# How much paint remover would it take to make the paint peel on the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060 "2026-06-20T20:21:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/21 "2026-06-21T15:37:42Z")
[Moderating] > [@md-2000](#): > > In his book, Michael Cohen relates the story of how Trump ordered the cheapest low-grade paint for a hotel project he was developing. Then, when it proved to be cheap and low-grade (Apparenly, just cleaning the walls took off the paint), he refused to pay the contractor and sent Cohen to deal with the paint manufacturer and demand they fix the problem problem at their own expense. > > In literature, this is called _foreshadowing_. Sigh. This will be a Warning for not following moderator instructions. This part of the post is just a dig at Trump, like I just instructed everyone not to do, and the second part of the post doesn’t answer the question, either. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/22 "2026-06-21T15:40:41Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I would presume the first step is to drain the ~~swamp~~ pond. And you would be correct. > President Donald Trump says he’s preparing to drain the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool as the beautification project becomes the latest boondoggle to spin out of control for his administration. > **[Trump says he ready to drain the Reflecting Pool again after the $14M...](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-reflecting-pool-draining-paint-b2999918.html)** > > Trump’s renovations have already totaled $14 million, and he now blames vandalism for the algae and peeling paint in the Reflecting Pool ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/23 "2026-06-21T16:00:04Z")
I found the same link, and I’m with this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/24 "2026-06-21T16:07:01Z")
> [@Ancient\_Nerd](#): > > The pool is 2037 feet long and 167 feet wide. It’s depth varies between 18 and 30 inches. As a rough guess, we can assume that the average depth would be two feet. Assuming, of course, that the pool is empty and dry because that is usually how paint is removed, we would have to know the type and thickness of the paint, and the surface it was applied to. Do we have any info other than the meaurement provided by the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/25 "2026-06-21T18:07:43Z")
It is sounding like the only way for a vandal to deliberately make the paint peel would be to get at it before the pool was filled. At that point, someone might sneak in with a few cases of stripper. to avoid leaving footprints or wheel marks from a dolly, the paint would need to be at least somewhat dry. That sounds like a brief window. Doing this would only leave the paint peeling in a few spots. Would it be evident before they started filling? ---
**Author:** ![Cwturner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Cwturner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cwturner)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/26 "2026-06-21T18:21:00Z")
Paging Phil Swift ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/27 "2026-06-21T18:33:02Z")
Isn’t the paint a polyurethane-based coating? That stuff is pretty resistant to conventional paint stripping chemicals. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/28 "2026-06-21T18:50:34Z")
If I understand the question correctly the OP is asking how much paint remover it would take to make the paint peel off after the pool has been filled with water. The peeling off did not start before the re-filling, so that is the question that makes sense to me. It depends on which solvent you are using as paint remover, of course, but there are only two broad possibilities. Either you use something really chemically aggressive, like most common paint thinners are: > **[Paint thinner | Common paint thinners](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_thinner#Common_paint_thinners)** > > Common organic solvents used historically as paint thinners are volatile organic compounds — forms of hydrocarbons — and include: > 1.White spirit — also called mineral spirits | > 2.Acetone — a very simple ketone, often called nail varnish remover | > 3.Butanone / methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) | > 4.Dimethylformamide (DMF) | > 5.Glycol ethers — such as 2-Butoxyethanol | > 6.Alcohols — such as isopropyl alcohol / isopropanol and 1-propanol | > 7.Light naphtha distillates | > 8.Turpentine | > 9.Linseed oil | > ... All of them smell strongly, they are not called volatile organic componds for nothing. Linseed oil does not work when the water is still there (it floats). Those compounds also tend to be flammable. Difficult to use subrepticiously. Or you use the often mentioned hydrogen peroxyde, which you see is not included in that list, it is rather weak for this job at the usual commercially available concentrations. From wikipedia: > It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%–6% by weight) in water for consumer use and in higher concentrations for industrial use. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, or “high-test peroxide”, decomposes explosively when heated and has been used as both a monopropellant and an oxidizer in rocketry. In both cases, but particularly in the second case, assuming non weapons or rocketry grade concentrations, you would need so much paint remover that the pond would flow over. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/29 "2026-06-21T21:44:59Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > If I understand the question correctly the OP is asking how much paint remover it would take to make the paint peel off after the pool has been filled with water. The peeling off did not start before the re-filling, so that is the question that makes sense to me. Ah, I misunderstood. APologies. I thought the question was what amount of paint remover would be required to fix the problem… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/30 "2026-06-21T22:23:31Z")
