project, have a fire extinguisher and a water hose on-hand in case of any flare-ups.

Pros
  • Cheap

  • Effective

  • Assists with scraping

Cons
  • Dangerous

  • Difficult to handle

  • May release lead fumes

Heat Gun

If you want to use a propane torch to remove paint but the danger factor gives you pause, an electric heat gun might be the perfect compromise. Electric heat guns are safer than blowtorches because they don't operate hot enough to release harmful fumes. You also have less of a risk of burning down your house, but the risk is still there.

Tip

Even though heat guns do not produce flames, they still can catch dry materials on fire.

One advantage of using a heat gun is that its heat can be dialed up or down, so they are easy to regulate. Keep in mind that you'll be working with a cord (unlike the propane torch, which is self-contained). They aren't really a viable option for large areas, but they do work well for small, difficult areas or for ornamental surfaces.

Pros
  • Safer than a torch

  • Easy to regulate temperature

  • Good for ornamentation

Cons
  • Can start a fire

  • Limited by a cord

  • Fumes

Electric Sanders

Orbital (rotating) or belt sanders are a good option for stripping exterior paint. Sanders rip off the paint quickly. However, if you lay into the sander too hard, you risk gouging the wood.

As with the other paint removal options, there's the lead-based paint problem. Everything that the sander takes off is immediately converted into dust. Dust that goes into your hair, face, and lungs. Check with your locality to see if it's even legal to use these types of sanders with lead-based paint. Some communities may ban their use.

Pros
  • DIY-friendly

  • Thorough

  • Inexpensive

Cons
  • Creates dust

  • Gouges wood

  • Potentially hazardous

Chemical Strippers

With this method, chemical paint strippers are applied to the paint surface. After being left to do their work, the paint bubbles up and softens. After that, the paint is scraped up.

Despite the danger, chemical strippers do have their place in the workshop. When the paint responds well to the stripper, it's satisfying to see that paint bubble right off. For textured surfaces or for complex architectural details, chemical strippers are indispensable.

Tip

Not all chemical strippers are harmful. Some soy- or citrus-based paint strippers are effective at softening the paint for later manual removal.

Applying chemicals on a large scale, across an entire house, is not realistic. Save the chemical paint strippers for small projects or for select portions of the house exterior.

Pros
  • Less physical effort

  • Eases scraping

  • Good for complex details

Cons
  • Slow

  • Harmful chemicals

  • Inconsistent

Scraping

A sharp, rigid putty knife or a blade designed for paint scraping is sometimes the best way to remove paint. Dust is still there, but it's minimized and you have better control than if you used a sander. If the structure has very loose or alligatored paint, scraping might just be the best option.

Get a sharpener or a whetstone to keep that scraper sharpened up. Though scraping is hard work, it tends to be the best choice for many general exterior paint stripping chores.

Scraping produces dust and airborne debris. So, wear a mask and eye protection before undertaking this project.

Pros
  • Effective

  • Works with other methods

  • Thorough

Cons
  • Labor-intensive

  • Messy

  • Sharpening needed

Sandblasting

While not a do-it-yourself project, sandblasting does remove the paint. But sandblasting does come at a cost since it is also very effective at removing wood. Sandblasting works best at removing paint from metal, concrete, and brick.

If you choose to go with this option, be aware that sandblasting will bring up the grain in your wood so that it has a very rough, grooved appearance. Hire a company to do the sandblasting and make sure that they approach the work carefully.

Pros
  • Good for details

  • Works on large expanses

  • Effective on metal

Cons
  • Messy

  • Hazardous

  • Not a DIY project

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Protect Your Family From Sources of Lead. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  2. Home Structure Fires Report. National Fire Protection Association

  3. Steps to LEAD SAFE Renovation, Repair and Painting. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

  4. What You Should Know About Using Paint Strippers. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission