O/T - Painted Stone Window Sills

[QSclaret]

Completely off topic but I have just purchased a house and the external stone windows sill have been painted a lovely shade of beige. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to the best (easiest/cheapest/cleanest) way to remove the paint and get the stone back to its natural state?

[Morgan]

If it's been painted amateurishly/shoddily, I'd have a go with a high-pressure water lance. If that doesn't work, an industrial-type sander from a hire shop should do it. Another possibility is a paint solvent/remover from a DIY store. HTH.

[Funkydrummer]

The best and easiest way is to blast it off, but make sure you employ a
reputable company who make sure your stone work is able to withstand
the rigours of blasting. I would recommend water blasting as opposed to
sand blasting - a lot less harsh.

You could try doing it yourself with an angle grinder but I wouldn't recommend
that.

I would assume it's been painted with stone paint as opposed to gloss.

[Lord Beamish]

High pressure hose(be careful around Window seals) to take the loose stuff off. Finish off with an angle grinder with a wire brush attachment.

[Billyblah]

QS if it's natural sandstone don't use sandblasting or any aggressive chemicals....and try to avoid the angle grinder as well.
The best method is a TORC cleaning system which is basically a water jet on which you can vary the pressure. You can also add more abrasive additives to the jet. These include coconut husks and all sorts of bizarre things. Anyway, 'google' it and do a bit of research before you dive in. If you can loosen the paint then you could even use a rough scrubbing brush and good old elbow grease
Sandblasting damages sandstone and results in longer term delamination of the fabric....though accepted there are still plenty of companies out there keen to mindlessly blast buildings within an inch of their life!!

[john'sroseyspecs]

There is a product you can get called Peelaway by Langlow. It's a thick horrible paste which you leave on to work and covered with its special paper. Obviously need good weather if outside. This can deal with layers of paint and undercoat. It's good for getting the residue of the paint out of the grain of the stone. You would only really resort to this if the methods mentioned above don't work fully. Still a tough ask to get it fully back to bare stone. If it's a natural stone look you are going for , an alternative way is to use a paint called Stone Coating by Charles Products. Needs a few coats but very realistic.

[QSclaret]

Thanks for the responses, was hoping to do it myself other than get a company in (money is a factor in this). I have ordered a sample of the peel away product so I'll see how that goes on, if it doesn't work I may just have to put up with the paint until I can afford getting someone in.

[Man of Kent]

Nitromors used to take paint off anything. But it also used to take off skin from your fingers, your cornea from your eye and your hair from your head if you weren't careful. Probably best to follow Billblah's advice (above) when it comes to that stuff though!

[cricketfield73]

"Nitromors used to take the paint off anything" - too right it did Man of Kent. Even a tiny little well used paint loaded speck used to nearly burn your skin to the bone. You could virtually drink that green stuff they brand as Nitromors these days.

Good luck to the OP with the peel off gunge stuff, I used it once for a similar project and it worked well and that saved me a nice few quid along the way too.

[minnieclaret]

Whatever you do protect your windows and surrounds. A mate of mine had some sand blasters in not long after having a new front door hung.
the p1llox trashed the door and the glass.

[bfcjg]

Dynamite.

[JohnMac]

My house is painted at the front - White walls and Blue window ledges.

I know but it looks nice and I'm not daft enough to think about wasting money to change it

[Claretforever]

An old house I once had had those, and I didn't like them, especially as one or two had broken slightly so didn't look great. I had then cut down and pebble dashed over. Worst mistake I made as the water didn't run off the same and it went a funny colour. Wished I'd replace the bricks and cleaned them up.

[Overthehill]

Funnily enough I have just removed gloss paint from two stone pillars about 1.0m high at the side of my front door and I can tell you Nitromors didn't work for me. In fact it sort of made it worst and that`s because the stone wasn't completely smooth.
After several attempts of using various methods I used a double cup disc in a grinder which not only removed all the paint but created smooth finish.
You need the touch of a midwife though, because if you press on to hard it could cut into the stone.
I just let the disc do its work by the weigh of the grinder and the paint came off in a few minutes.
You need goggles and dust mask and don`t do it when the neighbours washing is out on the line!
Before starting I wet the area down and continued to do through out to keep any dust to a minimum.

Available in Screwfix -
Part Number: 58310
Cost - £19.99
Name: ERBAUER DOUBLE GRINDING CUP 105 X 22.23MM
Description: For rapid removal of concrete and masonry. Great for removing graffiti and cleaning stone. Use with 115mm angle grinders.