how do i get plaster and paint specks off old beams ?

Question

i am currantly re decorating my house, it has old wooden beams everywhere, i am flattening out the plaster between the beams and then re painting, no matter how careful i am being i am getting plaster on the old beams and the odd paint splash, the beams are very old and have an open grain how can i get it off with out ruining the wood and keeping my sanity as its a total sh** job, (1 room down, 7 to go.........)

Answer 1

i guess its to late but next time tape off everything before starting........plaster should come off with just water......if paint is latex same thing....oil base, sand

lic. gen. contractor

Answer 2

As a painter, been there done that. Unfortunately, there are no easy remedies to your situation. You first have to scrape all of the loose paint off. What starts as a small area will often end up covering a large area. the good news is that the paint generally scrapes off easily. Once you have an area where the entire edge is soundly adhered, you have to prep the oil based paint that is now exposed so that new primer will stick. first clean it, then either sand it, or use liquid sand paper/deglosser. Once prepped use a bonding primer on the exposed oil based paint. You can feather the edges of the newer paint, but I prefer to blend the edge with setting type drywall compound. This type of drywall compound is tough to sand, so make it as smooth as you can with your drywall knife. Sand it even smoother when dry, then prime the entire wall with a quality water based primer, and paint. FYI, I like to use the 90 minute setting compound.

Answer 3

Plaster unusually comes off with water, goo gone will get the paint. Good Luck
You will have to rub. Sorry no other way unless you want to sand it off. Hope this works for you. I been remodeling for 20 years.

Answer 4

Just one solution.

Get somebody else to do it. Manual labor is the only way to get rid of it....safely.