Best methods for stripping paint from detailed moulding

This is the first in a short series of posts, where I get my questions about painting answered.

It all started 'cos I got an email from a Brisbane painting service who said they'd be interested in guest posting. At first I was a bit worried it might be an advertorial. But then we came up with the idea of doing it as a Q&A.

Win-win all round I think, as it means I get my painting-related questions answered for free, by someone who seems to really know their stuff.

So without further ado, let's kick it off.

Q1. What are the best methods for stripping detailed moulding?
We have some quite fiddly bits that need stripping on our house - eg:

So far we have been simply scratching and sandpapering it off, but it is pretty tedious work. Any tips for making it easier?
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Nick Keigher's answer

Unfortunately, there is no super easy way to strip detailed moulding. As you mentioned, one way is to scrape and sandpaper it off, but this is very time consuming.

I would definitely steer away from the heat gun, all it takes is one leaf behind a weatherboard or sheeting to ignite and there goes your house. I have heard of a couple of painters who have lost entire Queenslanders due to heat guns.

One way I would recommend to make the job easier is trying paint stripper and buying a new scraper to scrape the melted paint off afterwards.

You will need to wear all the safety equipment for paint stripper though - safety goggles, plastic gloves and even a long sleeved shirt to make sure you don't get any on your skin.

Just a word of warning if you choose the paint stripper route - follow the direction on the can. It might seem simple, but a lot of people don’t or quickly skip through them. The instructions can vary brand to brand.

As for the front of the house with the old stone block looking effect, you can use the same method as shown above for removing the paint from the grooves. Go to your local hardware and get a blade that will fit inside the grooves (Bunnings usually have a fairly wide variety).

When the paint stripper melts the paint you just have to scrape it away which makes the job a lot easier and faster.
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Nick Keigher runs Keigher Painting & Decorating, servicing the Brisbane Metro and surrounding areas.