# Fixing latex over oil



## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

Let me try this again, since no responses to last post most likely due to a poor heading.
Customer has asked me to fix previous painters f^#k up. Painted over oil with latex with minimal prep (if any) and did not prime. The paint under the latex has lead plus very ornate trim. So, my hope is to not sand. Is there a striper to get off just one layer of paint?










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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

I don't know if there is a stripper that removes cured latex without disturbing oil, but I doubt it. A water-based stripper would probably be your safest bet, but they are not very effective. 

A new(er) latex will strip-off relatively quickly, while the lead/oil layer will resist stripping and is much more difficult to remove. You could try to manage the timing, and leave the stripper on long enough to remove the top layer, without disturbing the base layer. The latex will start to curl up immediately, while the oil/lead layer will take multiple coats of stripper and some elbow grease to remove, so you could do it...but do you want to? Sanding will definitely be required afterwards for a nice finish. 
*(if you go this route with a chemical stripper, use OMS to neutralize the stripper when you get to the desired stopping point. Using Scothbrite pads with the stripper might eliminate some sanding). 

Sounds like a can of worms to me. Stripping Paint is not healthy.


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## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

Holland said:


> I don't know if there is a stripper that removes cured latex without disturbing oil, but I doubt it. A water-based stripper would probably be your safest bet, but they are not very effective.
> 
> A new(er) latex will strip-off relatively quickly, while the lead/oil layer will resist stripping and is much more difficult to remove. You could try to manage the timing, and leave the stripper on long enough to remove the top layer, without disturbing the base layer. The latex will start to curl up immediately, while the oil/lead layer will take multiple coats of stripper and some elbow grease to remove, so you could do it...but do you want to? Sanding will definitely be required afterwards for a nice finish.
> *(if you go this route with a chemical stripper, use OMS to neutralize the stripper when you get to the desired stopping point. Using Scothbrite pads with the stripper might eliminate some sanding).
> ...


I know that this is going to be a PITA. But, the home owners know it will not be easy, and I have told them I want to try getting some of it off before I even attempt to give them an estimate. Thanks for the hint about the green scratch pads, I would forgotten all about them if you did not mention.

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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

I don’t know if this might help, but I had a similar scenario not too long ago having to remove a really poorly done latex over oil paint job on mounds of detailed cabinetry that had no primer and little prep, the painters who did it getting thrown off the job. I was trying to think of an easy way to chemically remove the WB paint coatings, making for easier prep of the underlying oil paint...I had with me a quart of Cleanwoode and just for kicks I brushed some out, let the solvents flash off, the WB coatings softening and bubbling up, making for very easy removal without disturbing the underlying oil paint to any noticeable degree, which could then be easily sanded/prepped. I might wish to add the the coatings were fairly fresh, done only a few weeks prior, which “may” have resulted in the easy removal...not knowing if it would work in your case. Not having a tech sheet in front of me, I think the major solvent component was toluene, along with a blend of other solvents.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

Alchemy Redux said:


> I don’t know if this might help, but I had a similar scenario not too long ago having to remove a really poorly done latex over oil paint job on mounds of detailed cabinetry that had no primer and little prep, the painters who did it getting thrown off the job. I was trying to think of an easy way to chemically remove the WB paint coatings, making for easier prep of the underlying oil paint...I had with me a quart of Cleanwoode and just for kicks I brushed some out, let the solvents flash off, the WB coatings softening and bubbling up, making for very easy removal without disturbing the underlying oil paint to any noticeable degree, which could then be easily sanded/prepped. I might wish to add the the coatings were fairly fresh, done only a few weeks prior, which “may” have resulted in the easy removal...not knowing if it would work in your case. Not having a tech sheet in front of me, I think the major solvent component was toluene, along with a blend of other solvents.


I've used Goof Off on smaller areas in a similar manner. Not easy, but it worked. I would hate to do a whole room this way, but these scenarios are seldom easy. Many times in these situations a good scrapper carefully applied is the quickest route. The paint pops or peels right off. But you're probably getting into lead protocol, even though you wouldn't be disturbing the underlying paint layers too much.


