The ProPrep Ultra Sharp Scraper
... more than what you imagine ...

Last year we stripped several layers of white paint from the stringers on our lower staircase. We used paint remover from the Ready Strip paint and varnish remover line, the ProGrip 2 putty knife and a treatment of After Wash. We were generally impressed with our work. The paint came off easy enough; yet we were left with a thin white layer of paint and fragments stuck in and scattered about the grains of the wood. We used After Wash to remove what we could, left the area to dry and proceeded to stain with MinWax PolyShades Classic Oak. We immediately noticed there was going to be problems. The wood stained blotchy due to the leftover thin layer and fragments. We applied many layers of MinWax PolyShades Classic Oak stain and in the end it turned out well. The carpet once laid hid the problem area's and no one would ever know the difference but us.

How to remove thin white paint layer and fragments from wood left after stripping paint....
 
RemovALLThis year we stripped several layers of white paint from the stringers on our upper staircase for a remodeling job that was underway.  Our contactor was overly anxious for us to get the paint off the stringers and get out of his way.  With little time on our hands we used RemovALL 510 for the task.  We didn’t choose RemovALL 510 because we thought it would perform better than the other products, we chose it merely because we knew it would work faster!  And it undoubtedly did...  We were able to achieve a much cleaner result and remove that final thin layer and leftover fragments from the wood that we discussed earlier.  This allowed the wood to stain absolutely beautifully. 


Stringers shown painted

After mixing the RemovALL 510 with a Drill Mixer for quart/gallon containers we applied RemovALL 510 to the stringers.  Our method of application was a 2-1/2 inch Chip Brush.  Keep in mind that RemovALL 510 is engineered for spray use only.  Since we were brushing we applied a thicker not thinner coat.  Brushing this product out thin like a coat of paint is the most common reason for performance failure.

We then let the product dwell for four hours.  This is considered a fast removal time in the paint stripping realm.


RemovALL 510 applied

Instead of using the ProGrip2 Putty Knife to remove the paint and remover we used the ProPrep #100 extra sharp scraper handle with attached flat blade.  This was the secret!

The ProPrep extra sharp scraper shaved right down to the wood and allowed us to easily remove the extra layer of paint and fragments without even trying.  The results were truly amazing!

As we lifted the paint layers we could immediately see that the normal thin white layer of paint and fragments were simply not there.  This got us pretty excited as we quickly realized this set of stringers would stain far better and richer and without the blotchiness seen previously.  Boy were we ever right!


Take a look at the finished photos after application of 2 coats MinWax PolyShades Classic Oak.


The ProPrep extra sharp scraper is amazingly useful for removing the thin white layer of paint and fragments stuck in and scattered about the grains of the wood after a through stripping job. But keep in mind that our wood was perfectly smooth without ridges. If you were doing the same job to a Window or Ornamental Door frame you would have to exercise a bit more caution. Luckily ProPrep offers a multitude of detachable and interchangeable blades to help you with these detailed and intricate tasks.


To learn more about the ProPrep scraper click here