concrete/cast stone porch columns

c. dawson · Post by **c. dawson** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:38 pm

I don't suppose anyone can recommend a service to sandblast old paint off the cement columns on my porch? Or is there no one to do that? I have the sinking feeling the old way to get the old paint off is with a metal brush mounted on my drill, or scraping by hand, or using hazardous chemicals.

Do I have any options??

Ruth Sholtis-Furyes · Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:23 pm

I don't know how well it works on masonry, but friends of mine have used the silent paint remover for trim and exterior with much success.

http://www.silentpaintremover.com/spr/reviews.htm

Ahmie Yeung · Post by **Ahmie Yeung** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:51 am

if the paint is very old, you need to be careful about removing it - it could have lead in it and pose a danger to small children in the area (or who are in the area years later, as it can stay in the surrounding soil for years). Just something to keep in mind.

Rhonda loje · Post by **Rhonda loje** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:49 pm

There is a product called Peel-a-way and you can get it at Sherwin Williams. It is water based and also the paint comes off on with the paper you place on top of it. If the concrete is really pourous you may have to apply a couple of times. But at least it is water based. I have used it on our front porch. It depends on how many layers of paint and how pourous the surface is.

Rhonda

Stan Austin · Post by **Stan Austin** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:42 pm

Rhonda's suggestion is the best because-- one of the greatest risks is physically damaging or gouging the cement. Unlike wood which can be repaired with wood putty cement is much more difficult to repair.
Also, this product should satisfy the caution of having flakes of lead paint on the ground.

c. dawson · Post by **c. dawson** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:25 pm

I'll give the Peel Away a try ... I used a safe paste stripper that I got from Ingersoll's that worked quite well on the 7 layers of paint on my porch, but I don't think it said it worked on masonry/concrete.

From what I can tell, no one's worked on the porch for years ... decades at the least. Ah well, at least it'll be nice when I'm done, and hopefully stay that way for a while!

Ahmie Yeung · Post by **Ahmie Yeung** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:56 am

thanks for the recommendation on the stuff from Ingersoll's - my hubby and I have been debating about trying some of that stuff on our window and door frames, they've been painted repeatedly (place was a rental for decades) and some of the paint is in pretty poor condition. How far does the stuff go? are we going to need a can per window frame or something? That's part of the concern. We've been trying to keep the paint touched up but it's driving me nuts, especially now that the baby is walking (he learned to walk at several months younger in age than his brother did so it took me by surprise). Did it take a lot of time? Was it a big mess? I have no idea how many layers of paint are on the trim in this place, but in some of the window frames the paint is warped and buckling under the one layer of latex paint we put over it to keep it contained in the short-term, maybe that means it'd come off easier? *fingers crossed*

Rhonda loje · Post by **Rhonda loje** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:57 pm

The best way to strip a window is to take it apart. Your probably need to replace the sash cords and replace the caulking for insulation any way. Strip the window before you do the repairs and you can also take the wood off and trip it outside and then do what you want with it ...stain or paint and then put it back again.

I'm not saying it is easy...but once you get it done it is done forever.

I did my whole house (without kids)....I have alot of windows and woodwork. It took a while.

Rhonda

Ahmie Yeung · Post by **Ahmie Yeung** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 1:25 pm

Rhonda loje wrote:The best way to strip a window is to take it apart. Your probably need to replace the sash cords and replace the caulking for insulation any way. Strip the window before you do the repairs and you can also take the wood off and trip it outside and then do what you want with it ...stain or paint and then put it back again.

I'm not saying it is easy...but once you get it done it is done forever.

I did my whole house (without kids)....I have alot of windows and woodwork. It took a while.

Rhonda

Thanks, Rhonda. That's what I was figuring. We're actually planning to replace the windows (they are original to the 81 year old house, and it's a double so not so much the architectural distinctiveness in this area :wink:

I don't think we'll offend too many historical society folks with vinyl windows on the place). I'd love to get the downstairs living and dining room back to bare wood if it's still in good shape under there (along with the rest of the trim) but that's going to take ages. Some brilliant past occupant (sarcasm) put up wood paneling on the walls and then it got painted over goodness-knows-when, so I think we need to take down all the wood trim, plaster over the paneling in an artistic manner (I'm afraid of removing it because of the potential lead hazard, plus concern about what condition the walls are in underneath) then strip the trim and put it back on over the replastered walls with some new interesting thingamabobs in the corners since I'm sure that the replastering will make a weird gap otherwise. Maybe something interesting with ceiling treatment while we're at it since that's pretty cracked up too. We use the double kinda like a single, downstairs being the formal spaces and my in-law's bedroom and guest/sewing room (my MIL is a professional seamstress), upstairs is the kids, my husband and myself (we're planning to finish off the attic as a master suite for us and studio space for me, the kids bedrooms stay on the 2nd floor). Upstairs living room is the kids' play room and the dining room is our home office, kitchen is arts/crafts and snack space (still has a fridge but no stove, just a microwave and a toaster oven). Very comfortable for 3 generations living under one roof, if we could just get the lead hazards a bit more under control for my sanity. But the price was definitely good and I love that we have original fixtures in the place (one of the original kitchen sinks, both tubs). I view learning how to take care of it as an opportunity to grow as a person :wink:

just a slow process. I plan to live in this house (or at least on this property - the lot is big enough for a small cottage in the backyard, if I can't handle the stairs in my old age then my sons could have the house if they wanted it) for the rest of my life, so it's worth the extra time/effort to do things right instead of doing them quick, kwim?

