The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so I
guess it must be rendered or something....


When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

mo wrote:
The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily
with a scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or
somesort of chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is
smooth so I guess it must be rendered or something....


When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can
be bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks
better?

First question - wire brush.

Re second - I've not tried them so cannot comment.

"mo" wrote in message
.. .
The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so
I
guess it must be rendered or something....


When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

I've never managed to get paint off masonry with a blowtorch/heatgun. Not
entirely sure why: suspect that the surface is too rough and porous, so the
solvent/wood resin vapours cannot build up to form the blisters that lift
the paint.

Not a job that I would want to be lumbered with, and I would imagine the
pros would bead blast. You might be able to clean it up with a power washer,
before repainting. Wire brushing a whole wall by hand would wear you out in
no time, and using a powered brush would leave metal over the masonry which
would make rust marks.

Powerwash would be my bet. (Watch out for any woodwork though, as a fully
focused jet will drill it.)

S

Spamlet wrote:
"mo" wrote in message
.. .
The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily
with a scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or
somesort of chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is
smooth so I
guess it must be rendered or something....


When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can
be bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks
better?

I've never managed to get paint off masonry with a blowtorch/heatgun.
Not entirely sure why: suspect that the surface is too rough and
porous, so the solvent/wood resin vapours cannot build up to form the
blisters that lift the paint.

Not a job that I would want to be lumbered with, and I would imagine
the pros would bead blast. You might be able to clean it up with a
power washer, before repainting. Wire brushing a whole wall by hand
would wear you out in no time, and using a powered brush would leave
metal over the masonry which would make rust marks.

Powerwash would be my bet. (Watch out for any woodwork though, as a
fully focused jet will drill it.)

B Tenders, wire brushing will sort it out.

On Jul 3, 8:00*pm, mo wrote:
The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?


A quick wire brush to remove anything loose, and just paint over. Its
one case whre it simply isnt worth making the job 4x harder for the
sake of 25% longer paint life.

If you want white, lime paint fills cracks, can be used to smooth
breeze blocks, is as cheap as paint gets and lasts ages.
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Paint


NT

On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:
The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

Pressure jet or sandblast. But why bother. If i's stuck on fine, just
leave it. You need to kill off any fungus, you can buy fungicide or
use bleach. If the surface is powdery you might need a "stablising
solution" It's like glue, bonds it all together.
Masonary paint is waterbased and won't melt with a heatgun. It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers. You can only get it off with
mechanical means.

On 4 July, 08:44, harry wrote:
On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:

The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

Pressure jet or sandblast. But why bother. If i's stuck on fine, just
leave it. You need to kill off any fungus, you can buy fungicide or
use bleach. If the surface is powdery you might need a "stablising
solution" *It's like glue, bonds it all together.
Masonary paint is waterbased and won't melt with a heatgun. *It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers. *You can only get it off with
mechanical means.

Oh, Smooth is best. It doesn't hold the muck quite so badly and
washes down better. Neither covers cracks. Fill them up before you
start.

On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:


The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so I
guess it must be rendered or something....

I use a flat paintscraper, with a little touching up from a wire brush
(mostly to shift algae). I don't use any power tools, as the flat
scraper is the most effective. As I have far too much wall to
contemplate stripping all of it (for that I'd have someone sand blast
it) I'm just taking off the flakey stuff.

Another trick is to hose the wall down afterwards (or let it rain) and
leave it for a day or two. It's surprising how much more of the
previous "stable" paint then decides to start flaking around the edge.
A particularly effective source of moisture for doing this is fresh
paint, so don't be surprised if you've got some rework to do with a
bit of scraping and re-painting after your first coat.

Masonary paint is waterbased and won't melt with a heatgun. It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers.

It's unaffected by caustic based paint removers. Solvent based strippers
lift it easily.

You can only get it off with
mechanical means.

I did a whole gable end wall with a methylene chloride stripper and a 4"
scraper.

"NT" wrote in message
...
On Jul 3, 8:00 pm, mo wrote:
The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so
I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?


A quick wire brush to remove anything loose, and just paint over. Its
one case whre it simply isnt worth making the job 4x harder for the
sake of 25% longer paint life.