If it is to be added to a filled pool: According to this calculator [Water Volume Calculator](https://whycalculator.com/water-volume-calculator/) the pool would contain 8136993.30 U.S. gallons of water. How much paint thinner would be needed would depend on how much you can thin out the paint thinner before it is totally useless, and this Wiki on the different types of paint thinner [Paint thinner - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paint_thinner) makes calculating that amount next to impossible…but it would almost certainly take much more thinner than water. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/31 "2026-06-22T00:57:55Z")
Whenever I’ve used paint stripper, the instructions have been to use it undiluted. If the premise is that the paint stripper is going to be added to the water (rather than the pool being drained and the paint stripper applied to the walls and floor directly) you would need (per @Czarcasm) 8,136,993 gallons of paint stripper to achieve a 50% dilution. Which would be half as effective as normal, and cause the pool to massively overflow, and take somewhere around 1000 tanker trucks. I think someone would have noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/33 "2026-06-22T02:46:54Z")
Almost all of the paint thinners I am familiar with are petroleum based, meaning it won’t mix with water; just float on top. No matter how much you pour in, I doubt it would ever come into contact with the painted bottom of any kind of pool of water. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/34 "2026-06-22T03:35:20Z")
Are paint _thinners_ relevant here? I thought we were talking about paint _stripper_? Wikipedia lists (amongst others) dimethyl sulfoxide, N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethylformamide, and and nitromethane as paint stripper and they all dissolve in water. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/35 "2026-06-22T04:01:27Z")
There is a difference between a paint thinner and a paint stripper, they have different purposes and act differently. A big difference comes from whether the paint polymerises as part of application or just dries. A thinner does what it says. It makes the paint thinner (less viscous). Once a polymer paint has set its thinner generally won’t touch it. Probably the best example is acrylic paint where the thinner is water. A polyurethane or epoxy paint is the similar. Once polymerised their thinner won’t touch it. Just nastier thinners. Non converting paints don’t polymerise as part of drying. These paints will be acted on by the appropriate thinner once dry. This has the nice mechanism of making the next coat bond into the previous coat. Many lacquers are nothing but tree or beetle processed resins dissolved in a solvent and left to dry. They also don’t polymerise, and lacquer thinners will dissolve them again. Which makes repairing damage really easy with a near perfect result. Why does this matter? Well the likely paints used for the reflecting pool are either epoxy (polymerising) or chlorinated rubber, which is a non converting paint, and would soften with its solvent (which is a hydrocarbon). But adding the solvent to the pool after the fact is useless. As noted above, it will likely float on the surface, plus you would need industrial quantities. Something that is not going to be unnoticed. A stripper is a chemical that will degrade the paint structure. Such nasties as methylene chloride. They rip into the structure of the paint and wreck it. Most importantly wrecking adhesion to the substrate. They don’t dissolve the paint. Nor would you want them too. You want a solid material to remove and dispose of. Not a sticky mess. Similar problem adding a stripper to the pool. You need industrial quantities of very nasty chemicals that generally won’t work in water anyway. Literal truckloads would be needed. Which is why mechanical removal is used when needed. Application of chlorinated rubber paint over polymer finishes won’t work, as it won’t properly adhere. Applying chlorinated rubber over epoxy is a rookie mistake for a pool. But could well be the issue here. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/36 "2026-06-22T12:36:21Z")
I agree adding paint stripper to water would be completely impractical I shudder to think of the toxicity of a pool full of paint stripper. Cleanup and disposal afterwards would be a challenge. Cost would be another limiting factor. A gallon of Klean-Strip is $51 at Home Depot. Paint Stripper could be used if the pool was drained. It would be extremely expensive. . ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/37 "2026-06-22T12:38:37Z")
Seems like the GQ answer is “it can’t be done”, since you’d end up replacing the water with paint stripper. Do I have that right? ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/38 "2026-06-22T13:00:05Z")
I would think you drain it, manually/mechanically remove as much as possible and then finish with chemical removal. This may only take months to years to work. Then you have the challenge how to make this actually work, I propose 50 fountains within the reflecting pool to represent the 50 states. Maybe putting the fountains in the center trying to keep the ends “still” through strong pump systems. More they move the water, the more they control it. This should help with both pool algae and color. More chances to filter, more expense to maintain. As to how to seal this artificial shallow lake, it is needed to find someone else. Whom I do not know. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/39 "2026-06-22T13:19:20Z")
I’d probably say “ain’t no frickin’ way on this damn earth” rather than merely “it can’t be done”, but yes. The amount of paint stripper to do the job would be ridiculous, obvious and noxious. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/40 "2026-06-22T15:18:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I shudder to think of the toxicity of a pool full of paint stripper. I’m glad someone’s thinking of the ducklings. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060/41 "2026-06-22T15:34:36Z")
I was more concerned about the guys at the EPA. Don’t want them keeling over. 😀 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-paint-remover-would-it-take-to-make-the-paint-peel-on-the-bottom-of-the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool/1031060.md?page=3)