Would it be sacrilegious to us a Festool planer to strip old paint off of wood? My neighbor is tearing out chunks of his deck and like the garbage man I am I am going to scavenge what lumber is still usable. Some of it has paint on it and I want to remove it down to bare wood. I'm also in the market for a small planer so I thought the EHL 65 might do the trick. OR, is this something for the RAS 115? This effort is not so much to save money but save material. I just love taking stuff from bulk pick up day and up-cycling it into some piece of furniture. Advice?
Stripping paint using planer
- Thread starter Mark
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Sparktrician
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Mark Enomoto said:
Seems a bit radical, kind of like using a 12 gauge shotgun to kill a stink bug. [tongue] There are companies that have stripping tanks for furniture, and they might be able to accommodate the wood that you want to grab, and you'd have more wood left over to re-use. Also, the stripping chemicals will reach into fissures to remove finish, unlike a planer. If you're intent on using a planer, though, I'd suggest that a better option would be a thickness planer like the DeWalt DW735 which will give you more usable wood at a consistent thickness, something a hand-held planer cannot do. Good luck!
[smile]
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I admit that I have used a different brand of handheld electric planer to get paint off of boards in a limited capacity in the past. The only reason was that I did not have anything more suitable at the time. My planer also had blades and an included jig for resharpening them as well as setting them in the holder.
Paint can be very abrasive on blades. I would vote for the RAS. Far less risk if you discover hidden metal or ground in grit. Once you get the paint off then you can address the accurate thicknessing in other ways - thickness planers, router sleds, hand planes, etc.
Just my thoughts!
Peter
Paint can be very abrasive on blades. I would vote for the RAS. Far less risk if you discover hidden metal or ground in grit. Once you get the paint off then you can address the accurate thicknessing in other ways - thickness planers, router sleds, hand planes, etc.
Just my thoughts!
Peter
neeleman
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Metabo has a machine type LF 7245S that's specially made for stripping paint.
I don't if it's available in the USA.
Check Metabo USA
Stripping depth is adjustable from 0-0,3 mm.
I don't if it's available in the USA.
Check Metabo USA
Stripping depth is adjustable from 0-0,3 mm.
Holzhacker
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I've used my planers to strip paint off of wood. If it is old, dry brittle paint it works really well and pretty easy. Newer, softer paint tends to be a real problem. Cleaning gummy paint from the planer foot, blade and discharge chute is a real nightmare. I'd use the planer or not depending on type of paint. The other issue with using the planer is the amount of hard sanding that is needed to get a good consistent texture that matches the planed areas where you can't get the planer. Depending on your final finish this may be a non issue. Overall, depending on amount of area and paint type, I would probably opt for the RAS or stripper, if doing it again.
AlexThePalex
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I guess it is possible to do with a planer, but it lacks the finesse a machine like the Metabo has. Paint is very thin (120 - 180 micron) and it is difficult to adjust a planer that fine. Besides that, I think you'll still have a lot of sanding to do to get the surface flat again. But as far as removing material goes, the planer will do just fine.
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Hi,
I have used a thickness planer. As long as you don't mind thinner stock , just take enough off to get rid of the fissures too. Much faster easier and more complete than sanding it away. I put an old set of blades on.
Seth
I have used a thickness planer. As long as you don't mind thinner stock , just take enough off to get rid of the fissures too. Much faster easier and more complete than sanding it away. I put an old set of blades on.
Seth
Well turns out this new pile of lumber I scabbed from my neighbor's deck demo it going to be a true test of my commitment to being "green". When I saw the pile of lumber, and much of in still good condition it made me sick to know that it was headed to the 40' roll-off only to be dumped into the landfill and or burned to make electricity. A few swipes of a hand place revealed some decent super straight grain lumber beneath the paint but it was also "infected" with lots of bent over nails that might not come out easily.
I think I'm just gonna cut the nails off and then try to pound the back out using the wood to support the nail from bending. Yes, this is not about saving money but salvaging material that is perfectly good but cheaper to just dump. Sadly the owner didn't know or didn't care about contacting ReUse Hawaii who specializes in salvage and could have carted off all of this material for probably what he's paying his carpenter to do.
Long story short. This is gonna take time to "harvest" this stuff but in the end I'll be able to sleep better knowing this stuff didn't get trashed.
Here in Hawaii we are contemplating barging our garbage off island due to our running out of landfill space and no recycling facilities to process materials. Dumping perfectly usable material into the ground just isn't sustainable.
m.
