What You Need to Know Before You Strip Paint from Your Wood

Tony 06/11/2019
What You Need to Know Before You Strip Paint from Your Wood

health-focused paintEveryone knows that the easiest way to beautiful old wood is to strip paint off your wood and give it a fresh coat. But new paint eventually becomes old paint. It may begin to crack and blister or form those annoying lumpy blankets of pigments. The ideal way is always to strip furniture of the old stuff and get a fresh start with baby-smooth surface (and health-focused paint). This is a tedious and dirty process, but this post will help you manage the mess, choose the best paint strippers, and get the results you desire.

When Is Wood Worth Exposing?

To expose wood, you need to determine if it was originally vanished or painted. To do this, find a hidden spot, either in a drawer or closet, and using a scraper shave a test patch through various paint layers. When you get to the bottom, check to see if the layer is painted. If it exposes the wood, you know it had a clear coat of varnish or gloss varnish.

Call In A Pro or Do It Yourself

Before you begin any project, decide if the job is too big to handle, complicated, or dangerous. In this case, calling a pro is the best option. Some pieces you want to strip may be easily removable such as windows, but its features may be too detailed that a pro would handle it better than you would.

Which Stripper Should You Use?

There are a number of products you can consider to strip off old paint. A heater, for example, is perfect for softening vanishes and multiple layers of paint. They minimize dust, and they can easily lift years of paint. The disadvantage of using this method is the risk of charred wood.

Chemical strippers, on the other hand, dissolve the paint. They come in the form of liquid, gels, or pastes and have no dust or paint chips. If your furniture is full of fine details and awkward angles, this is the best method to use. It will get what the heating gun was unable to reach.

Consider Your Allergies and Overall Health

Before we get to the painting of your wood, consider the kind of paint you intend to use. For your own wellbeing and the wellbeing of your family, choose a health-focused paint. People with asthma or other sensitivities are glad to know that the paint industry is putting a lot of effort into creating less harmful products. You can get everything from non-toxic primer to eco-friendly glue and health-focused paints. If you have a small baby in the room, you might want to consider paint for the nursery that will not be harmful to your child. This is vital. According to Sweden’s Dampness in Building and Health, PGE- exposure doubles the likelihood of children developing other allergies if they already have multiple allergies.

Getting rid of old paint is not difficult if you know how to go about it. With the right knowledge on which tools best suit the job, a creative mind, and awareness of how to avoid exposing yourself to allergies, you can do a clean job like a pro. If this is too complex for you, hire a professional and enjoy a perfectly done paint job.

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