Getting Wall Paint Off Trim

Lacquer thinner seems to work the best. It softens the paint enough that it can be gently scraped off but it doesn't damage the varnish underneath. It does take some elbow grease to get the paint off of the woodwork in this matter, but it makes a difference. posted by Ostara at 11:43 AM on February 23, 2010

Getting wall paint off trim. How To: Remove Paint from Trim and Molding Use this handy guide—and an even handier tool—to restore the clean lines of wood trim that has been gunked up by layers of paint jobs from decades past. The key to taking paint off of a window trim without damaging the surface underneath is doing as much of the work as possible with perseverance and arm strength. It can be significantly more tedious than dissolving the paint with chemicals, but the payoff in the end will be a surface that is relatively undamaged. If scraping, ragging, and heating don’t do diddly, you’ll need to resort to a solvent to break down the paint. For latex drips, try denatured alcohol or a product like Goof-Off, both available in paint and hardware stores. “Soak a rag—not a towel, but a microfiber rag or similar—with the solvent and rub carefully so you don’t harm the wood finish by mistake,” says MacMillan. Paint Your Wall and Trim Properly 18. Do you Paint Trim or Walls First? Many homeowners paint the walls first, then move on to the trim while they wait for the first coat to dry. Homeowners should think more strategically, says Rich O'Neil of Masterworks Painting. "Paint all the woodwork first—the first and second coats—then move onto the.

Carrie asked: How do I remove paint from wood trim? We recently bought a 100-year old home that has all the original woodwork. It is still finished nice, but when the previous owner had repainted the walls, they dripped paint on most of the wood trim. Is there a way to remove the paint without having to remove the wood and refinish it? Most of us do not have a steady enough hand to paint baseboards without getting paint all over the adjacent walls and floors. So it is important to tape your baseboards off in order to protect your walls and floors and to get a clean, crisp line! When buying painters tape, be sure to get the right kind for your project! How Can I Get Paint Off of Varnished Trim?. It never seems to fail that at least once during a paint job a drop or two ends up in an unintended spot. The method used for removing paint from. This may be necessary if there are additional surfaces that you want to protect from paint spatter, such as the surface of an electrical panel, for instance, which may be exposed in the middle of the wall you want to paint or over the baseboard trim. To start, tape up the edges of the panel first, and press the tape down flat.

Paint drips on trim or baseboards can make an otherwise professional looking paint job appear amateurish. Drips draw the eyes like magnets, easily standing out from surrounding surfaces. While drips are easy to fix when the paint is wet, dried paint requires cautious work with a sharp blade. Touch up the wall paint by cutting in the edge using a small tapered paintbrush and your wall’s paint color. If your trim is white, finish off the top seam with a bead of white caulking. Before you remove the cardstock from the bottom of the trim, use a box knife to cut along the base of the trim and break any paint that may have built up. Scrape the paint off once you see bubbles. The paint on the wall should have started to bubble once you've waited for the directed amount of time. Once bubbling, take a paint scraper (if you don't have one, a putty knife or a spatula would work as well) and scrape off all the paint. It should come off in long peels. Try to get as much paint off. Paint forms a film between the wall and the tape, and removing the tape tears pieces of dried paint off the wall. So before pulling off the tape, cut it loose. Wait for the paint to completely dry at least 24 hours, then use a sharp utility knife or box cutter knife to slice through the film.

Use two strips of painters tape to section off the wood with one being placed on top and the other on the bottom. Strip with a Razor Blade. Using a razor blade to remove paint is best for flat wood trim or wood trim with very minimal design accents. Place the edge on the surface at a 45-degree angle, and use very light pressure to slide the. Rinse thoroughly. Wait until the wall has dried for at least 72 hours, and then tape off the wall around the trim with painter’s tape. Do not use masking tape or duct tape, which will pull the paint off the wall. Use a metal putty knife to gently loosen dried clumps. With your fingers, pick and peel off remaining bits of paint. Dampen a rag. If the paint has partially dried, or dripped onto unpainted wood trim, proceed to step 2. Dampen a clean rag with water for latex-based paints, or mineral spirits for oil-based paints and wipe the. Before you paint your trim, it's important to scrape off all the peeling paint or the new paint won't stick. This can be a tricky job if you have trim with carvings, raised moldings or other design features that are difficult to access with a scraper. To avoid scratching the wood, use household solvents and a toothbrush.