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## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

Alchemy Redux said:


> I don’t know if this might help, but I had a similar scenario not too long ago having to remove a really poorly done latex over oil paint job on mounds of detailed cabinetry that had no primer and little prep, the painters who did it getting thrown off the job. I was trying to think of an easy way to chemically remove the WB paint coatings, making for easier prep of the underlying oil paint...I had with me a quart of Cleanwoode and just for kicks I brushed some out, let the solvents flash off, the WB coatings softening and bubbling up, making for very easy removal without disturbing the underlying oil paint to any noticeable degree, which could then be easily sanded/prepped. I might wish to add the the coatings were fairly fresh, done only a few weeks prior, which “may” have resulted in the easy removal...not knowing if it would work in your case. Not having a tech sheet in front of me, I think the major solvent component was toluene, along with a blend of other solvents.


That sounds perfect, if it will work on my paint. It has been there longer than what you were dealing with. But, I will get me some and try it. I wonder if Krud Kutter full strength would work?

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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

Depending on the paint that was used Denatured Alcohol and a scotchbrite pad might work. 


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## sayn3ver (Jan 9, 2010)

Alcohol will remove the latex without touching the alkyd underneath. I'm refinishing a metal exterior door and have a similar situation. The previpus acrylic topcoat applied by someone else didn't adhere to well to the factory primer on the metal door (poor prep?). Parts of the door came off in sheets while sanding the roller stipple smooth (power sanding and hand sanding). Other well adhered parts will get an alcohol to strip and or feather sanded. 

A heat gun can also be used to soften the arylic without bubbling the alkyd paint underneath. You have to be more careful about how long to heat the topcoat as you only want the acrylic to soften so it can be scraped or rubbed off with a microfiber. 

None of the above is fast or proven. They have worked for me on small projects like single doors or small sections. I definitely wouldn't want to do a whole house this way. 

Financially I don't think it's feasible for the average consumer. Maybe for restoration work but at that point a full strip would be better. 

This is just one of those situations where a lack on knowledge before makes a mess for the guy and the customer who comes after.

I understand for not having or wanting to get involved with lead paint removal.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

sayn3ver said:


> Alcohol will remove the latex without touching the alkyd underneath. I'm refinishing a metal exterior door and have a similar situation. The previpus acrylic topcoat applied by someone else didn't adhere to well to the factory primer on the metal door (poor prep?). Parts of the door came off in sheets while sanding the roller stipple smooth (power sanding and hand sanding). Other well adhered parts will get an alcohol to strip and or feather sanded.
> .


The factory primer on some of those doors is questionable to begin with. Leave them exposed to the elements for six months or more without a topcoat (as many times happens) only exacerbates the poor primer.


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## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

sayn3ver said:


> Alcohol will remove the latex without touching the alkyd underneath. I'm refinishing a metal exterior door and have a similar situation. The previpus acrylic topcoat applied by someone else didn't adhere to well to the factory primer on the metal door (poor prep?). Parts of the door came off in sheets while sanding the roller stipple smooth (power sanding and hand sanding). Other well adhered parts will get an alcohol to strip and or feather sanded.
> 
> A heat gun can also be used to soften the arylic without bubbling the alkyd paint underneath. You have to be more careful about how long to heat the topcoat as you only want the acrylic to soften so it can be scraped or rubbed off with a microfiber.
> 
> ...


Large quantities of denatured alcohol might be the cure. Luckily, it is not the entire house. It is a very large house. She wants me to paint 5 rooms that the previous painter did not touch. My plan is to use Krud Kutter's Gloss Off and prime with Cali Grip Coat to avoid sanding the trim. Grip coat has the most tenacious adhesion that I have ever seen. 

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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

Pete, you might also experiment to see if rags or scotchbrite pads works better with the denatured alcohol 


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Good luck... I have turned jobs like that down when I was starving...


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## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

PNW Painter said:


> Pete, you might also experiment to see if rags or scotchbrite pads works better with the denatured alcohol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I was thinking scitchbrite. Buy them in bulk


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## kmp (Jan 30, 2011)

Lacquer thinner


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

When it gets to that point, would just replacing the trim be a better option? Unless they are married to the existing trim, I would talk them into replacing. It would be faster, less toxic and a more glorified option IMO.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

You can't go down to Lowe's and buy that casing off the shelf. Probably pretty pricey to duplicate.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

Lightningboy65 said:


> You can't go down to Lowe's and buy that casing off the shelf. Probably pretty pricey to duplicate.