If you want white, lime paint fills cracks, can be used to smooth
breeze blocks, is as cheap as paint gets and lasts ages.
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Paint

NT

Phew, what a big wiki! The lime section seems to be the most expansive:
plenty of room for additions elsewhere, but remarkable scope. Is 'builder's
lime' slaked lime or 'quick' lime? Does a limewash have to be aged before
use (lime putty I seem to recall, taking 6 months, on the restoration TV
progs)

S

On Jul 4, 2:25*pm, "Spamlet" wrote:
"NT" wrote in message

...
On Jul 3, 8:00 pm, mo wrote:

The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so
I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

A quick wire brush to remove anything loose, and just paint over. Its
one case whre it simply isnt worth making the job 4x harder for the
sake of 25% longer paint life.

If you want white, lime paint fills cracks, can be used to smooth
breeze blocks, is as cheap as paint gets and lasts ages.http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Paint

NT

Phew, what a big wiki! *The lime section seems to be the most expansive:
plenty of room for additions elsewhere, but remarkable scope.

Maybe you've got a few minutes to add some?

*Is 'builder's
lime' slaked lime or 'quick' lime? *Does a limewash have to be aged before
use (lime putty I seem to recall, taking 6 months, on the restoration TV
progs)

S

Its slaked lime, quicklime is a higher risk item. Aged before use? No.
There's been a lot of promotion of aged putties, but imho theyre a bit
of an emperor's clothes product. £6 Builders lime does fine, albeit
not as fine a texture as dulux etc.

Simple lime paint doesnt handle as well during painting, it needs a
regular quick stir, and I rotate the brush going from bucket to wall
to stop it running off, but its very quick to use, and once its
painted I've been surprised by how well it lasts. I've been using it
outdoors for what... most of a decade now, and no sign of
deterioration anywhere. And I wouldnt whine if it had, as a) a new
coat is so quick & easy to do (drips on the floor just rinse off after
theyre dry) and b) a new coat re-binds the old paint, which modern
masonry paints dont do effectively.


NT

On Sun, 4 Jul 2010 01:27:30 +0100, Spamlet wrote:

I've never managed to get paint off masonry with a blowtorch/heatgun.
Not entirely sure why: suspect that the surface is too rough and porous,
so the solvent/wood resin vapours cannot build up to form the blisters
that lift the paint.

Or you just can't get the paint hot enough for long enough when on a
great big masonary heatsink? At least not without a BFO "line burner"
type blow lamp.

Not a job that I would want to be lumbered with, and I would imagine the
pros would bead blast. You might be able to clean it up with a power
washer, before repainting.

See another recent thread. Small domestic pressure washer and
"dirtblaster" lance certainly got a lot of the flaking paint of our
walls on a test run. A lot quicker and with far less effort than
scraping or wire brush. Leaving it for a few days after the initial
going over then having another may be benificial. Some of the paint
that didn't come off in the test run is now looser than it was.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Jul 4, 2:25*pm, "Spamlet" wrote:
"NT" wrote in message

...
On Jul 3, 8:00 pm, mo wrote:

The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth so
I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

A quick wire brush to remove anything loose, and just paint over. Its
one case whre it simply isnt worth making the job 4x harder for the
sake of 25% longer paint life.

If you want white, lime paint fills cracks, can be used to smooth
breeze blocks, is as cheap as paint gets and lasts ages.http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Paint

NT

Phew, what a big wiki! *The lime section seems to be the most expansive:
plenty of room for additions elsewhere, but remarkable scope. *Is 'builder's
lime' slaked lime or 'quick' lime? *Does a limewash have to be aged before
use (lime putty I seem to recall, taking 6 months, on the restoration TV
progs)

S

btw lime is also antibacterial, fungicidal, and acts as a mild
stabilising solution.


NT

Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jul 2010 01:27:30 +0100, Spamlet wrote:

I've never managed to get paint off masonry with a blowtorch/heatgun.
Not entirely sure why:

Heat doesn't work with water based paint. It bubbles and bakes on to the
surface, but doesn't lift.

