What is a good product to remove loose paint from wood siding besides mineral spirits and paint thinner?

I am scraping an old wood sided (cedar) house. The paint is chipping off but I am having trouble removing all of it with just a scraper. I was wondering if there was an inexpensive product out there that could be sprayed on to easily help me complete scraping the siding that can easily be painted over.What is a good product to remove loose paint from wood siding besides mineral spirits and paint thinner?
You don't have to get all of the paint off, just scrape the loose paint. Sand the edges of the paint you leave to blend it, then prime and paint. Hope this helps.What is a good product to remove loose paint from wood siding besides mineral spirits and paint thinner?
I agree a pressure washer is the quickest and easiest way to remove peeling paint BUT - It is difficult to control the pressure to make sure it doesn't compact or remove the wood behind it. We used one recently on our cedar garage siding (which someone years ago painted over) and when we were through there were gouges in the siding and slivers of wood on the ground. Not only were we left with a previous paint layer still adhering to the siding, but many places in the siding that were compacted and stripped of the top layer of wood. Try making that look good.
There are a number of chemical strippers available that might help. Heat is also effective in removing paint. Many painters feel that well adhered paint need not be removed, but can be painted over. Whatever you decide to do, be sure to apply a high quality primer to the siding prior to painting. It is well worth the time and expense.
Rent a pressure washer. They come with various tips that affect how harsh the water treats various surfaces, start with the widest tip to see if you can get effective paint removal w/o wood surface damage. Yes, older, softer woods can be damaged by too much pressure.
Use TSP it works on everything .





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If it's gloss paint you could use a hot air gun and a scraper. That's what I use to take gloss off.
A pressure washer you should be able to rent one.
hi


I would stay away from the chemicals and go with a pressure washer.


S1lent
Since you're going to be repainting, you really don't need to remove all the paint. If you use a primer/sealer, the product will seal the old paint so it stays put under your new paint. My fav is Bull's Eye 123; it's interior or exterior, works with water based or oil based paints. No having 3-4 cans of different primer hanging around.





Now for the smooth transitions from the old paint to the bare wood, you will need to sand. A 1/4 sheet sander with 60 or 80 grit sandpaper should smooth things out pretty well. If it still seems a bit rough; then give it a going over with something like 180 grit. The lower the number the more aggressive the grit on the paper is. The nice thing about 1/4 sheet sanders is that you can buy a whole sheet of sandpaper and cut that sheet into 4 pieces. It's a lot cheaper than buying the precut sheets and you have a lot more variety available to you.





Renting or borrowing a pressure washer isn't a bad idea; it does make short work of the loose paint but you do have to be careful not to damage the wood. But be sure to let the surface dry at least a couple days (more if it's the shady side of the house) before trying to prime and paint.





If you come across some damaged areas, now is the time to repair those. I've had good luck with the epoxy materials but more of the time, I go for the Bondo. That's an auto body repair material. It stinks to high heavens but it works great and is probably tougher than the wood. It sands up smooth and takes primer and paint real well also. And it's also a great time to be recaulking the windows and doors! Just fixing the caulking will greatly reduce your heating and cooling bills.





I also think sanding a bit is better than dealing with any of the chemical strippers. They have some really nasty chemicals in them that can burn the skin and be quite nazardous to children and pets. Since you're going to be repainting, stipping all the paint off really isn't needed and sanding with the sander is much faster and less hazardous.