Sunday, January 5, 2014

How do you take paint off of brick?

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Sherry R


Tudor brick home built in 1926. Homeowner painted the fireplace. We want to know the steps to restore the fireplace back to the original brick. Thanks!


Answer
Getting paint off of anything is always a messy business. With brick, it's extra messy, and hard, because the mortar between the bricks is not at the same level.

Sandblasting works, but requires a lot of equippment, and gets a lot of sand (potentially wet sand, depending on the machine used) all over the room... better for exterior work.

Chemicals may work, but I am not impressed. Usually this just dissolves the paint, and you have to wipe it off. The paint spots you're sure to miss will often seep deeper into the cracks and crevices... but if the paint is some sort of earth tone, this may not be too big a deal, might just make it look like "used" bricks. As a bonus, chemicals usually do not damage the bricks themselves, which would otherwise get some amount of apparent weathering.

A wire brush is probably the second best way to do it. They don't get sand all over like a sandblaster. You have more control over what gets removed, and what does not get removed... but doing this by hand will literally take forever.

Rotary wheels with wire bristles on them can be attached to dremel tools, electric screwdrivers, drills, or even some rotary saws. They sacrifice some of the accuracy of a wire brush for a much faster overall process. This will probably take less time than using paint remover chemicals, but slightly more time than a sand blaster. You're likely to get paint chips and bits of brick and mortar dust everywhere, but at least there will be no wet sand. You might be able to find rotary wheels of different sizes and thicknesses... one like a big roller would be great for the brick surface. A much thinner one should get the horizontal mortar between the brick layers, and a very small one could get the detail work in the vertical mortar between individual bricks in a layer.

How to get prior owners smell out of house?




3Diamonds


We just bought a condo from the original owner. I first smelled a slight burning/fruity/perfumey smell when we inspected it, but it didnt completely turn me off. Since buying, we suspected maybe she smoked. Its hard to say- the smell is really weird and faint- like a country/perfume/smoke smell. Now, we think it was the fireplace or something that smelled smokey. But, the condo smells like the old owner. Even my husband took down some sheetrock from the Dining room to put in some electrical wires, and i smelled a peice of the inside of the sheetrock, and it had that perfumey smell. So, its even inside the walls... Its not horrendous, and we are getting a HEPA whole house air cleaner installed soon, as were not moved in yet- but every time i come over here i smell it. (her).

BTW- we painted the whole place, even closets, refinished the wood floors, and remodeled the kitchen. Its in the walls. It tends to go away once we open the windows and i have a carbon filter i run which helps too.
ps. we did already paint the entire place (as mentioned), and took ALL old carpeting out, replaced with new carpeting/pads/hardwood floors. :)
No, the prev. owner is not a wife or girlfriend- lol.. i moved here w/ my husband (well- will be soon :) but it was an older woman so it has sort of that "old" person country smell. I do really think she smoked in it b/c i can smell it alittle now in only 1 room (i have a really sensetive nose..ll) where the walls arent fully closed up yet (a closet). So, i think were doing good. Since the paint dried in the closets and we did the trim,that really helped the little bit that was lingering.
Once we get this hepa thing (its an IQ Air- apparently the kind on extreme home makeover and takes 99% of impurities out of the air w/o any ozone) we should take care of the remainder.

one last thing- i bought a regular $20 box fan, and taped a Carbon/Hvac filter on the back, and run it continuously too- that really helps the smell, and the VOCs from all our new wood/paints/etc.

:)



Answer
There are always smells that cannot be neutralized at the source because the source cannot be accessed. For these types of odors, you need a product that can absorb the smell before it emanates throughout your home. A musty basement, stale smelling closet, or a hidden animal nest in an inaccessible wall may disperse smells that cannot be directly dealt with.
Few suggestions for your consideration:

You can remove almost any odor from your home by boiling cinnamon, orange peel(you can also add lemon peel) and cloves in about two cups of water. This will not only eliminate lingering odors, but freshen the air in your home as well. Leave it uncoverd, also boil again once it gets cold or whenever you get another chance to give a boil.


Placing a few drops of tea tree oil in any room of your house or even in your car will eliminate lingering odors and freshen the air. You can also use tea tree oil in your dish water or laundry to cut lingering odors that are difficult to remove.



Placing a cotton ball soaked in pure vanilla extract in a small saucer and placing it anywhere in your home or even your car will eliminate odors and freshen the air, giving it a sweetened scent.

Using these tips will help keep your home and car smelling clean and fresh no matter what the lingering odor might be, without the use of harsh cleaning products that can discolor or leave an odor of their own. By using items you already have in your home,
1) Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. In a sixteen-ounce trigger spray bottle, add two teaspoons of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to two cups of water. Shake Well. Next, spray the air of any room or area to banish bad odors. To deodorize a closet or refrigerator, place an open box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on a shelf.

2) Bounce. Inside of an air-conditioning vent or on top of a fan, tape a Bounce dryer sheet. It will blow fragrant air throughout the house. You can also place Bounce sheets under mattresses, sofa cushions and carpets to improve their smell. Don't forget to use them in your hamper and drawers. Be sure to take advantage of the different varieties of this products in order to vary the sweet fragrances floating through your home.

3) Downy. In a sixteen-ounce trigger spray bottle, add one tablespoon of Downy liquid fabric softener and water. Shake well. Then spray the air. You'll be surprised at how much better it smells afterwards.

4) Heinz White Vinegar. In order to remove stubborn smells lingering in the air from cooking, paint and cigarettes, place a small bowl of Heinz White Vinegar in the room. You can also put it in a spray bottle and spritz it around the room. This solution will act as an odor neutralizing foul smells.

5) Car Freshener Pine Trees. Those strongly scented Car Freshener Pine Trees can be used to improve the odor of other things besides your vehicle. If you hang them on a blind in front of a window or taped against an air conditioner, it will freshen up your home. You can also bring one to work to battle interoffice odors.

6) Kingsford Charcoal Briquets. If you place a clean, used coffee can filled with charcoal briquets in a closet or chest, it will absorb odors. (Warning: Make sure the briquets are unused and fresh also.)

7) Maxwell House Coffee. Using fresh grounds of Maxwell House Coffee, fill a bowl and place it in a room. It will deodorize and freshen that room.

don't care for Candles because of the black smoke, and agree with plug -in don't last long enough, you can go broke.
My favorite two are
Liquid Poupperi< sp bad!
simmer in a electric warmer
The Candles that are made for simmering in electric warmers
Both Reasonable Price and Both will Make your Home Smell Good!
Good Luck!




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