On Sun, 4 Jul 2010 08:16:15 -0700 (PDT), NT wrote:

... once its painted I've been surprised by how well it lasts. I've been
using it outdoors for what... most of a decade now, and no sign of
deterioration anywhere. And I wouldnt whine if it had, as a) a new
coat is so quick & easy to do

So none of your exterior lime washed walls have been redone or
touched up at all in ten years?

(drips on the floor just rinse off after theyre dry)

er so why doesn't the rain wash it off the walls? B-)

and b) a new coat re-binds the old paint, which modern masonry paints
dont do effectively.

This is true but I was under the impression that if you get 5 years
out of a limewashed wall before requiring being rewashed it's doing
well. Sort of toying with limewash for here rather than a modern
paint but not convinced we'd even get 5 years from limewash. We are
very exposed and true gales (40mph sustained, gusting to 50mph)
accompanied by heavy rain occur fairly often. There is something of
the oder of 300 sq m of wall, the idea of having to rewash every few
years doesn't appeal...

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Jul 4, 8:44*am, harry wrote:
On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:
Pressure jet or sandblast. But why bother. If i's stuck on fine, just
leave it.

Agreed.

It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers. *You can only get it off with
mechanical means.

The nice man at http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/ will sell you a
chemical paint remover to remove practically any masonary paint.
There is absolutely no point for a breeze-block shed, but I am glad to
have removed the masonary paint from our Victorian house and replaced
it with limewash. (and the nice man at Anglia Lime Company will be
happy to sell you some; he may sound strangely familiar ...)

(I have no connection with the company, apart from as a satisfied
customer.)

Martin Bonner wrote:
On Jul 4, 8:44 am, harry wrote:
On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:
Pressure jet or sandblast. But why bother. If i's stuck on fine, just
leave it.

Agreed.

It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers. You can only get it off with
mechanical means.

The nice man at http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/ will sell you a
chemical paint remover to remove practically any masonary paint.

Not bad prices, but how come they can package methylene chloride
strippers in plastic? The various brands I've used all come in metal
containers.

On Jul 5, 7:51*am, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Sun, 4 Jul 2010 08:16:15 -0700 (PDT), NT wrote:
... once its painted I've been surprised by how well it lasts. I've been
using it outdoors for what... most of a decade now, and no sign of
deterioration anywhere. And I wouldnt whine if it had, as a) a new
coat is so quick & easy to do

So none of your exterior lime washed walls have been redone or
touched up at all in ten years?

its been maybe 7ish years, no touchups or degradation so far.


(drips on the floor just rinse off after theyre dry)

er so why doesn't the rain wash it off the walls? *B-)

If it rains hard enough soon enough after its painted that would
happen, so just dont paint before its due to rain. I've found light
rain doesnt seem to bother it. The lime takes longer to toughen up
than it does to dry.


and b) a new coat re-binds the old paint, which modern masonry paints
dont do effectively.

This is true but I was under the impression that if you get 5 years
out of a limewashed wall before requiring being rewashed it's doing
well. Sort of toying with limewash for here rather than a modern
paint but not convinced we'd even get 5 years from limewash. We are
very exposed and true gales (40mph sustained, gusting to 50mph)
accompanied by heavy rain occur fairly often. There is something of
the oder of 300 sq m of wall, the idea of having to rewash every few
years doesn't appeal...

There are several lime paint formulations, and the naming isnt
entirely consistent. What I used is just diluted lime putty. Mix
builders lime with water to make putty, then dilute it 50/50. More
well known is whitewash, which is chalk & water soluble glue, that
doesnt last well.

If you've not used it before you might try a test patch and be
prepared to hose it off, as if you put it on too thick it cracks as it
dries, and if too thin it takes more coats. It does handle different
to other paint types, but has worked fine for me. I'm done with dulux
masonry.


NT

"stuart noble" wrote in message
...

Masonary paint is waterbased and won't melt with a heatgun. It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers.

It's unaffected by caustic based paint removers. Solvent based strippers
lift it easily.

You can only get it off with
mechanical means.

I did a whole gable end wall with a methylene chloride stripper and a 4"
scraper.


And you are still alive! My lungs hurt just thinking about it. Let alone
my wallet!

