Best Method to Remove Loose Paint

[Jhignutt 14]

Had a call from a painting contractor today to pressure wash an existing building to prep for paint. Of course they need it done right away which puts me in a bind if i need to order any chemicals to remove. So my question is can i get away with not using any chemicals and just use the pressure and hotwater. I have a couple tips i can try to remove the loose paint from the block but appreciate any suggestions thanks.

[Jeff 232]

whats on the building. Is it just mold & mildew? if so bleach & soap. Is it all block?

Around here the main reason to PW for paint prp is to get rid of mold & mildew, so we just use 12% & soap.

Got any pics?

[John Orr 206]

If you are prepping cinder block, wash as normal to remove dirt/mold/mildew. A turbo nozzle works quite well to remove loose paint. Keep the tip as far from the surface as possible to keep from leaving swirl marks on the surface.

[Jhignutt 14]

Since this is pretty much a normal wash i guess normal price as well. Hey Jeff sorry i don't have any pictures but it is cinder block that is painted. John when you say turbo nozzle suppose I dont have one but i do have a m5 nozzle. Will this do the trick? What about the yellow tip?

[PressurePros 249]

Paint prep is NEVER a normal wash when flaking paint is involved. Extension wands, higher pressure and ladders are often needed. Wash the house in a higher concentration of TSP after you knock down the flakes (don't be surprised if you have to scrape some spots) An M5 is not goona cut it IMO, but I also cannot see the project to make a fair asessement.

[yazbird8 17]

I had a customer this year who wanted me to prep his home so he could paint it himself..It was in pretty bad shape in a lot of areas....I told him up front that I would remove 80-90% of the loose paint but he would still need to scrape some areas a little bit as he was priming the areas..

I try not to make promises in these cases and I try to be up front on what to expect..I did tell him that the house wash itself would be stunning though.........I drove by the house lately and the owner did a super job painting it........

Stephen Andrews

Power Washing

Home & Property

Care & Maintenance

[plainpainter 217]

Hey I am a painter - Bleach and TSP for your chemicals - and lots of scrubbing and high pressure to remove the flaking paint. It ain't like house cleaning you guys are use to - you have to get up and close with ladders and what not - lots and lots of pressure with a 25 degree or 40 degree tip.

[plainpainter 217]

Oh yes - you always need to scrape after pressure washing - lately I have been offering a super prep job where I scrape first - let it rain - and come back while the house is soaking and go mad with a pressure washer - then wait til it dries up and re-scrape and sand. My houses have been lasting a really long time after this type of prep work. The most expensive paint on the market is garbage without the right prep. And pressure washing reveals weaknesses in the old paint that a scraper wouldn't reveal - especially since even old paint is at it's toughest when dry.

[yazbird8 17]

I agree Dan..if the customer is willing to pay the extra $$...This customer was painting his own house and was looking to save some elbow grease...and money......

Stephen Andrews

Power Washing

Home & Property

Care & Maintenance

[yazbird8 17]

Yup....It is amazing what a good power washing can reveal, that scraping can't .....

Stephen Andrews

Power Washing

Home & Property

Care & Maintenance

[PressurePros 249]

This is just a generalized statement not targeted at you, Stephen. They are all looking to save money (painters whom call us to prep included). When the customer has a failing coating in two years he is going to ask SW why and they are going to say "bad prep". It has to be done and priced correctly. Jhig, for what its worth, take whatever price you had in mind and double it. At the very least come back and share how it turned out for you. -Ken

[Curb Appeal 14]

I just got finished stripping the paint off of an entire house, wood siding. I used Stripper Cream from EacoChem. It's a mix of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. Assuming it's only one layer of latex paint, just roll the stripper cream on, let it sit a day or two, and pressure wash it off. No scraping involved at all and it will remove ALL of the paint, not just the loose stuff. Then neutralize with NMD-80, also from EacoChem. NMD-80 is hydrochloric acid. I diluted mine 4:1 water to acid, but that was on wood. You may have to dilute more when putting it on cinder block to keep it from eating through the masonry. I suppose any acid will work to neutralize.

Watch out for that stripper though, it's very hard on the skin. I have a couple of new battle scars now...:)

[plainpainter 217]

Joel, how much do these products cost - and how far do they go?

