paint stripping question...

[5pintshefound]

hi all... ok, heres the deal.. im in the process of stripping the paint off my kitchen cabinets... some idiot that owened the house before me, painted beautiful oak cabiniets, with well... paint.. when i moved in they were green. i painted them red {to match my roosters} but didnt like it... so i went to strip them. under the red, was the greeen, under the green was bisque enamel , under the enamel, was !gasp! gold flake! Ive been using a mixture of redi-strip {which works great, but takes like 8 hours to cure-ive got a toddler around, not hte best thing}, citri-strip, which doesnt work to great, and this spray stuff. after i get the paint off, i have to go back and scrub with a steel wool to get the remnants of the gold paint off. {its awful} all in all ive got the kitchen about 1/2 way done, and have spent close to $150in supplies already. im wondering if anybody has any bright ideas for me? i tried sanding, but it wont go thru the enamel.. that stuff wears like iron... i am really hoping to have this done before i go to pick up my husband in 6 days. {hes overses,and is coming home for a 10 day leave} id like to have it done, cause i know him... if it still needs done, hes going to do that, when we could be doing other, more interesting things
so... if anybody has a suggestion- that doesnt involve dynomite {SP?} or small nuclear weopens to get the paint off.. please please please tell me... {also, if anyone is interested in buying a house in western pa around christmas time..lol. let me know!} ~5PHF

 

[Halo_n_horns]

You could try aircraft stripper or auto stripper. There's a few kinds out there that start peeling the paint in seconds. But I don't know how this will react with the wood, and you do need some really good ventilation.

I stripped most a '77 Chevy Stepside with that stuff in just a couple of days. But it was strong nasty stuff. You don't want it on your skin. *yazzle*

 

[EJFan]

if i were in your spot, i'd just get a sander and sand all that crap off o' there until you get down to bare wood. the paint and other stuff will have absorbed into the wood to some extent anyway, so by sanding it you can get rid of all that absorbed stuff too.

with any luck (and a lot of patience) you can salvage those great cabinets.

 

[EJFan]

sanding footnote

you probably already thought of this but... two things...

1. start with a low numbered sandpaper first, then move to a higher grit as you get closer to pure wood.

2. you'll be able to do some by machine but you'll have to get the ol' elbow grease in on it as you get toward the end and work in corners, etc.

 

[londoner2]

Buy a hot air gun and a face mask... It's a lot of fun so long as you don;t burn the wood - but you get used to it pretty quick.

 

[brinjab]

paint stripping

Use a product called Peel Away. It is a paste. Dumond chemical company in the US makes it and it is available thru paint stores. Try "peelaway.com"

 

[5pintshefound]

thanks guys...

ok, so ive tried sanding it.. and well, it doesn help... i mean, it would work, but id be sanding for a year.... the hardest parts is getting in thelip around the door... the cabs are gorgeous.. on the cabs that i got finished, i stained it mahogany {used a gel stain, that your su pposed to just brush on} but i didint want it reallly dark, so i brushed it on, and then wiped it off.. made it anice dark color, i got a clear coat put on some of it, and its gorgeous... absolutely gorgeous... i cant use anything with a really really nasty odour because i have a 1 yr old, adn a 5 yr old and i dont want to do anything to hurt thier lungs etc... i will have to try th eheat gun.. sounds like it might work.. i used one when i replaced tile in the upstiars bath, and it didnt work well for that, but those tiles were probly original ones from the 50s they stuck great tho..lol.. my goal to have it done by next week isnt going to happen, but we'll see if i cant get a large portion done... also, going to look up peelaway.. thanks for the advice

~5phf