S

"NT" wrote in message
...
On Jul 4, 2:25 pm, "Spamlet" wrote:
"NT" wrote in message

...
On Jul 3, 8:00 pm, mo wrote:

The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with
a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort
of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth
so
I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

A quick wire brush to remove anything loose, and just paint over. Its
one case whre it simply isnt worth making the job 4x harder for the
sake of 25% longer paint life.

If you want white, lime paint fills cracks, can be used to smooth
breeze blocks, is as cheap as paint gets and lasts
ages.http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Paint

NT

Phew, what a big wiki! The lime section seems to be the most expansive:
plenty of room for additions elsewhere, but remarkable scope. Is
'builder's
lime' slaked lime or 'quick' lime? Does a limewash have to be aged before
use (lime putty I seem to recall, taking 6 months, on the restoration TV
progs)

S

btw lime is also antibacterial, fungicidal, and acts as a mild
stabilising solution.

NT

All very enlightening thanks.
Now would this be the same 'paint' that is used on all those miles of white
picket fences in the US tv progs and films?
And might this stick to our small picket fence that has been glossed but
needs frequent redoing due to car splashes and algae?

Cheers,
S

On Mon, 5 Jul 2010 11:36:33 -0700 (PDT), NT wrote:

So none of your exterior lime washed walls have been redone or
touched up at all in ten years?

its been maybe 7ish years, no touchups or degradation so far.

Hum...

er so why doesn't the rain wash it off the walls? *B-)

If it rains hard enough soon enough after its painted that would
happen, so just dont paint before its due to rain.

That might be a problem up here! Twice I've patched a bit of the
render only to have my patch washed out by the rain over night. We
had 4 or 5 mm of the stuff in an hour last night along with a F5/F6
wind, I wasn't really expecting any.

There are several lime paint formulations, and the naming isnt
entirely consistent. What I used is just diluted lime putty. Mix
builders lime with water to make putty, then dilute it 50/50. More
well known is whitewash, which is chalk & water soluble glue, that
doesnt last well.

Ah, prehaps it is whitewash that I'm thinking of rather than
limewash. Your builders lime and water actually absorbs CO2 from the
air and turns back into calcium carbonate, that obviously wouldn't
happen with chalk dust and glue...

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Jul 7, 10:27*pm, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Mon, 5 Jul 2010 11:36:33 -0700 (PDT), NT wrote:
So none of your exterior lime washed walls have been redone or
touched up at all in ten years?

its been maybe 7ish years, no touchups or degradation so far.

Hum...

Checked it close up today, same as the day it was applied, other than
dirtier.


er so why doesn't the rain wash it off the walls? *B-)

If it rains hard enough soon enough after its painted that would
happen, so just dont paint before its due to rain.

That might be a problem up here! Twice I've patched a bit of the
render only to have my patch washed out by the rain over night. We
had 4 or 5 mm of the stuff in an hour last night along with a F5/F6
wind, I wasn't really expecting any.

uncured lime is certainly weaker than set cement. I just check the
weather forecast, and if no rain forecast take my chance. I guess you
could add some glue to it if you wanted.

The thing about lime that's hard to explain is its just much easier to
apply, so if a bit gets washed off one day its no big deal.


There are several lime paint formulations, and the naming isnt
entirely consistent. What I used is just diluted lime putty. Mix
builders lime with water to make putty, then dilute it 50/50. More
well known is whitewash, which is chalk & water soluble glue, that
doesnt last well.

Ah, prehaps it is whitewash that I'm thinking of rather than
limewash. Your builders lime and water actually absorbs CO2 from the
air and turns back into calcium carbonate, that obviously wouldn't
happen with chalk dust and glue...

whitewash is just chalk and water soluble glue, famous for not lasting
long.


NT

On Jul 7, 9:29*pm, "Spamlet" wrote:
"NT" wrote in message

...
On Jul 4, 2:25 pm, "Spamlet" wrote:



"NT" wrote in message

....
On Jul 3, 8:00 pm, mo wrote:

The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily with
a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or somesort
of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth
so
I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks better?

A quick wire brush to remove anything loose, and just paint over. Its
one case whre it simply isnt worth making the job 4x harder for the
sake of 25% longer paint life.