[Mike Sullivan 15]

If you are prepping cinder block, wash as normal to remove dirt/mold/mildew. A turbo nozzle works quite well to remove loose paint. Keep the tip as far from the surface as possible to keep from leaving swirl marks on the surface.

Joel "I just got finished stripping the paint off of an entire house, wood siding. I used Stripper Cream from EacoChem. It's a mix of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. Assuming it's only one layer of latex paint, just roll the stripper cream on, let it sit a day or two, and pressure wash it off. No scraping involved at all and it will remove ALL of the paint, not just the loose stuff. Then neutralize with NMD-80, also from EacoChem. NMD-80 is hydrochloric acid. I diluted mine 4:1 water to acid, but that was on wood. You may have to dilute more when putting it on cinder block to keep it from eating through the masonry. I suppose any acid will work to neutralize.

Watch out for that stripper though, it's very hard on the skin. I have a couple of new battle scars now...:)"

I like John and Joel's ideas. Combine the two and you'll probably get great results.

The best turbo nozzle I have used is the

Turbo Tech Terminator

http://www.mobicleaninc.com/tab1/store/category/9xup/Spray_Nozzles.html

[Mike Sullivan 15]

I was checking out the Eacochem website. The stripper cream says it is not as effective on latex.

http://eacochem.com/specs_strippercream.shtml

Maybe the Stripsol or LCS would work better if you are removing latex.

http://eacochem.com/paintstripping.shtml

[Curb Appeal 14]

I had no trouble at all using the Stripper Cream with Latex. The house I did was over 100 years old and had about 7-10 layers of paint on it of all types. Oil, latex and even some lead based paint. Sometimes I had to apply the stripper a couple of times to eat through all of the paint but it all came off. The foundation only had 1 coat of latex and 1 coat of primer. It came off no problem, with pressure...

Daniel, The stripper cream cost $112 per 5 gallon bucket. You're coverage will vary but you should get 100 sq. ft. per gallon out of it. One tip, don't skimp and put it on too thin. Put it on there as heavy as you can and let it sit for as long as you can. It won't dry out.

The NMD-80 ran $50 or so per 5'er. It goes a long way though. I neutralized the whole house (2500 actual sq. ft.) with about 3 gal of concetrate...

[Mike Sullivan 15]

Excellent Joel, I will have to try it sometime.

[Curb Appeal 14]

I think you'll like it.

BUT, if you have lots of layers like I did, you may want to try Prosoco's Peel Away. It goes on like a paste and you cover it with a sheet of their special paper that comes with it. Let it sit overnight and peel the paper off. The paint comes away with it. The only downside is that it is about twice as expensive (about $250/5'er) and the coverage is much, much less (20sq.ft. per gal +-). But it works better when you have lots of layers... Sherwin Williams also sells a product that works the same way called Peel-Away. I haven't used it so I can't comment on it.

Stripper Cream is good for up to about 3 or 4 layers even though their website says "multiple layers". I spent over 3 months scraping this house. The Stripper Cream made it a LOT easier but not as easy as the website or their customer service made it out to be. They told me that I should be able to scrape it off with just a plastic putty knife. Yea, right. I used a tungsten carbide scraper and went through about $200 worth of blades.

Another plus for Stripper Cream: it can be used as a grafitti remover when diluted with water and it's cheaper than Taginator.

Have fun...

[dcoronado 19]

Hey I am a painter - Bleach and TSP for your chemicals - and lots of scrubbing and high pressure to remove the flaking paint. It ain't like house cleaning you guys are use to - you have to get up and close with ladders and what not - lots and lots of pressure with a 25 degree or 40 degree tip.

Daniel,

Hello, I have reading up on what to use for preparing house for paint, wood siding and figured TSP and bleach would work well. My question is how should I mix this. I have liquid TSP not the powder form. I also believe that even after pressure washing house you will still need to scrape and sand...no matter how much pressure you use...correct?

Thanks,

[James 625]

On cement block I have used a Turbo Noz first and then shoot with a Bleach solution. Great for prep and knocking off loose paint and making a big MESS!

[All Surface 24]

On cement block I have used a Turbo Noz first and then shoot with a Bleach solution. Great for prep and knocking off loose paint and making a big MESS!

Same here. Most all paint preps I do are block style homes. Ditto on the big mess Jim! LOL