Yep. Lady I work for in a heritage house paid $3k for around 25' of baseboard. Guy had to have the blades made to replicate. Pretty fancy stuff, 3 piece profile made out of poplar.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Wildbill7145 said:


> Yep. Lady I work for in a heritage house paid $3k for around 25' of baseboard. Guy had to have the blades made to replicate. Pretty fancy stuff, 3 piece profile made out of poplar.


Better measure 4 times and cut once!


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

finishesbykevyn said:


> Better measure 4 times and cut once!



Thankfully all I had to do was paint it. The guys were doing a bunch of woodworking in the house. New windows throughout which cost enough that my jaw dropped when I heard the price. I could tell they meant business when literally every power tool they had on site was Festool. Everything.


Place just burned a couple of months ago. Now fully gutted old brick building and it looks like they're just finishing up the reframing. I'm busy enough that I'm living in fear that she's gonna call me and ask me to repaint the entire inside when it's rebuilt.


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## sayn3ver (Jan 9, 2010)

I find it best for myself to just use a paper towel or brush to wet the surface with alcohol and a dry microfiber towel to rub it off. There is a point between wet and dry where the paint film is sticky and compromised but not wet and smearing around but balling and can be rolled off with your finger. 

70% rubbing alcohol evaporates slower due to the extra water volume. It doesn't compromise the acrylic as quickly or deeply as denatured does in my experience. However the denatured evaporates too fast in unconditioned spaces. 

I find once the Scotch Brite is loaded (short order typically) it just smears (ever use them or similar to strip wallpaper paste from a wall?). However I have to admit I have never tried to use the Scotch Brite dry and apply the alcohol with another means to simply abrade it off. 


I still want to stress that this is not a fast method and i feel there must be a better route. 




PNW Painter said:


> Pete, you might also experiment to see if rags or scotchbrite pads works better with the denatured alcohol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Wildbill7145 said:


> Yep. Lady I work for in a heritage house paid $3k for around 25' of baseboard. Guy had to have the blades made to replicate. Pretty fancy stuff, 3 piece profile made out of poplar.


How much? I think I need to raise my prices..

I picked up a moulder a while back. I can’t say I have the need for it all too often, but when I do it most certainly comes in handy. I get my knives cut to order from mouldingknives.com in Nova Scotia. Matching an existing profile is as easy as sending them either a CAD drawing, a computer scan of the actual cross section, or a cut-off. The moulder pictured is a multifunction machine by Woodmaster consisting of a planer, moulder, gang rip saw, and drum sander. I use it as a dedicated moulder only.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

One thing you might consider trying is Easy Off oven cleaner. The lye in the cleaner as a paint remover is similar in concept to the lye in Peel Away 1. It has a much quicker softening and swelling effect with acrylic coatings than in does with oil based coatings, and if working it in small sections, and not letting it sit too long, it would likely have little to no effect with the underlying coatings.

Alcohol in conjunction with synthetic abrasive pads is my company’s standard procedure for preparing surfaces for re-coating acrylic finishes on hardwood flooring, the alcohol and pads just scratching the surface of the coatings. I couldn’t see this method being effective @ removing acrylic/latex paint coatings, the synthetic pads not even working with the more aggressive solvent I mentioned in a prior post here, having to use blunt contoured profile scrapers after softening the finish with the Cleanwoode. The toluene in that product also swells and softens oil paint, not nearly as quickly or to the degree that it does with acrylic and latex coatings.

One other option I’ve used in the past when dealing with the preparation of detailed moldings is the use of a linear profile sander. I have a couple of the Festool linear sanders utilizing stock profiles, and also have the kits for fabricating hook and loop sanding heads to match existing profiles. The dust extraction isn’t as good when making a custom profile sanding head, but they do work pretty well.

If it were my client, I’d probably suggest to the client to let me take one of the doors to my shop for experimentation, charging T&M for the one door to see if I couldn’t come up with an effective solution.


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## dubaifixit (Jul 30, 2018)

thanks for sharing this information I already been such situation and no option except leaving the job thanks for help for next time.


