It's a vintage 1959 labeled beige armchair with a low H base that I have started to scrape. Found out that there is a big grey blotch of water stain on the seat. Aside from the frustration of scraping all the paint to no avail, then finding the stain, what else can I do with this chair which seems to be losing it's value each time I try to scrape it? Paint it again? Planter? Salvation Army? Any suggestions would help.
If the splotch is REALLY bad...
Dare I say paint remover gel?
Only because you make it sound as if you have nothing to lose at this point. The fiberglass can take a certain amount of it -- for a small amount of time. Don't leave it on for too long, experiment, and you can get it to loosen up that paint, and perhaps the splotch will quiet down some too.
I know its blasphemy, but I have resorted to that a time or two, and I was very happy with the results.
You have to get "in touch" with the paint remover though. You know, so you can intuit the speed at which it is eating away the surface. Getting a little on your hands is a good reminder of how fast it is working. Kidding, wear gloves! Don't walk away. When in doubt, rinse. Fast.
Good luck.
This is not investment advice.
I'm actually in the process...
I'm actually in the process of removing the paint off of two arm shells myself. Citrus Strip or something like that is a safer route than a stripper gel in my opinion. I wouldn't leave it overnight, but I've found that it doesn't burn through the paint and into the fiberglass. Unfortunately for me the paint is embedded into the fibers of the chair. I have no idea what to do about that...
@retrokc
Yeah I'm at a loss with that. I'm going to experiment with various techniques and see how it goes. Though I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up sanding and then just clear coating them. I figure I can't possibly do more damage than what's done since they were painted bile green. Too bad because they are early salmon shells too.
For what its worth.
I once used a product called 'smart strip' (from home depot) to remove the glue residue and foam bits I couldn't remove by hand from a once upholstered chair.
After covering it completely in the product and letting it sit for several hours I took it down the street to a car power wash bay and blasted the goop off.
It removed everything. The paint on the back, the fibers that were exposed were white as snow.
@kcbrains
Thanks for the info. I might try that out over this weekend. The color stained fibers are my main concern. Out of curiosity, what color was the fiberglass chair that you stripped? If it was white(ish) to begin with I would be afraid of color blotching, as a result of the stripper, to a shell with any sort of colored fiberglass.
The chair
was elephant grey. The stripper is pretty mild. I also used it to remove brown paint from inside a lotte lamp shade which is a thin white fiberglass like material. There was no transfer of color and it didn't melt or degrade the thin fiberglass.
Also, I know from experience 🙁 the exposed fibers and the shell itself will take on the paint colour if you use conventional stripper. Even at very short intervals, with minimal product. Don't do it.
I'm not seeing 'Smart Strip'...
I'm not seeing 'Smart Strip' anywhere but when doing a search the product 'Ready Strip' by Back to Nature does come up. The product description reads,
"Ready-Strip Plus, is a unique paint and varnish remover capable of removing up to 7 layers in a single application using a stripping tool. The revolutionary Color Change feature signals the time for paint removal. The stripper is applied to the surface and turns off-white or a pale green when the paint or varnish is ready to be removed. Ready-Strip Plus is non-flammable, biodegradable, virtually odorless and can be cleaned up with water. It does not contain methylene chloride, caustic, flammable chemicals or harmful vapors like many traditional strippers. Ready-Strip Plus avoids the uncertainty associated with other strippers that are ineffective if removed too soon, or dry out and do not work if left on too long. Ready-Strip Plus eliminates the guesswork. It is a semi-paste and therefore clings to vertical surfaces."
@kcbrains do you know if this is the same product?
Here
I'm in Canada. It might be sold under a different name on your side of the line. Says its by 'Dumond' or 'peelaway'
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/smart-strip-paint-remover-aerosol/980985
Sounds like about the same thing, water based,
(no methelyene chloride) that's the stuff you don't want on fiberglass.
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