Warm again? Makes me think of stripping...

For the second time in two weeks, it's 60 degrees in Chicago in the dead of winter. I knew global warming would eventually turn Chicagoland into a moderate climate, but this is ridiculus!

Anyway, it's made me think of summer. And summer makes me think of things to do outside. One task on our plate is to strip, prime, and paint the wood eaves, fascias, and soffits of our house. They are in really bad shape. So I did some research and found a great article on This Old House that discussed traditional paint removal methods, and also brought up a couple of interesting new products:

1. Removall - a water-based chemical stripper that doesn't attempt to dissolve the paint as other chemical strippers do but instead breaks the bond between paint and substrate. Very Eco-friendly and nontoxic, but sounds pricey. [read TOH review]


2. Silent Paint Remover - Interesting new techno-heat gun that uses infrared heat instead of normal heat. This ensures the wood isn't damaged by someone who doesn't know what they're doing (me), and also actually helps seal the wood by drawing any residiual sap to the surface. Sounds pretty cool!