If you want white, lime paint fills cracks, can be used to smooth
breeze blocks, is as cheap as paint gets and lasts
ages.http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Paint

NT

Phew, what a big wiki! The lime section seems to be the most expansive:
plenty of room for additions elsewhere, but remarkable scope. Is
'builder's
lime' slaked lime or 'quick' lime? Does a limewash have to be aged before
use (lime putty I seem to recall, taking 6 months, on the restoration TV
progs)

S

btw lime is also antibacterial, fungicidal, and acts as a mild
stabilising solution.

NT

All very enlightening thanks.
Now would this be the same 'paint' that is used on all those miles of white
picket fences in the US tv progs and films?
And might this stick to our small picket fence that has been glossed but
needs frequent redoing due to car splashes and algae?

Cheers,
S

I've no idea whats used on US picket fences. If I were to paint such a
fence I wouldnt choose simple lime putty though. There are a huge
number of lime based paint recipes, varying from paints that have
lasted centuries to temporary paints like whitewash. If you're
interested I'll see if I can find more info.

Simple lime sticks to lots of surfaces but not everything. If it
doesnt stick initially one can add 1% linseed oil.


NT

On Jul 5, 7:23*pm, stuart noble wrote:
Martin Bonner wrote:
On Jul 4, 8:44 am, harry wrote:
On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:
Pressure jet or sandblast. But why bother. If i's stuck on fine, just
leave it.

Agreed.

It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers. *You can only get it off with
mechanical means.

The nice man athttp://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/will sell you a
chemical paint remover to remove practically any masonary paint.

Not bad prices, but how come they can package methylene chloride
strippers in plastic? The various brands I've used all come in metal
containers.

I'm not sure it /is/ methylene chloride. The stuff I used was a two
part gloop, with the second part being formic acid. Normally I'm a
bit cavaliar about hazard warning labels - I paid attention this time!

Martin Bonner wrote:
On Jul 5, 7:23 pm, stuart noble wrote:
Martin Bonner wrote:
On Jul 4, 8:44 am, harry wrote:
On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:
Pressure jet or sandblast. But why bother. If i's stuck on fine, just
leave it.
Agreed.
It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers. You can only get it off with
mechanical means.
The nice man athttp://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/will sell you a
chemical paint remover to remove practically any masonary paint.
Not bad prices, but how come they can package methylene chloride
strippers in plastic? The various brands I've used all come in metal
containers.

I'm not sure it /is/ methylene chloride.

Some of their other products, listed as "solvent based", are. They
are/were running a campaign against EU laws banning the stuff

http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/ban/




The stuff I used was a two
part gloop, with the second part being formic acid. Normally I'm a
bit cavaliar about hazard warning labels - I paid attention this time!

"stuart noble" wrote in message
news:lhpZn.148950$NM4.100657@hurricane...
Martin Bonner wrote:
On Jul 5, 7:23 pm, stuart noble wrote:
Martin Bonner wrote:
On Jul 4, 8:44 am, harry wrote:
On 3 July, 20:00, mo wrote:
Pressure jet or sandblast. But why bother. If i's stuck on fine, just
leave it.
Agreed.
It's
unaffected by chemical paint removers. You can only get it off with
mechanical means.
The nice man athttp://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/will sell you a
chemical paint remover to remove practically any masonary paint.
Not bad prices, but how come they can package methylene chloride
strippers in plastic? The various brands I've used all come in metal
containers.

I'm not sure it /is/ methylene chloride.

Some of their other products, listed as "solvent based", are. They
are/were running a campaign against EU laws banning the stuff

http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/ban/

There used to be a very handy old book called 'The Chemical Formulary',
which the senior tech in my first qc lab used to be dipping into all the
time, for formulating stuff like this (even had instructions for resilvering
mirrors - which looked so dangerous and explosive that I never dared even
mixing the chemicals!). I never did manage to find one of my own, but did
make some of the paint strippers.

