Sander recommendation

[Wooden Skye]

First off I have the RO90 and ETS 150/3, and have only used on wood.  I need to strip paint off tin walls and ceilings, I was planning on using the RO90, but curious if there is a better choice.  If not, what mode is best?  Also what is the best abrasive for stripping paint? 

Thanks

 

[AlexThePalex]

The RO 90 works well for stripping paint, but it's very small, so if you have to do walls and ceiling it's gonna take ages. A RO 150 is better suited for large surfaces. If you want it really fast then you might even consider the RAS 115. But the RAS is only good for fast paint stripping, nothing else, and you'll have to finish sand after it with another sander. The RO 150 is an all-round sander.

For stripping paint, generally Briliant 2 and Granat are good all-round abrasives. But the best one for stripping specifically is Cristal.

 

[Wooden Skye]

Alex

Thanks for the response, I am stripping down to the tin and will eventually repaint the walls and ceiling.  With any sander this is going to be a daunting task.

 

[oldie]

Just curious.
When you say tin, do you mean thin steel – or something similar anyway?
Does the metal have a protective coating (don’t mean the paint) – as in galvanised steel for eg.

Wondering if you can get away with just ‘smoothing’ surface for the new paint coating, or, do you really need to get down to bare metal?
Either way, would initially proceed warily, so as to preserve the substrate if necessary – don’t know if really matters of course.

Perhaps try Brilliant/Granat to start with, as Cristal (which I like) might be too ‘rough’ in the circumstances.  You’ll obviously know pretty quickly the best way forward.

Similarly, in this context, maybe the 6 inch ETS would be ok – otherwise, guess it has to be the RO150.

Hope you can find the time to let us know how you get on – which paper/grits used etc.

Richard

 

[Wooden Skye]

Fuzzy

It is decorative tin, which is thin metal.  The reason to take it to bare surface is it is cracking and peeling and would look bad if you just repaint.

 

[semenza]

Fuzzy

It is decorative tin, which is thin metal.  The reason to take it to bare surface is it is cracking and peeling and would look bad if you just repaint.

Decorative as in  bumpy surface?

Seth

 

[oldie]

Not long got in - see Seth wondering about bumpy surface as well.

o/k
Looks like I’ve completely misunderstood what you have to do.
Lets see if I’ve got it now – ever felt you’re digging a hole  [embarassed]

Need to remove decorative tin wall/ceiling covering – am assuming that it’s embossed?
The aim being to get through to (say) plaster substrate – which is then to be painted.
Haven’t got a clue if I’m visualising the job correctly – lol.

(BTW - does the tin covering have any ferrous content?  Massively unlikely – but thinking of potential for sparking – if so, might have to take suitable precautions re’ fire risk)

Beginning to think that to start with Saphir abrasive might be a way forward – due to the longer lasting, robust, backing.
Fancy less likely to tear whilst sanding the tin.  But would need to be gentle.  I have used Saphir 80 / 100 on thick paint (when caught out, miles from nowhere) and was surprised at how smooth surface was when finished.
Maybe start with Saphir 120 and see how it goes – keenly aware that only you will know what’s going to work for you.
Again, for sure, the RO150 seems ideal – but would still give the ETS a whirl to start with, as over-aggressive might unnecessarily damage the substrate.
IMHO - you can always go ‘rougher’ if needs be – but good to try and minimise over-scratching of whatever’s underneath the tin.

Apologies if over-thinking, or just plain got it wrong - again   [unsure]

Richard

(edit:  reading your query again, really not sure what you're wishing to do.  Get paint off the 'bumpy' tin surface (a 'safe' paint stripper?) or remove the tin altogether and start over.)

 

[Wooden Skye]

I will take a few pictures and see if I can figure out how to attach them.  Hopefully that will show what it looks like and will show what I am trying to achieve.  I did a part with paint stripper and a dremel before I bought my festool sanders.

 

[Wooden Skye]

If I attached the photos correctly, big if.  The first photo should be a sample of the condition of the walls, the next 2 photos should be of the ceiling and the final photo should be of a section I completed with paint stripper and a dremel, again before I owned any festool sander.

