Phil L wrote:
js.b1 wrote:
A pressure washer can be fitted with a sand blaster attachment. That
may be too severe, or at least risks brick face damage.

However I'm sure Tommy Walsh had an angle grinder (looked like 9")
with a large flat disc with a pad on it which was specifically to
remove paint without damaging the face of bricks. Once the face has
gone you are screwed, a few wet winters will trash them quite
quickly. The material on the disk was arranged in a raised spiral
pattern, I
suspect not too different to a 3M Clean n Strip disc - but much
harder because they wear down very quickly when removing even small
paint spots from brickwork.

They're stones, not bricks.


Having it professionally blasted would be ideal but as you can
imagine this is going to be expensive.
manually with a wire brush is going to take forever.
Which leaves mechanically, and doing it with a needle gun wouldn't
work neither IME as I think the needles would just compress spots of
paint into the stone.

http://www.brandontoolhire.co.uk/dir...p?idproduct=74

Is a grit blaster /pressure washer and can be had for about £50 a
week, although I'd be a bit wary of water ingress, especially if it
requires repointing in places

Least of your problems. These things use **** loads of sand but only have a
cleaning area of about 10mm wide. And the carbide nozzles wear at a
phenominal rate.

As a guestimate, doing the front of an average house would take 2-3 tonnes
of sand (which you then have to get rid of) and take weeks. Carbide nozzle
will last around 3 hours @ £15 a pop.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk