Paint Scrapers

Peeling and flaking paint is a routine problem with exterior painting. Removing the loose flaking paint must be done prior to painting - down to a sound surface, or you will have more peeling soon down the road.

While pressure washers are used for large scale removal of loose, flaking paint, but, there are many situations where a pressure washer is NOT the best way to remove peeling paint.

In any event, you will need to follow up on pressure washer “blasting” with a manual scraping in most cases. So, you really can’t get away with at least some scraping, regardless of the preparation method chosen.

Pre-1978 Homes

Lead paint was banned (in the US, for residential paint) in 1978, so if you home was built prior to 1978, it is possible (and even likely the older the house is) that there is lead in the existing paint. Lead paint, lead paint dust, and lead paint chips and debris pose a potential health hazard. I recommend anyone with deteriorated paint on a pre-1978 home to have it professionally painted by a Certified Renovator, who is trained in lead safe painting practices.

The following paragraphs are for scraping paint on POST 1978 homes.

The Pull Scraper

There are two types of paint “scrapers”: the “push” scraper and the “pull” scraper. Push scrapers, are putty knives (of varying widths and flex). There are versions of both types of scrapers that can be attached to an extension pole for extended reach. While it is good to have both types of scrapers handy, the pull scraper usually does the lion’s share of scraping.

It may take some trial and error to learn how to get the proper edge back on the blade, but, testing the scraper on the surface is the best feed back for your sharpening technique.

Sharpening can be mastered fairly quickly, but it is a hassle to stop constantly to re-sharpen the blade.

Carbide scrapers

Carbide blades are harder, and keep their edge FAR longer than a conventional metal scraper. If you have a lot of scraping to do, I highly recommend them. I use carbide blades almost exclusively for paint scraping.

The ChipBuddie

A specialty scraper made for attaching to a vacuum (a HEPA vacuum when used by Certified Renovators on pre-1978 housing), which greatly eliminates paint chip debris. Certified contractors will still need to use all the other required (plastic ground cover) and safety equipment (lead dust mask, coveralls etc..) lead safe practices and supplies when used on pre-1978 homes.

The ChipBuddie will reduce clean up time and debris on the ground, which makes the whole scraping job a bit more bearable. No paint chips mixed into the “wood chip” landscaping material (which is impossible to totally clean up and remove).

When scraping from a ladder, you will normally have debris falling a long way to the ground, carried by wind currents on the way down, and blowing around on the ground. The ChipBuddie eliminates most of that problem by eliminating the debris at the point of creation.

Scraping From the Ground

There are scrapers that have threaded handles that will accept an extension pole, allowing for scraping right from the ground. These time savers will do most of the work (from the ground), while some final hand scraping from a ladder may be necessary prior to priming or painting for best results.

There are other methods of removing loose paint, but the paint scraper is the most widely used tool by most DIY’ers and professionals alike.

Related Links: Pressure Washers

Pressure Washing Pre-Paint Preparation

The Carbide Scraper

If you do any amount of scraping, you will quickly notice that after a while (not that long, really), the blade will become dull. Instead of clean scraping and paint removal, you will soon be “ripping” the paint from the substrate with great effort. Nothing beats a good sharp scraper.

You can keep the blade sharp by filing the blade with a fine metal file to bring the blade back to it’s original sharp edge.

Please read lead paint warning if your house was built before 1978

A pull scraper

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