Removing Oxidized Paint Layers

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We would suggest blasting with an 18/40; or 12/20 walnut shell grit. This is affordable and natural. Go to www.ecoshell.com

If you prefer high pressure spray, that's fine, but I can't help you. (Then why did you reply, you fool?!!)

I can help with removing paint without chemicals though. HEAT

My project this summer is stripping, caulking, sanding out all the cupping, priming and painting the front porch, about 300 sq. ft. At first I thought I could use a small belt sander with 36 or 50 grit and remove the paint as well as level the surface. 10 minutes later I was covered in dust, probably lead bearing, since the house is 100 years old and I estimate the porch has been painted at least ten times with lead, oil and latex, the belt was all gummed up and only about half of the paint was removed. Once it got through some of the paint, it was real aggressive on the wood. Belt sander---leveling good, paint removal not good.

Plan B---heat gun (available at home improvement stores) I've used this very successfully in the past on intricate surfaces of doors with only a few coats of paint (five or so), mixed medium also. Since you are aiming the heat at the paint as you scrape the softened paint away, there is NO scorching of the wood, hence little if any chance of ignition as long as you don't have your head up your...

With the thickness of paint on the porch, it has been very slow going. I can strip all the way to almost bare wood, caulking and all, at a rate of about six sq. ft. per hour. The nice thing is you don't get dirty, you don't work up a sweat and there is a calming sort of Zen thing watching the old paint bubble and come up in ripples in almost one pass as you are listening to the birds singing. I don't know if there is much in the way of bad fumes though (no smoke or odor), lead etc.

If I were stripping a large heavy weight metal surface, I would consider a propane torch and a larger scraper as long as flammables weren't present. And a respirator!

Most eco-friendly method I know of is to pressure blast it with 'Baking Soda' crystals.

Use a cheap sandblasting attachment to your compressor, available from most auto accessory stores.

Cheers.

Stu.

I recently saw a program on TV that showed sandblasting using dry ice it left no residue and effectively removed heavy materials

Your question is a little vague. Do you want to just remove the oxidation, or all of the paint, and what is the substrate you are working on (wood, metal, etc).

If you want to remove oxidation from the paint on a car body, for example, high pressure water would be bad. The perfered method would be wet sanding with ultra fine grit sandpaper and a block.