How can you remove paint from the exterior of an older brick home without doing damage to the brick?

Question

A friend of mine recently bought a victorian brick home; at least a hundred years old. The exterior of the house has been painted over at least twice and now is peeling. He wants to remove the paint to reveal the red brick underneath. Another friend sandblasted the paint off of a house in a similar situation and it caused the brick to decay. Is there another way?

Answer 1

high pressure water

Answer 2

Power washing USUALLY DOES DESTROY old brick. It is strictly prohibited in most historic renovations....

Find a small area out of view and test a paint remover on the area to see if it badly discolors the brick. A Boral brick center in the area may be able to guide you further.

High pressure water eats old brick right off. Been there done that. Seen that at least a dozen times.

Sand blasting is the same as the pressure washing, it will eat the brick up to.

You will have to go to chemicals and you will need to try them in different spots where they will not show as a test.

I have used PROSOCO heavy duty stripper on a historic renovation with very good luck but like I said brick is a natural product made from local materials and EVERY brick is different. Try it in a concealed space. Did I say that enough?! :)

DO NOT USE PRESSURE WATER OR SAND/MEDIA BLASTING.

Answer 3

yes. Just sand it with your hand. Well, not your hand, but sandpaper or an electric sander.

Even those will decay the brick some, but the paint is soaked into the bricks, so there isn't a good way of getting rid of the paint. You could try paint thinner/paint remover, but even still, I'm not sure of the results you'd get. It wouldn't harm the bricks, I don't think(try a small spot first!) but I just don't think it'd get rid of all the paint.

I can at least say that the sand blaster would be the most harmful option to the bricks.

Answer 4

Peeling paint has a certain charm....it can be scraped, then repainted...I would not try to clean the brick, as it is probably a very soft brick that will take on water and be ruined over time. IF he does sand blast it, I suggest a good brick sealer...might as well paint.

Answer 5

pressure washing may remove some but to restore to original I think you may want to consider powder blasting. It's alot less abrasive than sand and almst as effective. I wouldn't resort to any chemicals most of them will dissolve the paint but brick is porrus and the thinner the paint becomes the more absorption.

Answer 6

I found this product at Home Depot.....Motsenbocker's Lift Off Paint and Varnish Remover. It works great and really fast. You can also try a pressure washer. Good luck!!

Answer 7

powerwash the brick will work and will not damage it you can rent it or buy at home depo