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## sayn3ver (Jan 9, 2010)

Denatured alcohol and even rubbing alcohol definitely break down acrylic house paints.

An acrylic floor finish designed to be durable against physical damage and standard household chemicals may not be affected by short exposures to alcohols. 

I can tell you I haven't met a typical "latex" aka acrylic house paint, both interior or exterior that alcohol wouldn't touch. 

The only product I've personally seen that doesn't seem to be affected by wiping with alcohol is sherwin Williams Kem aqua plus surfacer. I have never used the top coat in that line but the pigmented surfacer seems unaffected if you tack it down after sanding with denatured. 






Alchemy Redux said:


> One thing you might consider trying is Easy Off oven cleaner. The lye in the cleaner as a paint remover is similar in concept to the lye in Peel Away 1. It has a much quicker softening and swelling effect with acrylic coatings than in does with oil based coatings, and if working it in small sections, and not letting it sit too long, it would likely have little to no effect with the underlying coatings.
> 
> Alcohol in conjunction with synthetic abrasive pads is my company’s standard procedure for preparing surfaces for re-coating acrylic finishes on hardwood flooring, the alcohol and pads just scratching the surface of the coatings. I couldn’t see this method being effective @ removing acrylic/latex paint coatings, the synthetic pads not even working with the more aggressive solvent I mentioned in a prior post here, having to use blunt contoured profile scrapers after softening the finish with the Cleanwoode. The toluene in that product also swells and softens oil paint, not nearly as quickly or to the degree that it does with acrylic and latex coatings.
> 
> ...


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

sayn3ver said:


> Denatured alcohol and even rubbing alcohol definitely break down acrylic house paints.
> 
> An acrylic floor finish designed to be durable against physical damage and standard household chemicals may not be affected by short exposures to alcohols.
> 
> ...


Was in the shop this morning after revisiting this thread. I had a piece of trim primed and finished in acrylic. Just for kicks, I tried three of the proposed methods...denatured alcohol, Cleanwoode, and liquid lye of the same strength and pH as Easy Off oven cleaner...I didn’t have any xylene as found in Goof Off...

True that alcohol is a latex/acrylic specific solvent for a ablating latex/acrylic coatings.

The test results from this morning concluded that denatured alcohol was by far the slowest, the solvents flashing off too quickly to be effectively productive over a large area. If the client had seriously deep pockets, the alcohol would work, but would take some serious time and coin. 

The Cleanwoode which I’ve used for selective latex over oil removal in the past, produced quick and effective results when removing latex over oil on 48 linear feet of cabinetry. I have photos I can post of those. It does however swell and soften linseed oil paint, but not as quickly. The test results from this morning illustrated that the Cleanwoode solvent blend was ten-fold quicker than alcohol, but wouldn’t be my primary choice. The solvent blend in Cleanwoode is a bit dangerous to work with.

The lye test produced by far the quickest, easiest, and most effective results, degrading the film to almost nothing in under a minute. A couple of quick passes with a maroon pad pulled the finish off as if it were nothing. One thing to note with lye oven cleaner, the lye can saponify linseed oil paints, even after they’ve long since cured. The efflorescence-like film due to saponification on the underlying oil paint is in essence soap. That needs to be scrubbed off with vinegar and a synthetic pad. I work with lye for bleaching wood on almost a daily bases. The lye often wicks onto adjoining painted surfaces, always bubbling up acrylic and latex coatings, and having no visible effect on oil based finishes. For it to impact oil based coatings it would require a considerable dwell time. Rather than using oven cleaner I would make a paste with liquid lye and a thickening agent such as starch or even a sawdust from non tannin containing wood sources. It’s much easier and safer brush applying it.

Another method which would render alcohol to be more effective would be to possibly incorporate it into melted paraffin wax and create a loose paste, the paraffin would act as an evaporation inhibitor, allowing the alcohol to have more dwell time without flashing off as quickly. Paraffin wax isn’t miscible in alcohol. It needs to be heated above 100 degrees and no higher than 120 degrees. It would also allow for a thicker volume of alcohol to be applied, providing hang when applied to vertical surfaces. Paraffin wax is a component in gel paint removers as an evaporation inhibitor and thickener (I think)..then you need to deal with removing the paraffin residue. 

