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Glenn Lewis
03-11-2009, 4:45 PM
i had a new exterior side door installed today, and in removing the old casing/jamb assembly, i wound up with a pile of antique pine (70+) years old that matches all the woodwork and flooring in my old house.

i can tell by the unpainted parts that it's good wood with great grain and i want to salvage it. i have a metal detector to make sure all the nails/screws are out, and i'm ready to remove some thick, old paint (maybe some lead in there somewhere).

i assume just running it through the planer would be hell on the blades so i'm not doing that, but am hoping to avoid chemical stripping. i was thinking about getting a cheap HF planer and just sacrificing it (or a few sets of it's blades, anyway) to the job, but any other ideas?
phil harold
03-11-2009, 4:56 PM
I would use a chemical stripper one that you coat on then cover

I think peel away is one brand

you could also use a high pressure power washer

Heat and hand scrappers work pretty slick and fast
Lloyd McKinlay
03-11-2009, 5:17 PM
Many of the Peel Away products raise the grain and stain the wood, okay if you are repainting but not good for a natural finish. I think they have one (Peel Away 6?) which they claim wont discolor the wood, but I don't know if it is as effective.

I have also heard very good things about The Silent Paint Stripper, which uses infrared heat.

I believe both of the above are acceptable for lead based paint.
george wilson
03-11-2009, 5:58 PM
We stripped away 60 years of old paint with heat guns and putty knives. But,lead paint can make fumes. If you get the paint the right temp.,it will sluff right off.
Glenn Lewis
03-11-2009, 6:38 PM
We stripped away 60 years of old paint with heat guns and putty knives. But,lead paint can make fumes. If you get the paint the right temp.,it will sluff right off.

forgot about that method. i have both the necessary tools for that already too!
Steve Jenkins
03-11-2009, 6:38 PM
because of my dislike of stripping anything I would just run it through my planer and get the knives resharpened. The main drawbacks to that are the loss of a bit of thickness and any patina it may have developed will be gone.
george wilson
03-11-2009, 7:16 PM
Stay upwind,or wear a respirator for the fumes if you do the heat gun method.