Best Way to Remove Old, Exterior Varnish


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Old 07-12-13, 06:11 PM
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Best Way to Remove Old, Exterior Varnish

I own a 20 x 20 foot garage that is sided with milled lumber designed to look like logs. There is no chinking or caulking between the individual boards; they are overlapped. The boards are coated with an old, transparent finish of some sort. I would like to remove the existing finish so I can apply a new wood preservative/finish.

I have tried the heat gun and putty knife approach. It works, but it's quite slow as the logs are curved and the putty knife is not. I will be getting some quotes for blasting with sand/glass beads/walnut shells/corn cobs. But I'm wondering about chemical strippers. I should mention that the only water supply available is from an old sand point well that has limited flow. So if the stripper removal requires a lot of water that's probably a non-starter.

I'm looking for suggestions on what type of chemical strippers would be suitable for this job. If this website allows specific products to be identified please provide that information as applicable. I'm interested in how well the product works, how easy it is to apply and remove, and what is entailed in the removal and disposal side of things. Any comments on environmental friendliness would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
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Old 07-13-13, 03:46 AM
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So using a pressure washer isn't an option? Are you sure your new finish can't be applied over the old weathered finish? How thick is the existing coating? Is it feasible to grind the contour on a wide putty knife?

Normally water isn't needed when using strippers but when you have a textured substrate it's difficult to remove all the stripper without PWing. I don't use strippers very often so when I do, I normally ask the rep at the paint store which stripper would be best for the job at hand. It's possible that media blasting might be your best option.
 
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Old 07-15-13, 05:45 AM
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New finish needs to be applied to raw wood per directions from the manufacturer. Also, old finish has darkened considerably in some areas so to obain uniform color the old finish needs to be removed. I will pursue my media blasting options. Thanks.
 
 

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