No matter what the TV infomercials say, there is no magic wood stripping solution. The “magic” way to strip wood seems to be elbow grease.
But you can put a little extra power behind that elbow grease – with applications of intense heat.
Make a Safe Environment for Stripping
First, if at all possible, you need to work outside, or at least in some area, such as a basement, where you don’t care about the mess. If you’re stripping wood that cannot be moved, such as trimwork or windows, you have no choice but to carefully lay down plastic with low-stick masking tape on the floor.Look for Specialized Scrapers
Scrapers are by far the most popular choice. If you’re accustomed to using the conventional wood scrapers found that your local hardware store, you may be missing out on some of the better tools out there. It is possible, either online or at a large home improvement store, to find a myriad of scrapers—large, small, and in-between--which match the profile of the trim or other woodwork that you are scraping. This makes a big difference. There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to adapt a flimsy putty knife to a highly ornate piece of trim work.Stripping with Propane Torches
Heat guns and heating irons often look like the easy way to strip woodwork. Obviously, they are dangerous. If you cannot figure out that propane torches in contact with old and brittle woodwork is a recipe for disaster, maybe you should not be stripping wood with a propane torch. One other consideration with propane torches is that it does release fumes from lead based paint, which can be highly hazardous to your health.Stripping with Heat Irons
Heating irons are a good compromise. You place the heating iron flat on the wood and occasionally lift it to see if the paint underneath is bubbling. One danger is that if you leave the iron on too long, you might scorch the wood. Also, keep in mind that heating irons are flat--and do not match the profile of most trim work.Stripping with Heat Guns
Heat guns are another good compromise. They look like hair dryers but they put out tremendous heat. They run on 15 amp circuits, so you run the risk of flipping a circuit breaker! But heat guns do a fairly good job of loosening the paint in preparation for scraping.So, no matter what the preparation…you’ll always end up with the dreaded job of scraping by hand!
