Just recently purchase an old house with a brick fireplace that is painted. My question, is there any chance to remove the paint from the brick? What product or products should I use? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!
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You basically can't tell -- depends on the brick and the paint. Sandblasting with walnut shells is probably the best bet.
I haven't had much luck recently with the "search" function (above the list of discussions). But if you can get it to work, you can find past discussions on this. This question seems to be asked every other month. The consensus is that brick should never be painted and once it has been, it is very difficult to remove it all and not damage the brick. But there have been suggestions, including the sandblasting with walnut shells.
Thanks for your response! I tried the search function as well. I did not have any luck either. I figured this subject has definitely been talked about before! If anybody knows of a link, please let me know. Thanks!!
I did a search on "all the words" and typed in "removing paint from brick" and got the following discussions by number: 34264, 36123, 45994, 60063 and 71553. Those should get you started (though I, myself don't know how you access a discussion by its number--maybe someone else here can, or you can try what I did with the advanced search function. Good luck (with the search and with removing the paint!)!
If it's not soft brick, then sandblasting is probably your best option. If it is, or you don't want to sandblast, I recommend trying Peel-Away. I have had moderate success with it, plus it's not noxious which is important if you're working inside.
Z
>>"What product or products should I use? "
As others have suggested, sandblasting might work.
Or you could just demo this brick and put up new.
Have a look at this thread. You'll have to register (it's free) to see the photos.
The thread is a review of a guy using a sander to remove paint from a brick wall.
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I used a 13A grinder and a wire cup brush to remove paint from a brick fireplace. Very messy and the resulting finish was somewhat "weathered". It was a big improvement on the multicolored monstrosity that it was before. It would have been much easier for me just to paint over the existing.