Most of the paint strippers involved cellulose thinners; methylethylketone;
tetrahydrofuran; dichloro-methane (methylene chloride). Methyene chloride
was far and away the most versatile, and the most choking. These were
generally thickened with paraffin wax - if you didn't have enough to fill an
ultrasonic bath with, and simply dunk the item to be stripped in. (Why has
the us bath not made itself into many kitchens and workshops I wonder: used
to use it pretty well all the time in the lab. Oo and magnetic stirrers
too!)

Then there were the alkali strippers: basically just caustic soda thickened
to stop it running straight off (can't think of an ideal thickener off
hand). And the 'bit of each'. Methanolic caustic potash was a particularly
vigorous dip.

The two part product sounds interesting: not come across one of these
before.

Problem with all these things is the vast amounts needed, and the price -
even do it yourself. Moral: be careful what you paint, and what you paint
it with.

S

The stuff I used was a two
part gloop, with the second part being formic acid. Normally I'm a
bit cavaliar about hazard warning labels - I paid attention this time!

Then there were the alkali strippers: basically just caustic soda thickened
to stop it running straight off (can't think of an ideal thickener off
hand).

I think starch was the norm (although ordinary flour works just as
well), but that made them impossibly gloopy. The problem with caustic
strippers has always been keeping them in place on vertical surfaces
where they slide and slurp as each layer is dissolved. Toilet tissue
(and lots of it) makes quite a good "thickener", and absorbs the gunk
well, if anyone fancies making their own.

"stuart noble" wrote in message
news:UxCZn.143857$_F1.133699@hurricane...

Then there were the alkali strippers: basically just caustic soda
thickened to stop it running straight off (can't think of an ideal
thickener off hand).

I think starch was the norm (although ordinary flour works just as well),
but that made them impossibly gloopy. The problem with caustic strippers
has always been keeping them in place on vertical surfaces where they
slide and slurp as each layer is dissolved. Toilet tissue (and lots of it)
makes quite a good "thickener", and absorbs the gunk well, if anyone
fancies making their own.

Clever idea.

S

"NT" wrote in message
...
On Jul 7, 9:29 pm, "Spamlet" wrote:
"NT" wrote in message

...
On Jul 4, 2:25 pm, "Spamlet" wrote:



"NT" wrote in message

...
On Jul 3, 8:00 pm, mo wrote:

The paint on my shed is flaking - some of it comes off quite easily
with
a
scraper but some is more stubborn.

As far as I know the 2 paint removal methods are a heat gun or
somesort
of
chemical that you paint on

What is the ebst to use outside?

The shed is made of breezeblock I think but the external bit is smooth
so
I
guess it must be rendered or something....

When I repaint it I will be using masonary paint of course which can
be
bought textured or smooht - will textured cover up bumps/cracks
better?

A quick wire brush to remove anything loose, and just paint over. Its
one case whre it simply isnt worth making the job 4x harder for the
sake of 25% longer paint life.

If you want white, lime paint fills cracks, can be used to smooth
breeze blocks, is as cheap as paint gets and lasts
ages.http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Paint

NT

Phew, what a big wiki! The lime section seems to be the most expansive:
plenty of room for additions elsewhere, but remarkable scope. Is
'builder's
lime' slaked lime or 'quick' lime? Does a limewash have to be aged
before
use (lime putty I seem to recall, taking 6 months, on the restoration TV
progs)

S

btw lime is also antibacterial, fungicidal, and acts as a mild
stabilising solution.

NT

All very enlightening thanks.
Now would this be the same 'paint' that is used on all those miles of
white
picket fences in the US tv progs and films?
And might this stick to our small picket fence that has been glossed but
needs frequent redoing due to car splashes and algae?

Cheers,
S

I've no idea whats used on US picket fences. If I were to paint such a
fence I wouldnt choose simple lime putty though. There are a huge
number of lime based paint recipes, varying from paints that have
lasted centuries to temporary paints like whitewash. If you're
interested I'll see if I can find more info.

Simple lime sticks to lots of surfaces but not everything. If it
doesnt stick initially one can add 1% linseed oil.

NT

Won't that just float on the top or form lots of little balls?
Yes, I've often wondered about those picket fences: I made one small one and
it was a lot of work, and then the first lot of expensive fence paint just
fell off, so I just use ordinary gloss: but I don't believe that would ever
have been an option for the miles you see on TV.

S