Stripped ease
The day the painters set my house on fire, I knew I’d made a tactical error by not showing them the proper way to strip. Strip paint, that is. My contractor was the kind of guy who sees paint peeling off the clapboards and his fingers start itching to light up the propane torch.
I had heard about the Speedheater, a new technology from Sweden that involved using infrared heaters to remove paint. It's supposed to be safer, fairly fast, and environmentally friendly, but he’d have none of it. Winter was setting in and he didn’t have time to learn new tricks. He’d done it his way for years and never had an accident, blah, blah. (You know where this is going and, yes, I was insane to go along with it.)
Although it was satisfying to see a century of old paint come off bit by bit, I couldn’t watch as his workers put flame to wood, especially one guy we dubbed “Pyro” who left a trail of scorch marks. Nor could I breathe, and we moved out to my mother-in-law's after a couple of days to escape the smoke, fumes, and lead dust.
Then we got the call from a neighbor that everyone dreads: The fire department is at your house.
We
raced over to find a hole ripped in the side of our 1890 farmhouse from
basement to eaves, the result of an ember igniting some ancient
detritus between the clapboards. Fortunately, the crew had spotted the
smoke and turned on the hose before dialing 911, thereby averting an
all-out disaster.
Still,
the place was a mess. I finally woke up. Another person might have sued
the contractor, but isn't this what insurance companies are for? I was
willing to forgive an accident—as long as he finished the job on my
terms. I called the nearest Speedheater distributor, Eco-Strip, and told my tale of woe to owner Catherine Brooks.
She zipped over to demonstrate the Speedheater 1100 infrared paint remover as well as a delicious array of first-rate hardened steel scraping tools and “hands-free” attachments. This electric tool uses infrared heat to penetrate through the paint into the wood, so multiple layers can be scraped off with little damage to the wood. Unlike a heat gun or torch, the rays evenly heat the paint to no more than 600 degrees—well below the temperature at which wood ignites or lead fumes are released. It also works well on glass putty and varnish. The tool, used in Europe for more than a decade, is available to rent (about $24 a day, 3 day minimum) or buy (about $400). Eco-Strip was local for me, but they ship anywhere in the continental U.S.
My contractor, as was his wont, griped that the tool was awkward, but his crew—amazed to be free of fume-induced headaches—soon got the hang of Speedheating and finished the stripping in just a few days. Repairing the fire damage took considerably longer, of course, but the contractor conceded that he was able to make up for lost time since the Speedheated areas required no sanding before priming. Thus, two converts were born. He bought a set for himself and I vowed to stick to my guns—just not a heat gun.
Eco-Strip; 703-476-6222; eco-strip.com; contact via email at cbrooks@eco-strip.com.
Posted by Laura Fisher Kaiser | Categories: Power Tools | Permalink
(13) Comments
would this work on a concrete basement garage floor with epoxy paint on it?
Norman,
The Speedheater Infrared Paint Remover does not work well on concrete or metal. The reason is that the heat is absorbed and dissipated in the concrete or metal and does not stay concentrated in the area where it is pointed. The tool is designed to remove paint and varnish from wood.
One use on flooring is that the unit can be used to heat old carpeting's adhesive so that the carpet can be lifted up. A second heating of the adhesive will allow it to be scraped off of the wooden floor.
Will the Speedheater also remove the texture on interior walls along with the existing paint?? I am trying to find another way (besides skim coating) to remove a 70's style texture. Thanks!
Catherine:
Our 1939 cape was painted 6 years ago and almost immediately paint cracked and blistered off in some areas quite extensively. The prep consisted of some pressure washing with bleach (I think) and not much if any scraping. I want it done right so I am going to repaint it myself. Is the Speedheater the way to go?
We removed carpet that had been covering our beautiful hardwood floors. The wood floor is 40 years old. Need to remove paint along the baseboards. Is there a simple way to do this without damaging the floor?
The Silent Paint Remover infrared heater will soften paint, varnish, glue etc very effectively by heating the mass. The more paint you have the better it works. If you have very dry paint, apply a thin coat of the organic purified raw linseed oil. Learn more on the website www.solventfreepaint.com
Infrared heat is the absolute safest and and most effective method of removing paint and varnish and is 100% green. Learn more on the website www.silentpaintremover.com
Look for the 2009 Silent Paint Remover GRT that will bring paint removing technology into the 21 century
When it comes to choosing paint, learn more about organic linseed oil paint that last for 50 years with very easy and cost effective maintenance.
Thank you
The Silent Paint Remover infrared heater will soften paint, varnish, glue etc very effectively by heating the mass. The more paint you have the better it works. If you have very dry paint, apply a thin coat of the organic purified raw linseed oil. Learn more on the website www.solventfreepaint.com
Infrared heat is the absolute safest and and most effective method of removing paint and varnish and is 100% green. Learn more on the website www.silentpaintremover.com
Look for the 2009 Silent Paint Remover GRT that will bring paint removing technology into the 21 century
When it comes to choosing paint, learn more about organic linseed oil paint that last for 50 years with very easy and cost effective maintenance.
Thank you
Check the comments added to this article carefully as they are referring to the copycat Silent Paint Remover, not the Speedheater. I suggest you also read the link on the Eco-Strip.com home page to be clear on their differences.
I dread having to use an old paint scraper on my house.I'm on a very limited budget,so I can't splurge on even renting one. Besides that,I don't think there is a rental place around here. Sigh,at least I can dream:)
I want to use it to strip the layers of paint (some of it about 55 yrs old) on my kitchen cabinets, so I can stain the wood it's natural color. Removing te doors to do outside, but is it safe to use the machine on the cabinets on the wall and drawers, strips, etc.
Kate
I am not only forced to redo my vintage 1903 home on the outside but to get the paint to stick on the inside to my lathe and plaster that is as old as my house...what can I use to strip the interior paint from lathe and plaster?
Kate Los,
One can use the Speedheater Infrared Paint Remover inside a house to strip any woodwork including cabinets as long as there is more than one layer of paint. There needs to be enough mass for the infrared heat to work on to separate the wood from the paint. One need to have negative air pressure in the room where the work is being done so the heated paint fumes (not lead vapors) can be drawn out of the room.
Terese, Sometimes the Speedheater does work on plaster over lathe if the plaster does not have too rough a surface. A rough surface would not scrape well with any straight edged scraper either pull-type or putty scrapers.
How quickly does the Speedheater work? It doesn't seem like a very big unit, though that is probably preferable considering one person can only scrape so much hot paint before it cools again. Does it come with a stand, or prop? I'd imagine for the most speed I'd want to set it up to warm the next bit of paint, while I'm scraping the last. Or maybe it's best as a two-man operation?