I have an a couple of interior brick walls which has several layers of paint on it, and I would like to expose the original brick.

What are the various methods of going about this? Is sandblasting a good option? It seems that doing it chemically would be excessively dangerous, messy and time-consuming...

any advice would be Extremely appreciated.

Cooley.

 

Sandblasting would do the job, but it will probably change the finished texture of the brick and it erodes the grout. Chemical strippers tend to soak into the brick (some types of brick are more pourous than others) and mortar, which won't leave a very desirable look. I have seen painters use pressure washers to prep for paint, but that probably won't work for you since yours are interior walls, and all the water would be a problem. You might talk to a local steam cleaning outfit to see if they have done this type of work. Car restoration shops use soda blasting (instead of sand blasting) since it is less damaging to the metal, so you might talk to someone in your area that does soda blasting to see if their process would work for your application. Wish I could be more help, and hope these ideas give you somewhere to start.