My first choice would still be lye..always best to test yourself.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

I've had decent results with Goof-Off. Oven cleaner may work better, but I have a feeling is the most caustic of the bunch.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Anyone here old enough to have washed their paint clothes in Lye?


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Woodco said:


> Anyone here old enough to have washed their paint clothes in Lye?


I didn’t, but I remember going to the Chinese Laundry with my father as a kid back in the 60s. They banged him a buck for lye washing, starching, and pressing a pair of painter’s whites. Not something you did every week, and no matter how dirty the white’s were, they’d always end up looking almost new.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

My old boss said in the union way back in the day, you were expected to have sparkly clean whites daily, so they did it a lot. I did it for a bit a few years ago. I had a rubbermaid bin with lye in it, I'd let my pants and jackets soak overnight, then put on rubber gloves, rinse it with a hose and put in in the washer. It worked pretty good. I should get back in the habit. Maybe once a month, throw my pants and shorts in some lye, instead of throwing them out.


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

Woodco said:


> Anyone here old enough to have washed their paint clothes in Lye?


I worked for a guy many moon's ago who sent his whites to a uniform company to be cleaned on a regular basis and they used lye in their process, and his whites came out looking like new.

Also, there's a company in Chicago that uses lye in their in dropcloth cleaning and the results are unbelievable! http://www.chicagodrop.com/


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Brushman4 said:


> Also, there's a company in Chicago that uses lye in their in dropcloth cleaning and the results are unbelievable! http://www.chicagodrop.com/


Wish we had a company around here like that!


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Brushman4 said:


> I worked for a guy many moon's ago who sent his whites to a uniform company to be cleaned on a regular basis and they used lye in their process, and his whites came out looking like new.
> 
> Also, there's a company in Chicago that uses lye in their in dropcloth cleaning and the results are unbelievable! http://www.chicagodrop.com/


Ive actually heard of that company. Probably when I was googling how to use lye to clean painters whites, years ago.


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

A company that launders drops.... wow. I never in a million years thought such a place would exist. Just when you think you know everything , some new tidbit comes along. Just goes to show- you just don't know what you don't know.

We always kept two classifications of drops - facnies, for the high end jobs. And oldies for the exterior/dirty jobs. Eventually a fancy became an oldie. I never washed a drop in over 40 years of painting.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

I called the local Laundry Company to see if they launder Drop Clothes. It turns out they do, at $2/lb, and only during the off-season. Wonder if it's worth the cost?


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

@Pete,

The suspense is killing me...
Whatever happened with this project?


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

I too take my drop clothes to the local dry cleaners. Think it cost me about $120 for 1500 sq.ft of clothes. Totally worth it. They smell so fresh after!


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

One thing to keep in mind is the quality of the drops. A decent 9x12 10 oz. can be found for about $20.00 if you shop around. It weighs about 7 pounds. @ $2.00/pound = $14.00 to clean. CThat's getting close to the cost of a new drop.

A 12 oz will run about $35.00 , weighs about 8 lbs = $16.00 to clean. Paying to clean these makes a little more sense.

At the price of $120.00 for 1,500 sf, you're looking at about half of the per pound price, or around $8.50 per drop. This seems pretty reasonable.

And of course you can always buy the really cheap drops and always be replacing them. Just hope you have no spills, because you may as well have just used old bed sheets (which was what made up half my drops when I was just starting out:biggrin.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

What about butyl drops? Does the lye eat the backing?


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Lightningboy65 said:


> One thing to keep in mind is the quality of the drops. A decent 9x12 10 oz. can be found for about $20.00 if you shop around. It weighs about 7 pounds. @ $2.00/pound = $14.00 to clean. CThat's getting close to the cost of a new drop.
> 
> A 12 oz will run about $35.00 , weighs about 8 lbs = $16.00 to clean. Paying to clean these makes a little more sense.
> 
> ...


I worked for a trac painter that did a lot of elastomeric. Those drops probably weight 20 pounds each, and were stiff as cardboard. Heavy winds werent an issue though...


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

“heavy winds weren’t an issue”. I like that. 


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

Woodco said:


> What about butyl drops? Does the lye eat the backing?


