We just bought a 1959 house in Durango. For some baffling reason the previous owners had painted the original oak floors deep brown, and then painted over them with white to sell the house. In the 5 days we spent in the house, the white paint got scratched badly (which really didn’t matter, since it wasn’t going to stay anyway.) I used a scraper and removed some of the paint. It comes off fairly easily, but it’s still going to be a week of tedious work to clear all the paint. Is there an easier way? I have a heat gun, and I was going to try that to see if it works better than the scraper by itself. I’ve heard mixed reviews of Infrared paint removers, which expensive, but if they would speed up the job, I’d buy one and re-sell it later. I don’t want to use chemical strippers, since they are expensive and make a mess.
Thoughts?
Ugh.
But it’s gonna be nice when you get down to it.
So, sanding with the big professional machines not an option? Or hiring it out?
It’s messy. But I think it’s pretty quick. I sanded pine plank floors with a cheapy sander. It was one layer of some old finish and decades of dirt. So it wasn’t hard.
Like I said messy.
I don’t think I’ve ever been dirtier working on an old cabin.
Good luck.
I think that sanding might work, but the paint tends to gum up the sanding belts, making it much more expensive. But, I’d appreciate any first-hand experience.
Yep. That is a problem with the cheapy sanders. I used a butt load of paper.
I think the big ones with more power and rpms(?) are not nearly that way.
I watched a guy with one sand glued down carpet off of concrete, in a school hallway. Took him no time. I was suitably impressed.
Maybe you can rent one.
If your goal is to remove the paint and go with a natural finish, I doubt scraping or chemicals will produce the results you seek. Oak is known as an open-face wood meaning that the texture/grain has tiny valleys and ridges as opposed to being perfectly smooth. You can test this by lightly scraping your fingernail across the grain and then with the grain. You should feel these tiny valleys across the grain and this is where it will be extremely difficult to remove paint with chemicals/scraping.
Sanding may be your best option providing the floor can be sanded. Hardwood floors will accept several sandings until the nail heads are finally exposed. If nail heads are exposed, the holding power of the nail is compromised and floors tend to squeak excessively. At that point, the floors are usually replaced or in some cases painted. You could test the floor with a hand sander in a closet, if available, to see if you can remove the paint without exposing any nail heads. If successful, you can rent a floor sander and move forward but you may want to watch some YouTube videos for the proper floor sanding technique. There are two types of machines: drum sander and rotating disc and the rotating disc is far more user friendly.
I’ve measured the top surface, and there’s around 1/4" of wood above the tongue.
So, I think sanding is OK.
I just wonder if I should go straight to sanding, or try to remove the paint first, before I sand it.
Have you tried the heat gun ?
I have successfully used one to assist with paint removal.
I guess it may depend on the type of paint.
I would think that scraping with or without the heat gun would remove a good portion of the paint. So long as it didn’t damage the wood, you wouldn’t have to worry about getting anything near perfect results, and anything you removed would make dealing with the gummed up sandpaper easier.
The best thing would be if you could get access to a sander at least temporarily, and compare how long it takes to get good results. Clear 3 separate square foot sections with:
-scraping alone
-sanding alone
-scraping followed by sanding
Time yourself and compare the results. But that wouldn’t work well if it were a hassle/expense to rent a sander.
I guess one complication is that you are going to need to sand before finishing anyway, even if you remove most of the paint by scraping. Enjoy the new home and be sure to post pics of the finished project!
I’d scrape it and then sand it if the appearance was not to my liking.
What kind of scraper are you using?
Something like this (painter’s multitool): https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-15-in-1-Painter-s-Tool-18PT0846/309098036
Or something like this (carbide scraper): https://www.homedepot.com/p/Warner-2-in-Soft-Grip-Carbide-Scraper-with-Knob-151391/205052713
I ask because a difficult job with the former is so much easier with the latter.
I tried this:
and something like this:
The first one worked much better, but my carbide scraper was probably dull from use.
I may try to get a better carbide scraper with some sharp replacement blades when I resume work on he floor.
I removed at least 3 colors of paint from wood trim & stairs in a 110-year old house. I used a heat gun to warm the paint, then a scraper (putty knife) to remove it. It came off in long pieces, fairly easy. When it didn’t come off easy, then I heated that part more. Seemed to work best on about 3-4 foot sections at a time. It was much easier with the heat gun! But still a long, tiring, & dirty job.
When that was done, I used an orbital sander to get down to the bare wood, then cleaned & stained the wood. It did take a lot of sandpaper. But I’m real happy with the result.
