Expert: Eileen Cronk - 9/1/2006

Question
Hi Eileen,

I'm trying to strip wooden window frames. they are old and hove some intricate patterns. I used peel away n1 and left it for 24 hours. many layers of paint came off quite easily(about half an inch) . However, underneath remains a kind of gooey brownish paste which is extremely hard to remove. some goes away with water and a lot a scrubbing. some I couldn't get off. did I do something wrong such as removing the product too early? should I reapply more peel away, or another stripper?

many thanks for your advice

Iglika

Answer
Hi Iglika
Nice to hear from you.
Without seeing this brown gooey paste I am going to suggest that this layer is lead paint.
Its miserable stuff to get off at times.
I do not think you did anything wrong but whats happened is the lead paint is the first layer applied to the bare wood and if that is the case it will be very difficult to remove and as you are finding very messy.
I would try a different stripper at this stage.
Get a small can of Circa paint and varnish remover.
I have found it best for this job.
Good luck and thanks for a great question.
Eileen