 

[Runhard]

This is what I just bought and it works better than anything else I have tried to remove paint:

http://www.eco-strip.com/

 

[AlexThePalex]

Yuck, what a terrible surface to strip, all done in relief. That's a lot of hard work.

I would only strip the tiles with imperfections, and leave the rest be with only a light sanding to roughen them up.

 

[Wooden Skye]

Runhard, that is a neat system, however I don't think it would be good on tin, probably to much heat involved, that is why they say not to use heat gun.

Alex, it isn't any fun, that is why I stopped, but it needs to be done not immediately, but in small frequent increments.

 

[tbellemare]

I think I'd try a cup brush.

Tom

 

[Wooden Skye]

Tom
Tried a cup brush and the results weren't that good, some of the tin was scratched pretty good, not that we are leaving un painted, just didn't like using, my corded dewalt drill may have contributed, spins the brush at a higher speed than I think the task requires.

 

[PA floor guy]

I've chemically strips acres of surfaces now.  And the best stripper I have rounds is dads easy strip.  It's straight up nasty and will make the paint just run right off those tin panels.  I've actually used it on the tin ceilings in my home.  Works great.  But make sure you wipe the panels down very well with mineral spirits afterwards.

 

[Wooden Skye]

PA floor guy,

Thanks! Where do you find Dad's Easy Strip?

 

[Scott B.]

Tough situation. While I'd be curious to stack some soft interface pads on an ets125 or something, I think the solution might be in one of those pasty type of strippers. We use a few different ones. There are some very effective and reasonably non toxic ones out there these days.

 

[Kev]

Decorative pressed metal ceilings found their way down under a long time back - I remember my study years when I did some part time painting and these were common in some of the rental properties a friend and I were painting.

I hated them !!!

The more common thing done with them these days is to tear them out and replace them ! Always old lead paints and nasty stuff involved.

 

[oldie]

Off topic:
Grovelling to everyone re’ my earlier post.  Reads like a load of old tosh now 
Can only think over-tired  +  a cascade of early on-set ‘senior moments.’
Couldn’t visualise what Wooden Skye talking about.  Tin walls/ceilings??
Maybe some sort of old bomb shelter, metal shed, barn or whatever.

How ignorant can you be?
If anyone else interested, try googling:
‘the history of tin tiles’ – ‘vintage tin tile images’ – ‘tin tile images’
Fascinating stuff – didn’t know such metal tiles existed.

More on topic:
Dad Easy Strip – http://www.dadseasyspray.com/
Quite a big project time wise – nudging towards restoration work.  Definitely go down gel type paint-stripper route.  Don’t think sanding comes into this as such.  Therefore would be looking at the sort of techniques used in restoration – depending how ‘detailed’ you want to go with it.
(if necessary, please don’t forget possibility of lead in paint.)

Hope you can find the time to let us know how you get on – what worked for you etc.
Richard.

 

[Kev]

Off topic:
Grovelling to everyone re’ my earlier post.  Reads like a load of old tosh now 
Can only think over-tired  +  a cascade of early on-set ‘senior moments.’
Couldn’t visualise what Wooden Skye talking about.  Tin walls/ceilings??
Maybe some sort of old bomb shelter, metal shed, barn or whatever.

How ignorant can you be?
If anyone else interested, try googling:
‘the history of tin tiles’ – ‘vintage tin tile images’ – ‘tin tile images’
Fascinating stuff – didn’t know such metal tiles existed.

More on topic:
Dad Easy Strip – http://www.dadseasyspray.com/
Quite a big project time wise – nudging towards restoration work.  Definitely go down gel type paint-stripper route.  Don’t think sanding comes into this as such.  Therefore would be looking at the sort of techniques used in restoration – depending how ‘detailed’ you want to go with it.
(if necessary, please don’t forget possibility of lead in paint.)

Hope you can find the time to let us know how you get on – what worked for you etc.
Richard.

You are spot on with the "right" way to strip ... but chemical stripping an overhead surface is the pits !!!  [sad]

Not only do you need to strip, but the cleaning and priming are critical too. I really haven't seen many examples worth restoring with this level of effort. I have seen one meticulous ceiling done with multiple colours ... must have been done with an artist's brush and taken man months.