Review: Smart Strip paint stripper
0ld paint is an evil bitch. no nice way of putting it. the stuff on this house is lead based, so not only poses health and some environmental risks… but it’s damned durable stuff, despite it’s age. i feel somewhat relieved that it appears the house has only been repainted once in it’s 95 year life… because getting more than 2 layers of this stuff off would surely suck exponentially worse.
our first experiment was with an infrared “noiseless” paint remover, made from a space heater. this actually pulls off everything down to the bare wood surprisingly well, albeit a bit of a slow process. ok, very slow. one test area done (on the front of our house- poor choice in hind site), we decide to get some quotes on having the house professionally stripped. now… i’ll mention again that i was a contractor… and have had houses stripped in the past. with this knowledge, i fully expected it to be well into the thousands… but not into the tens of friggin thousands. super high quote? no.. that’s about what they all were.
next idea. after hearing some good reviews about Smart Strip, we decided to give it a try. i picked up a gallon of the stuff at the local Sherwin Williams paint supply yesterday. well knowing the silly high price of the stuff, i made sure that it was returnable if it sucked.
upon getting this cool new stuff home, i chose another test area; again on the front of our house… in full view of the street, all passers-by and visitors. (gotta remember to do this on the side of the house where nobody can see, next time). following the directions, i laid a 1/16″ layer along the test area.
have 5 cubic yards of 3/4- gravel… the base for the concrete driveway. fun.tonight, after returning home from dinner at a friend’s house (where there were some killer home made tortillas… always a winner), i did a scrape of the test area. $54 per gallon. one gallon covers approximately 45 square feet. we’d need approximately 15 gallons to strip the clapboard and trim. did it strip the paint off well enough to totally justify the cost? i’d have taken a picture, but my disappointment was proof enough for me. it took off a great deal of the newest layer of paint (estimated at 50 years old)… but that’s it.
i’ll try a second test area, as well as a second application over the first test area… but so far the first impression: not so hot. that’s not to say the product is bad. i’ll keep open minded about it until the other test area results are complete… but if they have similar results, this stuff goes back. it’s supposed to take up to 4 layers at a time… so we’ll see.
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May 14th, 2008 at 4:39 am
Have you tried any of the Peel-Away products? I’ve used Peel-Away 7 with good results, just wondered how it stacked up compared to the Smart Strip stuff.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:00 pm
haven’t tried any of the peel-away stuff yet. so far, this stuff kinda sucks for our needs… so don’t think we’ll be experimenting with it further.
the best (and by FAR cheapest) method i’ve found that actually works is the infrared remover i posted about last august or so. it’s tedious and a bit slow, but it’s either that or just plain replace all the clapboard on the house (which is far cheaper than having the stuff stripped)
June 28th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
ok, so I have to agree with you on smart strip. The test area work fine, so full steam ahead, not. We too only have two maybe three layers of paint to remove and it did a great job removing the first layer. Now I am stuck with a sticky yucky mess.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 am
we have old victoriam home with 8 large radiators. i removed most of old paint by chipping scraping, etc and then we painted with a product from duron they recommended for radiators. just fired them up a month ago and the fumes are so toxiv can’t stay in home. duron says it will burn off…it’s been a week of running the boiler full steam ahead with fans everywhere all windows open and doors too… and doesn’t seem to burn off - we’re giving it another week….thank goodness the weather is not 20 degrees. i fear our next step will be to take off this top layer down to the iron and need advice on what product..any ideas..di
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Got 3 layers of paint on a front porch 120 sq feet (2 gallons) of smart strip I am hoping. I already tried the nasty chemicals and it took 2 layers off but left the 3rd. Smart strip is like you said above $55 dollars a gallon I have not made the purchase yet but would like to know your final solution to this. what I am gathering from your article is to not bother with the stuff.
I am at a loss as to what will not take forever to get all these coats of paint off (they are lead based also so sanding is out.)
December 17th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
So, I don’t think you guys are using the product correctly. First is this inside or outside? I think this product is intended for inside use, but I guess it could work outside, but not the way you are using it. If you use it outside, you better hope there is no rain. Second, you have to buy some peel away paper. I have used this stuff to succesfully remove the paint on all of my living room. Apply the paste generously, put the peel away paper over the paste, and smooth out air bubbles. Next, if you are applying multiple sheets of paper, butt them right up against each other, and masking tape the joint. Wait a week. Come back, and the paint will fall off the wall with the paper.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Just used Smart Strip to remove old paint from my door and window frames. The product was easy to use, not hazardous and removed muliple layers of paint in one application. I was very pleased and would rate this product with five stars.
April 12th, 2010 at 11:20 am
I am not that impressed with Smart Strip. Environmentally it is certainly a plus..no fumes..nothing caustic…but after that it’s just a bit above ordinary. It takes some practice…and some time. Don’t buy this if you are in a hurry. There is a knack to getting the right thickness of goop on the paint. The wait time is between 3 - 24 hours depending on what you are stripping. I did not find the actual stripping to be as easy as it looked on Martha Stewart. Lots of residue left behind. Had to apply more goop to areas that did not want to give up their paint easily. (I’m talking about 4 layers of paint, not 14) I ended up using steel wool and denatured alcohol to remove the left behind goop. So much for environmentally friendly stripping!
June 25th, 2010 at 7:27 am
I recently moved into my house and I notice the kitchen cabinets were painted a cream color. When I met my neighbor she told me the owner painted the cabinet without primer. Now, the paint is peeling off rapidly. My questions is, do you think the smart strip will work on my cabinets? It only has one coat of paint on it. I can see the stain wood cabinets. it is a dark brown stain, like in the 60’s or 70’s. What should I use?
Thanks,
Karima
July 26th, 2010 at 9:25 am
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August 6th, 2010 at 9:34 am
I bought a WHOLE bunch of doors on an online auction. (I had no clue how many when I was bidding on..like three dozen!) They’re from the Tennessee Governor’s mansion. Some of them could be from the 1800’s. They’re REALLY heavy, it takes two people to carry them…I’m guessing oak?
I sure don’t want to ruin them…would the infrared gadget be my most cost affective way to go? The peel and strip stuff costs $79 a gallon and I figure it will take about 2 gallons per door..a lot of them are 8 and 9 feet tall. ARGHH!
Kip