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bleigh_gw

Latex over Oil HELP

bleigh
11 years ago

Oh, my goodness, I have a huge mess on my hands. I'm in the process of trying to remove latex that was painting over oil based paint (by the previous owners). The oil was not prepared first and the latex easily chips and peels off. I've worked for three days on the trim and baseboards in my daughter's room and I'm almost in tears. I have sanding dust everywhere and a pile of goo where I tried to use that orange stripper on a piece of door trim. I've sent my kids to my parent's house as there is too much dust for my asthma child. Any advice on how to get this removed a little more easily? Scraping doesn't get all of it. I've resorted to using a detail sander as it does a pretty good job, but it's slow process. I have a whole house of this mess to remove.

I hope someone out there has a magic solution to share!

Comments (8)

  • graywings123
    11 years ago

    It might be easier to remove and replace the trim and baseboards than to strip them.

  • bleigh
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I was so trying to avoid that...but, I decided just a few minutes ago while showering off two tons of paint dust that I'm going to at least check into replacing the door trim. All those grooves (insert a large pair of googly eyes). I can handle the baseboards, but that door trim!!!! Ugh, I'm going to take some ibuprofin and have beer.

  • PRO
    Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
    11 years ago

    and have beer.

    Way back in the old days, I found Mr. Daniels to be a great help, or so I thought.

  • graywings123
    11 years ago

    You can get good advice on paint removal from the Old House forum.

    Are you trying to strip down to bare wood? Could you just take off the latex paint with something like Goof Off and leave the oil paint as a base?

    I feel your pain. I have done some window frame and sash paint removal and currently am working on the front porch. I'm using a heat gun and and scrapers. I have tried the chemical strippers, but you still have to get the gunk out of the nooks and crannies.

  • bleigh
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I just want to get the latex off and leave the oil. I'll give Goof Off a try...can't hurt. I've tried the heat gun and it's really slow. Also bubbled up some of wall paint too. The chemical strippers are not going to happen inside. That one section with the orange stripper is enough for me to not want to do any more.

    So sorry you're having to do this too. It is hard work and I have tons of sympathy for anyone having to go through this tedious process.

  • bleigh
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Just wanted to say that Goof Off does help quite a bit especially in the grooves. Thanks for the suggestion!

  • Jumpilotmdm
    11 years ago

    Also maybe try Peel-Away, a stripping product that you can use inside.
    open the windows while you're using goof off.

  • nap101
    11 years ago

    I've been working on my door frames and windows for months and just tried this. Amazing! Love the fact that it only removes the latex. I was using other methods that removed everything and I don't need that. Now to figure out how to do it to the entire house without becoming toxic from the fumes.

    There should be a special place in hell for people that do this prior to selling their house. I guess that's a bit dramatic but if you've dealt with it I'm sure you can relate.