# Forum Home Renovation Painting  Which sander for painted weatherboards

## jexhed

Guys, I have read all the forum info on lead paint and also researched locally what is required to remove lead paint here in QLD. I have a 90yr old queenslander with 50% of the external lead based paint flaking of. I am having problems getting a contractor to remove it due to the strict health & safety requirements so am going to do it myself. One of the requirements is to have a sander with dust extraction. From what I can find out, the festool ( fero150FEQ) sander seems to be the go. Has anyone had any experience with this sanding process and can you recommend a high speed disc sander ( with dust extraction facility ) that could do the job fast & efficiently.

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## Claw Hama

Have you looked into water blasting? apparently it can be quite effective in some of these cases. You may have to look at industrial processes, we have people in newcastle that do it, don't know about Brisy.

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## SilentButDeadly

Personally........I wouldn't sand it off.  Turning lead paint into lead dust is far from ideal from a safety perspective.  Besides sanding is hard work and requires plenty of time and many expensive sanding sheets.  
Use a heatgun or, better still, an infrared stripper (also called a cheap 2 bar quartz heater) which removes old oil based paint with alarming ease.  http://www.i-strip.com.au  or http://www.redboxhardware.com.au/ind...d=163&gid=2252 or similar 
The latter worked fine for me..

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## keepontruckin

I agree with silent but deadly to use the heat gun. That way you can dispose the paint more easier as it will be in peel form rather dust form. Use a respirator that is specifically for led fumes and goggles. Lay drop sheets around the area which allows easy disposal of the paint peel. Also have the hose or a buckt of water close by just incase a fire starts. 
It may take a couple of days to do each side but the final finish pays off in the end and you know the job is done properly and will last.

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## Claw Hama

Heat gun method is very efficent and does a great job but the lead fumes are extremely bad and you would need a full respirator. Very hot and uncomfortable while working at height around a Queenslander unless you get scafolding put right round your house. I still vote for high pressure water.

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## keepontruckin

Water restrictions may play a big part with high pressure water idea. It may also blow a hole through some timbers if some are rotten.

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## Claw Hama

The high pressure guns use a lot of pressure and very little water  and if the boards are that rotten maybe a few new ones would be a good idea before painting.

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## sundancewfs

Have a look at this...
I saw these when I was in the States  http://www.paintshaver.com/?gclid=CI...FQJNagodzSJUPg

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## LotteBum

Personally, I would not recommend the i-strip/silent paint remover.  It was ok for removing putty on windows, but did an absolute @@@@@ job of removing old, flaking paint.  I was bitterly disappointed.  Further, I emailed the mob who distribute it (in NZ) and they took a long time to get back to me.  Finally, when their recommendation to paint on a solution of Mineral Turps and Linseed Oil, did not work, I sent it back and got a refund. 
What did work on our weatherboards, was a product called Peel Away.  I've only done a small (1m²) area to test it, but it did it perfectly.    http://www.peelaway.com.au/total_projects_fwameset.htm 
Cheers,
Lotte

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## jexhed

Thanks Guys. I did some enquiries re waterblasting and the water blasting contractors say it is not effective as the blasting has a suction affect and will not remove all the paint.Tried the electric heat gun but it was very slow .I will be investigating the "peelaway" product as I saw this mentioned on another forum as well.

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## Bloss

A very effective and cheap paint stripper is a caustic soda solution. It is not stuff to be careless around so suitable protective gear with all handling of the soda itself to mixing and using is essential. If you have plants or gardens up against the house wall then that can make it difficult, but it is paint on then scrape off process and you can use disposable sheets to protect plants etc. A good wash down afterwards will dilute quickly and well. A final wash over with cheap vinegar solution ensure that it is fully neutralised. 
But the methylene chloride based strippers also work quite well - not to be used in the sun and only a small area at a time so it does not dry out. 
This might be useful for you: http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/cultural_h...rmation_sheet/

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## Terrian

electric planner set to  0.5mm follower by a light belt sanding, both hooked up to a vacuum cleaner (there was at least 4 different thick coats of paint on the weatherboards, I think the house will shrink by about 2 squares buy the time I get rid of all the old paint !)

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## barney118

I agree with SBD use a heat gun, I used it on my paint and it comes off quite easy not as many fumes as you might think a mask is helpful, providing you dont burn the paint it weakens quite well and comes of when it start to blister/bubble.
Depending on the amount you need to do and the condition you might find it cheaper in the long run to replace the boards, some times the new paint might not want to play and not stick, plus the extra time involved of stripping, prep snading, sanding belts (more depending on the type of wood).
I'd only strip off the paint where it is flakey but the heat gun wants to go further, providing there is a sand somewhere in between you dont have to go all the way back to bare wood.

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