# Forum Home Renovation Doors, Windows, Architraves & Skirts  Back to bare timber

## fnqtech

I have several casement windows and 5 pairs of french doors that I would like to strip back to bare timber for staining. They all seem to be Silky Oak so can not really get stuck in with a scraper. I have tried using a product called Coopers (from NZ I think), but does not seem to make much impression on 80 odd years of paint. Most successful has been a heat gun, but when I am getting near the timber there seems to be a coating that goes tarry when I put the heat on it and does not lift off the timber. Any suggestions?

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## SilentButDeadly

yep...soften it with Citristrip (or similar), knife it off and then clean up with metho and a scourer.  The tarry crap is something called scumble (?) and was used in the past as a grain filler. Awfull crap.  You'll use lots of metho...

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## fnqtech

Many thanks for that. Metho and steel wool did the trick. I will have to wait for my fingerprints to grow back (very hard on the hands).

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## SilentButDeadly

Fun job, eh?  Those lightweight latex gloves from the chemist will save your hands some grief...

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## andy the pm

I have the same issue, and I'm going to hire an infra-red paint stripper to see how it works, looks impressive on the website so we shall see. Supposed to be more effective than a traditional heat gun. 
Andy

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## SilentButDeadly

I made my own out of a bar heater..........for just $30. In fact I made two.  There's a post here somewhere in the distant past about it. 
Works really well on oil paints, less well on acrylic.......not at all on scumble.  And they are better for broad areas rather than the details of windows and some doors.  Resinous timbers such as oregon and baltic pine also strip easier than open grain hardwoods. 
With paint stripping...the only common & effective (and necessary) method is paitence.  Everything else is optional.

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## andy the pm

The only things that put me off stripper is:
Volume, have a whole cottage to take back so I imagine the cost will be high, and;
Mess, stripper aint very nice stuff 
I'm curious about the 2 bar heater/stripper...

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## Adelaide Soda

Next time save yourself the time and hassle and have it soda blasted.Have a look at our website adelaidesodablasting.com and see what soda can do.We have restored many precious wooden articles,with amazing results.

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## vintagevamp2010

they recommend dipping which I will do with some kauri plantation shutters 
as an aside to the thread i deal with the srumble (nice to have a word to describe the muck) by running the heat gun over it again quickly and then immediately scraping off the remainder. I follow this with the white paint stripping paper to remove the last of it.

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