IF you’re the type who isn’t to skeeved out by chemicals, I’ve had good luck with the chemical strippers, in particular 5f5 (but plenty of others out there).
They’re stinky and nasty, and surely cancer in a can, but they DO work. Open windows, gloves, all that. And windows open with a window fan, in my experience, isn’t too bad.
My approach is to do coat a reasonable section, maybe 3x3 feet with the stripper and then cover it with plastic wrap. This will keep the stripper from evaporating. Wait 15 or 20 minutes, and you’ll be amazed at how easily it scrapes up.
I usually use a rag dampened with paint thinner and wipe the surface after, to remove any chemical residues.
You’ll still need a light sanding after, but it won’t be too bad.
Thanks, this is exactly the first-hand information I wanted.
I have a heat gun, so it’s worth a try.
BTW, I’d love to see before-and-after photos!
I’ved used citri-strip on small projects, and find that it works well, but it’s such a mess.
I’d rather avoid strippers this time (I think they are most useful for heavily contoured surfaces, like moulding).
Well, seems to me, you are going to have to sand this sooner or later. Might as well do it from the outset and save a step.
I’m lazy.
I’ve never done the job, but have some experience with ‘real’ (heavy drum) floor sanders. They should do the trick.
People who paint oak and other nice floors should be beaten with door-knob filled sacks.
Curious how your project is going.
One thing I wanted to add is that an old oak floor like this is always going to be rustic looking. Oak has a lot of open pores in it grain and these easily get filled with stain or paint. Fully removing the painted grain may require an awful lot of surface removal. Less aggressive sanding leaving artifacts of the old finish might not be such a bad look. There is a style of oak finish, lime wash, where the grain is purposely filled with white pigment.
Some paints will peel with rather mild paint removing solvents, others require highly smelly caustic stuff. Try that if you like or use a heat gun. Either way you’ll be scraping. When the paint is mostly gone use a floor sander. You can rent them at Home Depot and many other tool rental outlets. You may be able to find someone who sands floors locally. There are a lot of individuals doing this in side businesses. You’ll probably have to do the scraping yourself.
If you really want to spend a lot of money you can consider abrasive blasting options, and even laser removal.
I’m still in the “research” phase…
I’ve been boning up on sanding methods and different floor finishes. It makes me crazy that all floor finishes get some 1-star reviews. I’m leaning towards Rubio Monocoat Oil + 2C, with a topcoat of Sheen Plus. The other system in the running is WaterLox, but it seems like a huge hassle to apply.
I was planning on stripping the paint using my heat gun, but then I thought that maybe sanding it was OK, but then I thought - uh oh - what if the paint is lead-based? So, I just bought a lead test kit. If it’s not lead, I’ll sand it. If it is, I’ll strip in by hand, and sand the rest with a respirator.
I won’t be able to start this project for a couple of more months. I need to wait until it gets warm enough to work with the heat off, so it doesn’t blow the dust all around. Also, I need to reserve the sanders in advance, since there is only one place in town that has them for rent.
I’ll return to the thread when I’ve made some progress.
I am not familiar with those products. The Floor vendors we deal with pretty much always use Bona products for floor refinishing. Usually a stain (often just natural to bring out the grain) and then a water based finish. The finish ‘dries’ in about two hours and takes 24 hrs to cure and be ready for traffic. I have used it a couple times on small areas and it is pretty easy to apply.
Just something to look into. Good on you for testing the paint for lead. Unless it is pretty old paint it should be fine, best to check though.
As previously mentioned, you’ll clog up a lot of sandpaper that way. Start with some scraping. You have to watch out for sanding through the paint layer and into the floor also with any power sander. If you don’t mind working down on the floor you could get an expensive belt sander to work off the paint before renting a large floor sander. To get through the paint you’ll be sanding more deeply than necessary for the typical floor refinishing, you might find the need to use paint strippers on small portions to avoid going too deeply into the wood. It will also be useful for tight spots sometimes even when using a large floor sander but you will want an an orbital palm sander available in spots where you have to sand against the grain. The orbital sander is also good for deep scratches and gouges so you can sand a circular ‘dish’ the wood with a gentle slope into the area. Anything really bad just needs some filler.
If you have a Shop-Vac with an outlet that you can put a hose on then you can run the outlet hose out the window to get the finest dust out of your house altogether. Even HEPA filters won’t catch the smallest and most dangerous particles of sawdust.