Q&A: I have to paint my house. What’s the best way to get off the old chipping paint without poisoning everything?
Question: I have to paint my house. What’s the best way to get off the old chipping paint without poisoning everything?
The trim is chipping, but I live near a stream and I don’t want any chemical strippers to get into it. I understand that there are some “environmentally friendly” chemical strippers, but I’m skeptical about how effective they are.
Answer:
Answer by styrckt
simply don’t use chemical strippers,, try a manual method and some drop cloths
The manual method is fine unless the house had lead paint (used in paints sold through 1978). If the paint has an alligator crackling to it, it’s probably lead. In that case do Multi-strip. Messy and smelly, but claims to be a fairly organic stripper. We’ve used it inside for 2-3 years and it does the trick. I’d still do dropclothes, then lots of plastic on top to catch all the goop and falling paint.