The Best Ways to Remove Outdoor Paint

By Dave Donovan

When you are faced with taking on an outdoor paint job, in most cases, your first step will be to remove the existing paint, or at least remove enough of it to allow the new paint to adhere without risk of chipping. How you choose to remove that old paint will determine how effective your new paint job will be and how easy or difficult the overall job will be in the long run. Here are a few different methods of removing outdoor paint, each targeted at a different type of surface.

The Best Way to Remove Outdoor Paint from Concrete

Concrete and/or brick are porous surfaces and getting paint out of all the cracks and crevices can be a difficult task. The best way to remove paint from these types of surfaces is to use a steam pressure washer. This type of pressure washer uses steam which will essentially melt the paint, allowing it to be blasted away by the pressurized water.

The Best Way to Remove Outdoor Paint from Wood

If you are looking to refinish a wooden deck or fence but there is some paint standing in your way, the best method for removing it will be to first use a scraper to eliminate all of the loose paint chips, then to use a sander to get rid of the paint still on the wood. A sander will actually take off the top layer of the wood, so make sure the wood is stable and thick enough to allow for that to happen. Because it is outdoors, ventilation won’t be a problem, but you should wear a breathing mask to prevent you from inhaling the dust the sander will give off.

The Best Way to Remove Outdoor Paint from Metal

Metal can be a very difficult surface from which to remove paint, especially if you want to try and preserve the quality and the original look of the metal. If you don’t have any worries about scratching the surface, then sandblasting will probably work best. If the quality of the surface is a concern, then using a stripping chemical will be the best bet.

 Dave Donovan is a freelance copywriter living in Atco, N.J. An electrician for 15 years, an injury forced him to pursue his true passion - writing.