WHICH TOOLS?
Wide bladed scraper: useful for scraping off large areas of old paint loosened with a blow-torch or chemical strippers. Triangular shavehook: useful for both flat surfaces and crevices. Take care not to gouge surface of wood.
Combination shavehook: because it has both straight and rounded blades, as well as a point, this is the most versatile scraper for awkward areas.
Steel wool: especially useful for tricky corners. Use medium grade, (no-2) wool, and keep turning it inside out so alt the cutting surfaces of the steel are used.
TIP: PICK THE RIGHT ABRASIVE
• Silicon carbide abrasive papers are less likely to clog up than glasspaper. They can also be used wet or dry.
DIFFICULT SURFACES
Where old paintwork is very thick, stripping may require repeated efforts.
• with a blow-torch, heat the paint until it. : bubbles up and scrape off as much as possible before softening and scraping the next layer when the wood is exposed and only stubborn bits of paint remain, use chemical stripper or sand by hand
• with chemical strippers, allow the first application to bubble up and then stipple on fresh stripper with a brush – working it well into the unstripped surface – before scraping off. If necessary repeat until the wood is fairly clean
• to remove stubborn bits, use wire wool and a small dab of stripper.