I think I'm just gonna cut the nails off and then try to pound the back out using the wood to support the nail from bending. Yes, this is not about saving money but salvaging material that is perfectly good but cheaper to just dump. Sadly the owner didn't know or didn't care about contacting ReUse Hawaii who specializes in salvage and could have carted off all of this material for probably what he's paying his carpenter to do.
Long story short. This is gonna take time to "harvest" this stuff but in the end I'll be able to sleep better knowing this stuff didn't get trashed.
Here in Hawaii we are contemplating barging our garbage off island due to our running out of landfill space and no recycling facilities to process materials. Dumping perfectly usable material into the ground just isn't sustainable.
m.
Loren Hedahl
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Mark,
Have you considered a pressure washer? I've got one with a 5 - 6 hp Honda gas engine that puts out 2000 + psi that will strip paint off just about any wood, especially a deck that has had plenty of sun to weather the paint.
Another way is to use a heat gun. I use this method on old pianos that I rebuild and refinish. I sharpen a narrow putty knife at 90 degrees, to scrape rather than cut. Then I heat the paint until it just softens and follow behind with the putty knife. The trick is to keep the heat gun moving, heating both the paint/varnish ahead of the putty knife as well as the blade of the putty knife itself. I always do this outside and set up a 20 inch box fan to blow the smell/smoke away from me. It is surprising how quick it can go. The end result is not perfect, but this gets the bulk of it off.
After this, I use a metal card scraper or a scraper plane on piano cases. I would think once you got the bulk of the paint off, then you could run the boards through a planer or even go back to your original plan to plane it with an electric hand planer.
Have you considered a pressure washer? I've got one with a 5 - 6 hp Honda gas engine that puts out 2000 + psi that will strip paint off just about any wood, especially a deck that has had plenty of sun to weather the paint.
Another way is to use a heat gun. I use this method on old pianos that I rebuild and refinish. I sharpen a narrow putty knife at 90 degrees, to scrape rather than cut. Then I heat the paint until it just softens and follow behind with the putty knife. The trick is to keep the heat gun moving, heating both the paint/varnish ahead of the putty knife as well as the blade of the putty knife itself. I always do this outside and set up a 20 inch box fan to blow the smell/smoke away from me. It is surprising how quick it can go. The end result is not perfect, but this gets the bulk of it off.
After this, I use a metal card scraper or a scraper plane on piano cases. I would think once you got the bulk of the paint off, then you could run the boards through a planer or even go back to your original plan to plane it with an electric hand planer.
Get the Ras for sure. It really isn't a sander as much as a grinder. I balked at buying one for some exterior restoration but it has proven to be the quickest and most efficient for stripping paint. No fumes from a heat gun but you want a dust mask. With the coarser grits you want to watch out and not remove too much material. With softer paint you slow it down to prevent heat build-up. Nails will really screw up your planer knives. Hooked up to a CT-22 and your ready to go. I have seen some pics of a guy using it to carve out chair seats too. Just my 2 cents.
Matt
Matt
Kevin Stricker
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Good job with reusing material. I recently reclaimed nice old growth cedar from decking boards to make a bunch of 5/4 spindles and handrails. Definitely a labor of love, but worth it considering the fact that you cannot buy wood of similar quality any more.
I would recommend using the pressure washer or a citrus stripper then pressure washer for your first attack. The problem with sanding or planing is that you will easily be able to get the paint on the surface that has been weakened by UV, but the paint on the sides and drips on the bottom are going to clog up the works. A heat gun and paint scraper will also work, but will be more labor intensive.
I found the hard way that a single board can gum up the planer blades if it has enough crud, it can also clog a brand new sanding pad.
Would love to hear how this project goes for you.
I would recommend using the pressure washer or a citrus stripper then pressure washer for your first attack. The problem with sanding or planing is that you will easily be able to get the paint on the surface that has been weakened by UV, but the paint on the sides and drips on the bottom are going to clog up the works. A heat gun and paint scraper will also work, but will be more labor intensive.
I found the hard way that a single board can gum up the planer blades if it has enough crud, it can also clog a brand new sanding pad.
Would love to hear how this project goes for you.
I used all of the above methods at one point or another as I use a lot of reclaim materials. The way I prefer, is to use the RAS 115 with saphir 24-36 grit, a respirator mask approved for lead paint removal and goggles. It's fast, green and cost effective. I will usually add a tarp under the work bench if I am dealing with old paint to facilitate clean up.
Bruce
Bruce
