Marty's blog

In 2003, one of my restoration challenges was stripping many layers (at least eight) of paint from four plaster ceiling medallions.  Still doing work in an 1887 Victorian home in Oak Park, the owners who were restoring the house were dissatisfied with the many paint layers which were hiding delicate plaster details. 

We put off doing this project because we thought it would be difficult and complicated.  It turned out to be much easier than we thought!  For this project, each medallion took about four hours to strip, start to finish.  We were all very happy with the process and the results.  Below are before-and-after photos.  Notice the crispness of the details that were exposed after stripping, and the absence of damage or tool marks that could have been caused by the paint removal process.  This process was so non-aggressive and non-abrasive to the very soft plaster that you could see the original tool marks of the plasterers who made the medallions!

Here is how I did it:

Having tried removing paint from plaster in the past with solvent based chemicals, I have never had good results.  The problem with those types of strippers is that the porous plaster quickly absorbs the solvent, and the stripper dries too quickly before it can do the work.  Another problem is that conventional strippers require excessive amounts of tool work, thereby greatly increasing the risk of leaving tool marks, or breakage of brittle plaster.

My stripping solution, in this case, was to use a poultice style remover called “Peel Away”.  This remover consists of the chemical, sodium hydroxide, infused in a thick paste.  It is applied easily with a plastic spatula and then covered with a special paper (that is provided with the stripper).  Then you just let it sit for the proper waiting period.  Different situations require different waiting periods to allow the chemical to work, but generally I wait 12- 16 hours.

In the case of these plaster medallions, I applied the “Peel Away” 1/4 inch thick, covered it with the paper and left it sit about 12 hours.   (The same problem of absorption happens here, so if you let it sit too long, it will dry out too much, and you will have to do a lot of dry scraping with your tools.) 

When ready, the paper and most of the paint and dried remover came away easily.  A variety of metal and plastic scraping tools helped me to get off the rest of the residue very easily.  I didn’t have to get it all off perfectly.  Once most of the rough stuff is removed, I used a brush (with plastic bristles – sodium hydroxide tends to dissolve or degrade natural fiber bristles), a synthetic sponge and just plain water.  There is no heavy scrubbing required, just the application of lots of water, going over the whole area several times.

The last step in the whole process was neutralizing ALL surfaces that came in contract with the remover.  Sodium Hydroxide is a strong alkali.  If any residue is left on (or below) the surface, it will cause unwanted problems later, after painting.  Dried sodium hydroxide crystals still remaining on or below the surface can be reactivated at a much later date by moisture – for example, high humidity. 

Therefore, if you don’t neutralize properly, you might strip and paint the surface in the Fall, and have no chemical reaction until the following Summer when the humidity goes up.  Trust me, as a contractor, it is no fun to get a call-back eight months after a job is complete, decorating is finished and the family has moved in!  Not only will you lose money, you will have a very unhappy client.  Neutralizing is a very simple step – Don’t skip it!

A mild acid is all that is required for neutralization.  In the case of our plaster medallions, I used vinegar in several applications over several days.  I avoided using anything stronger, because the lime in the plaster is also alkaline and I wanted to avoid any chemical reaction with it.

For painting after, I recommend using a shellac based primer or an acrylic (because it is also acid – for extra insurance). 

The cost of doing one medallion if you decided to do a project like this yourself would be about $50 dollars in materials.  Depending on where you live, it would cost about $150 – $250 in labor to hire a contractor to do the work.

For safety, well fitting stripping gloves and plastic goggles are a necessity for this work.  I also always wear long sleeves and long pants when using this type of remover.  Keeping a bucket of clean water handy to wash hands and tools etc. is a good idea.

“Peel Away” comes with very good directions, has very little smell and is an excellent paint remover for certain specific applications.

 All  the supplies I needed for this project included:

1 large plastic drop cloth

1 ladder

Rubber stripping gloves

Plastic goggles

3 gallons of “Peel Away” paint remover

A variety of metal and plastic scrapers

1 plastic brush

1 plastic pail

1 synthetic sponge

2 gallons of vinegar

1 plastic spray bottle (for the vinegar)

No, this isn’t Chicago, it’s in the middle of farm fields in Union Illinois. 

But of course, the Illinois Railway Museum has everything to do with Chicago and its history, since that city’s history is all about the railroads, and vice versa.

Actually Union, Illinois in only about 25 minutes from where we now live, but we haven’t been there since we moved to McHenry County.  We’ll have to get a membership and come more often (it’s really cheap and supports the whole operation which is all volunteers).  If you’re into trains, there’s more than you can see in one or two visits!

They have tons (literally!) of old Chicago commuter streetcars and trains.

Everything has great descriptive plaques.

They even have an old CTA station,

tons of signs,

and just about everything railroad. I probably have ridden on one or two of these cars. 

Now this is really scary.  I remember when these trains were new, and now they’re in a museum!

Remember these?

When I was a kid and we lived off of Lincoln Avenue, all the main streets had the overhead wires for the trolly buses.  They dissappeared almost overnight (that has an intersting history of corruption and conspiracy having to do with the auto makers and gas companies.)

Many of the old streetcar tracks still remain under the existing pavement on many of Chicago’s main streets.  You can still sometimes see the tracks exposed in underpasses (the reason is that they can’t build up the pavement because they want to keep the clearance as high as possible for trucks to get under, so the thin pavement deteriorates quickly).

Lots of pictures in this post. Enjoy. Everything from rusty old steam engines to nicely restored ones, street cars to commuter trains, locomotives of all kinds.

Some great restored interiors!

When you get tired of walking, which you will – on different days they offer rides on a different train.

They even have old buildings and structures related to the railroads, all brought here from somewhere else.

I’m back on a Joni Mitchell thing, haven’t posted anything for a while.

I really want to meet her. Don’t think I ever will. Too bad she doesn’t perform anymore.

I’m working on another series of “preservation” seminars for next year. But I no longer have the drive to be involved much with the preservation of historic buildings. it doesn’t seem so important anymore lately. In the past few years I’ve become so deeply aware, and alarmed! at the loss of habitat and species on this planet. I at least can try to have an effect in my own backyard! So I’m gonna pester people with environmental issues now, maybe get one or two minds pried open. People are still not caring enough — too many not caring at all. I decided to call my talks “They Paved Paradise”, in tribute to guess who?

And here’s more of my favorite Joni