We may clear tax revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs . Learn More ›
If you ’ve ever tried to remove paint from brick , you roll in the hay that it can be a painstaking appendage . bet on the setting of the job , it might take you several hours or several days to complete the work . Because of the fourth dimension and effort involved , many householder are ineffective or unwilling to entrust their schedules to the undertaking and opt rather to rent professionals , or not to undertake the task at all .
If you ’re dealing with only a modest expanse of brick , or if you relish a challenge , there ’s full news : Paint - rifle product have ameliorate over the days , making the piece of work friendlier to your health and to the brick itself . These raw , secure formulation are the way to go . Many pros and DIYers commend Citri - Strip . SmartStrip has its devotees , too . None are trashy , but all are comparably in force .
Photo: Mint Images / Getty Images
You may be tempt to try a brusk cut , possibly sandblasting or pressure-wash the rouge . This may do more harm than good , and leave the building material in a vulnerable circumstance . Many sulphurous , chemical - based pigment - remotion solutions compromise brick in a similar way . If you remove paint from brick using any of these potentially damaging methods , you may stop up with a job that ’s much more serious than paint .
Tried-and-True Advice
“ Before you take off , I ’d give serious thought to answer , ‘ Just because I can do this task , shouldI do this undertaking ? ’ The likelihood you’re able to get all the rouge off is near zero . The approach to stripping blusher from brick , heating or chemical , re - liquidize the paint , ferment it into a muddy slurry that is hard to manage .
First , you could examine aheat gunbrick - by - brick . Start on humiliated and fire up up the key . It ’ll bubble on the surface of the brick like Malva sylvestris thaw , and that ’s your sign to scratch the key from the brick . I ’d use a 1 - inchHyde putty knifefor this . As you go , adjust the heat gun to match your website conditions . For example , there may be multiple coats of paint that require more oestrus . That said , if there is lead paint , heat is a no - go because re - liquify that paint can make noxious fumes . Also , brick can break if it gets too hot .
secondly , you could examine chemicals . The chemical substance also wake up the blusher and render it a slop . Plus there is the extra gelatin of the actual chemical substance to mete out with . It ’s literally a hot slew . ”
— Mark Clement , Contributing Writer
If you ’re deal with quondam brick , it ’s decisive to not to make clean the brick in a way that does lasting injury . Today , the best solutions are colloidal gel or paste chemical compound , followed by material - ground undress strips . The pigment stripper spark off a chemical response that make the paint to soften and bond to the fabric . In the last step , the material strip are peeled away , bring the blusher with them in the cognitive operation and break the natural brick . eff what you ’re stick into , though . Theright paint strippercan do much of the oeuvre for you , but most situations call for a great deal of further scrubbing and/or scraping by helping hand .
Tools & Materials
Bobvila.com may earn a commission from purchase made through these links .
How to Remove Paint From Brick
Step 1: Test the paint stripper.
Before applying a undress agent topainted brick , test the stripper on an inconspicuous part of the installation . You may find that the stripper you ’ve prefer does not figure out as well as expected , or you may discover the brick was paint to hold in its pitiful precondition . Another good reason to startle with a examination : Doing so cave in you a sense of how much try the occupation is going to take . You may still choose to hire a pro , or you may decide you’re able to put up with the paint .
Step 2: Protect yourself and your work area.
Stripping pigment from brick is a messy job . Minimize cleanup by fructify up your work area in a serious-minded manner . First , lay down a serial of pearl cloths or some thick plastic sheeting to enamor the shedding and flaking pigment that will settle away from the brick . Do n’t forget to videotape the free fall cloth or charge plate to the bottom edge of the brick . If you do n’t want to disturb the finish of nearby painted areas — the adjacent Grant Wood clipping , perhaps — take the time to cover it up completely withpainter ’s magnetic tape .
Don the protective gearing recommended by the manufacturer of the paint stripper you ’ve chosen .
Step 3: Apply the paint stripper.
Before applying the gel or paste , start out by junk away any paint that ’s already liberal . Next , using a trowel or a specialized tool provide by the paint striptease manufacturer , employ the compound to the brick . Be thorough , making sure to push the gelatin or paste into all the little crevices in the brick and mortar . Layer by bed , establish the stripper up to the thickness urge by the manufacturer .
Step 4: Position the peeling strips.
With the chemical compound in station , start positioning the peel strips . Typically made of fabric , these strips should be pressed and held against the stripper until firmly attach . Overlap the strips so that no brick rest seeable . Once the strips have been apply , let them position for the period of fourth dimension stipulated by the producer . In many case , particularly when multiple paint layers are involved , it takes a full 24 hours for the chemical compound to cure and really work its conjuring trick .
Step 5: Remove the strips.
Once sufficient time has pass , return to the workplace country and begin lifting off the strips . If necessary , use the trowel to gain leverage behind any sluggish strips . Peel the cartoon strip in a slow and deliberate fashion ; do n’t rip them . As you skin , the paint beneath should come off too . Wherever the funnies bequeath behind either compound or paint , use the trowel to flake off as much residue as possible . If the trowel does n’t cut it , call off with a stiff - burry brushwood and rinse with urine . If it was n’t already readable , now it is : take away paint from brick is a undertaking - intensive , if not grueling , project .
Dispose of the used strip show harmonize to the manufacturer ’s instructions . For some products , the chemical chemical reaction block on its own , while for others it cease only after the increase of a neutralizing chemical substance . Also important : Do not attempt to remove rouge from brick if , within a month or so , there ’s any chance that the temperature is going to fall below freezing . If the brick does n’t dry completely before the frost , it will be specially potential to succumb to damage .
This Is the Year for a Kitchen Renovation
Whether you ’re sell or staying , everyone can get something out of a kitchen update . Learn why we consider this overhaul the Most Valuable Project of 2025 and how to stay on budget .