Ahmie

c. dawson · Post by **c. dawson** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:55 pm

The stuff I got at Ingersoll's was called Ready Strip, and it's in a white plastic tub with a green lid. They have a gallon size, and a smaller size. Avoid the gallon one, as it's been on their shelves for a long time, and it's lost it's effectiveness. The stuff in the smaller tub is fresh. It's a green paste, and you brush it on (I used a cheap foam brush) VERY THICKLY, and let it sit for at least 4 hours, but preferably longer, like 24 hours. It's not fast-acting, like the hazardous stuff ... but there's no dangerous fumes, you don't have to wear gloves while working with it, and when it strips off the paint, the paint sticks to the paste, so clean up is extremely easy. You'll know it's ready when the green paste turns to white. If it's a bit too dry, mist it with some water, and then use a paint scraper to scrape away the paste and the paint. On my porch, it'd pull up a couple of layers at a time, but these were pretty old paints it was pulling up, so I was actually quite satisfied with its performance. I had started out using the normal stripper, with its fumes, and caustic nature (and if you get some of the regular stuff on your skin, it BURNS like heck ... with Ready Strip, there's nothing like that. It just washes off, no burning, no staining), and while it was working quickly and effectively, I just didn't feel comfortable using it. Yes, I want the old paint stripped off, but I don't want to do it in a way that puts my health in danger and requires me to wear chemical-resistant gloves and a respirator!

I actually heard about this stuff in a review in Workbench Magazine, which put a bunch of them to the test, and they rated Ready Strip the best.

I've also tried Citristrip, which is the orange gel, and it's okay, but I don't think it worked as well as the Ready Strip, which is a nice thick paste, so it really sticks well to the surface.

I did buy some Peel Away from Lowe's to try on my concrete columns on my porch, but haven't tried it yet, but once I do, I'll report back on its effectiveness, though it wasn't rated that high in the Workbench study, but that test only used it on an old wooden door, so it might work better on masonry or concrete, as I've seen a number of sites suggest it.

Rhonda loje · Post by **Rhonda loje** » Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:29 pm

Sound like they have many more products to choose form since I did my "stripping"....I'm glad you found something that works for you. It will be interesting to see how the Peel-Away compares....I would love to know the difference.

When I did all my work the only other choice I had what Strip-Ez..it was toxic!

Goodluck and let us know what you find out!

Rhonda

dl meckes · Post by **dl meckes** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 12:01 pm

We've used Ready Strip, but not yet on concrete. Compared to what the choices used to be, the new products are amazing!

TIM CARROLL · Post by **TIM CARROLL** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:19 am

We used Peel-Away in our house. For the best possible removal of the paint (especially if you have several layers of paint), put it on and leave it on overnight. Then you will need to wash the column down with water after peeling off the paper, before you can do anything else.

c. dawson · Post by **c. dawson** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:16 pm

well, the Peel Away works, to a degree. It definitely took up the top layer of latex paint ... in fact, that bubbled up and loose, like a second skin. Very easy to remove. The layer beneath was hit or miss ... in some spots it bubbled up, in others it was hard as the concrete beneath it. I think it all depended on how thick I put the Peel Away on. So it's fairly effective, though it's a lot messier to work with than the Ready Strip, which solidified to a degree, and made cleanup a snap.

One problem I'll have is that my columns are kinda fluted, and even the masonry block bases under the columns have a very uneven surface, making stripping difficult, but I'll keep trying the stripper. I'll probably try Ready Strip again, just to see what effect it has.

When I was doing research, I found a story on the This Old House website about one of the houses they recently remodeled, and how it had a ton of layers of old paint on it, and they used a product called Removall, which amazed the professional painters on the job with how good a job it did . So I looked it up, and it's a Canadian product ... which is only available in the US by mail order from a single company authorized to carry it.

Figures.

For wood, I still like Ready Strip, but I'm fairly impressed with Peel Away 6 so far. I did see several Peel Away products at Sherwin Williams, but all the quart sizes were sold out, and the gallon prices ranged from $66 to $83!! The Ready Strip gallons were like $36 at Ingersoll's, but I found when I bought one that it was old, and instead of green paste inside, I found brownish liquid. Still worked to a degree, but not as well as the fresh paste.

c. dawson · Post by **c. dawson** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:22 am

I think I gotta walk away from the paint stripper ... it does work, but the problem is, because the masonry blocks that my columns sit on are so textured, while the paint does bubble up ... it's hard to actually strip it off because of the texture. I've been using a steel brush and a variety of scrapers, and it's working, but painfully slow. Really, painfully, excruciatingly slow. Actually, slower than that. No, even slower than even that.

I think I'll not use the stripper on the other columns, I'll just scrape the loose stuff, and then paint over it (after priming, of course).

Of course, now I have to really scrape the stuff off on the column I used the paint stripper, or else the new paint won't stick at all!!