SilentButDeadly
8th November 2006, 11:31 AM
Evening all
Some of you may have heard of/seen infra red paint strippers like the units on offer at www.i-strip.com.au (http://www.i-strip.com.au)
http://www.i-strip.com.au/images/1-1100-04.jpg
Well after seeing the dollars required to obtain these things (about $650!) and noting that they looked like fancy quartz bar heaters I figured that someone must've figured out an alternative......and they have.
www.oceanmanorhouse.com/paintremover.html (http://www.oceanmanorhouse.com/paintremover.html)
Basically, it isn't rocket science. Find a cheap two bar quartz heater about a foot long (I found them for ten bucks each) and dismantle. Build all the components into two aluminium boxes, one on top of the other (I used aluminium 120mm C section from a coolroom manufacturer) and attach your handle (I used a cheap SS concrete float from Bunnings).
All up cost for the two I've built was just shy of $60 ($10 each for the heaters, $10 for the aluminium for two units and $8 each for the floats). Just thirty bucks each!
Do they work? Funnily enough yes. Particularily on the older oil paints that you find on weatherboards and windows etc. It just bubbles up after about 20 seconds and scrapes easily off right back to the wood. No burning, naff all smoke or anything unpleasant. They are much less effective on acrylic paints but still softens the paint to make a scaper kind of effective (I've read that wiping over with linseed oil before heating helps - not tried yet).
HIghly recommended.
Some of you may have heard of/seen infra red paint strippers like the units on offer at www.i-strip.com.au (http://www.i-strip.com.au)
http://www.i-strip.com.au/images/1-1100-04.jpg
Well after seeing the dollars required to obtain these things (about $650!) and noting that they looked like fancy quartz bar heaters I figured that someone must've figured out an alternative......and they have.
www.oceanmanorhouse.com/paintremover.html (http://www.oceanmanorhouse.com/paintremover.html)
Basically, it isn't rocket science. Find a cheap two bar quartz heater about a foot long (I found them for ten bucks each) and dismantle. Build all the components into two aluminium boxes, one on top of the other (I used aluminium 120mm C section from a coolroom manufacturer) and attach your handle (I used a cheap SS concrete float from Bunnings).
All up cost for the two I've built was just shy of $60 ($10 each for the heaters, $10 for the aluminium for two units and $8 each for the floats). Just thirty bucks each!
Do they work? Funnily enough yes. Particularily on the older oil paints that you find on weatherboards and windows etc. It just bubbles up after about 20 seconds and scrapes easily off right back to the wood. No burning, naff all smoke or anything unpleasant. They are much less effective on acrylic paints but still softens the paint to make a scaper kind of effective (I've read that wiping over with linseed oil before heating helps - not tried yet).
HIghly recommended.