How to Strip Years of Paint Off a House

To penetrate and remove the 10 layers of paint on the siding and trim at the Winchester project, painting contractor Jim Clark (shown here) and his crew used a newly developed, non-caustic stripper that breaks the bond between paint and wood. Before choosing their approach, they considered several methods, detailed in the following slides.

Grinding
(power sanding disk or clapboard sander)
Pros: Fast, efficient, leaves no residue on surface; relatively inexpensive (no chemicals to buy).
Cons: Only works on non patterned siding like clapboards. In inexperienced hands, can scar wood. Noisy; creates airborne dust that's a lead concern and requires a HEPA-filter mask. Some states require vacuum connection.

Burning
(heat plate or heat gun)
Pros: Relatively fast, thorough, and inexpensive (no chemicals to buy).
Cons: Can release some lead along with smoke, so a respirator is recommended. Biggest danger, though, is fire (often delayed when an ember under a clapboard ignites).

Infrared heat
Pros: Very fast (about 20-30 seconds exposure); low operating temperature won't ignite wood; removes all paint with one pass. Requires no mask, gloves, or goggles; inexpensive to operate (no chemicals to buy).
Cons: Not yet widely available; $395 initial cost.

Peel-Away
(available in different formulas, depending on paint type)
Pros: Generally quick to apply and nonflammable. Can be sprayed or brushed on. Most dissolved paint adheres to proprietary paper, which is peeled off.
Cons: Mixed results, often requiring second application; paper is extra hassle.

Methylene chloride-based chemical strippers
Pros: Very powerful and effective chemical. Sprayable or available as nonsagging gel that adheres to vertical surfaces.
Cons: Toxic—must be used with chemical-resistant gloves, respirator, and goggles. Requires ventilation indoors, and some formulations are flammable. Has also been classified by the EPA as a potential cause of cancer in humans.

RemovAll
Pros: Nontoxic-requires no gloves, mask, or goggles. Can be sprayed or brushed on and adheres well.
Cons: Slow-acting (one-hour minimum; best left on overnight); twice as expensive as methylene chloride.

RemovAll, developed in Canada to strip the finishes from jet planes, is sprayed onto the clapboards by crew foreman Volmar Oleivera. Painting contractor Jim Clark says, "If you're stripping your own house, buy an inexpensive airless sprayer from a home center. After you've sprayed all the stripper and removed all the paint, just clean the machine with water and you can use it again to paint the house."

Following the EPA's new guidelines, Massachusetts has reclassified residential lead-paint residue as household trash, which can be discarded with the rest of the rubbish. In the past, a licensed abatement contractor had to be called in. Check with your state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to see if similar laws apply in your area.

Homeowner Kim Whittemore shows the color candidates to TOH general contractor Tom Silva. Rather than relying on small paint color chips, buy small cans of colors being considered and paint swatches on the siding.