I wouldn't give $1.00 each for new butyl drops, let alone pay to have them cleaned. I imagine lye would destroy butyl in a hurry, but I think you probably already knew that.:biggrin:


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

Woodco said:


> I worked for a trac painter that did a lot of elastomeric. Those drops probably weight 20 pounds each, and were stiff as cardboard. Heavy winds werent an issue though...


We had what we called hods...high overspray drops. They were the drops we used in areas subject to a high amount of overspray. They eventually would get to be similar to what you describe above. They would have made a hell of a tent. More waterproof than anything you could buy at Dick's, I'm certain.:smile:


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## Hollywoods (Jul 24, 2019)

Best answer to this post was the two word reply from dude who said Lacquer Thinner. Use cotton rags, wash it down, the end result is a "melting" of the latex onto the lead paint. It's a thing of beauty and fairly quick. WEAR GLOVES, because if you don't, you'll wonder why you feel like **** and have no energy for weeks after. That would be from the lead poisoning. Wear gloves.


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

kmp said:


> Lacquer thinner


Will also affect the oil under coat!


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

Lightningboy65 said:


> A company that launders drops.... wow. I never in a million years thought such a place would exist. Just when you think you know everything , some new tidbit comes along. Just goes to show- you just don't know what you don't know.
> 
> We always kept two classifications of drops - facnies, for the high end jobs. And oldies for the exterior/dirty jobs. Eventually a fancy became an oldie. I never washed a drop in over 40 years of painting.


All of the big PC's in the Chicago area have their drops cleaned at Chicago Dropcloth Service, some take all the drops returning from jobs and when they get a load they either take them in or have them picked up and cleaned. I've had drops that were completely loaded with block filler, gloss oil, etc and after they cleaned them you could use them on any job!


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## Lightningboy65 (Mar 12, 2018)

Brushman4 said:


> All of the big PC's in the Chicago area have their drops cleaned at Chicago Dropcloth Service, some take all the drops returning from jobs and when they get a load they either take them in or have them picked up and cleaned. I've had drops that were completely loaded with block filler, gloss oil, etc and after they cleaned them you could use them on any job!


If I had such a service available in my area, I definitely would have used it. I imagine such a service could only manage to turn a profit in a large metro area.


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## Gloucestermen (Mar 19, 2019)

Well I am late to this party but stripped all the kitchen cabinets in a house in the Sunset district of San Francisco. We discovered a beautiful oil based wood grain job under some latex. I was given the go ahead to see what I could come up with. After several failures I tried a heavy mix of wallpaper remover in boiling water. It did a great job with no damage to the oil base finish.

Lots of covering up and elbow grease but it did the job for me in that case. Like the OP said almost no prep or sanding had been done to the wood graining finish. More than likely a homeowner went to Home Depot and slapped on the latex probably two coats coverage was spotty.

As one other noted Chicago Drop Cloth Company is the place to get your drops cleaned in that area. Great company. 

Hey Pete the Painter are you related to Chicky Martin??


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Gloucestermen said:


> Well I am late to this party but stripped all the kitchen cabinets in a house in the Sunset district of San Francisco. We discovered a beautiful oil based wood grain job under some latex. I was given the go ahead to see what I could come up with. After several failures I tried a heavy mix of wallpaper remover in boiling water. It did a great job with no damage to the oil base finish.
> 
> Lots of covering up and elbow grease but it did the job for me in that case. Like the OP said almost no prep or sanding had been done to the wood graining finish. More than likely a homeowner went to Home Depot and slapped on the latex probably two coats coverage was spotty.
> 
> ...


Interesting...how long ago did you do the removal? Reason I ask is that most of the older commercial wallpaper strippers were in essence a weak sodium hydroxide/lye solution, the lye breaking down the paste. They would often soften and bubble up emulsion paints if applied too heavily and/or left on too long. They were particularly effective when removing multiple layers of wall coverings, where the underlying wallpaper was painted over. MX-3 is the only wallpaper remover that I recall still using sodium hydroxide as a paste softener, the earlier Dif being caustic as well. I was thinking lye in moderate concentration thickened with cornstarch would work based on the same principle. I’d often add a small amount of lye to hot water for the stubbornest wall covering removals, only when steam or store-bought removers weren’t an option.


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