Masonry paint is a common feature of brick facades, but for many, the property would look better or last better without it. Trying to remove paint from brickwork, though, is no easy feat.
That's where NW Wash's brick paint removal services come in. We offer brick paint removal and guarantee no damage to your brick facade in the process.
Our team are experts in removing paint, and with the help of specialist tools and experience, we can restore your natural brick in no time at all. We'll bring back your property's original brilliance effortlessly.
Our experienced team are experts in the gentle removal of paint. Using high-tech non-abrasive techniques, we can restore properties and completely remove masonry paint with no damage.
If there is a specific finish that you'd like to achieve while working with us, let us know. NW Wash can guarantee any type of finish with our brick paint removal service.
The DOFF cleaning method was designed to restore heritage buildings by removing graffiti, dirt, and other residues from fragile surfaces. Its design makes it perfect for paint stripping, too. Using steam cleaning, our team can remove paint. We used superheated water at low pressure to soften the paint.
Then, the stream of water simply washes the paint away easily. Since it is low pressure, it is completely non-abrasive, and most of the time this paint removal process doesn't even require a paint stripper or paint remover. The masonry paint simply bubbles up and melts away from the wall.
Occasionally, the paint is too hard to melt off. In this case, we use a softener of some sort. The softener is specially designed to make the paint removal easier, allowing us to remove paint from brick seamlessly without ever having to pressure wash or use an abrasive technique.
By doing patch tests on your brick surfaces we can ensure that you are completely happy with the job that our experienced team has done. If there are any issues, we can address them at this point, rather than after the complete paint removal has been done.
Patch tests also allow you to ensure that you actually like the colour of the brick beneath the masonry paint! Many people who go for paint removal have never actually seen the beautiful brickwork underneath, so it can sometimes be a shock!
When it comes to removing paint from brick, there are two main categories of brick that we usually work with: the facing brick and the backing brick. The facing bricks are the external brickwork of a house, designed to be resistant to the elements. The backing bricks are the internal or rear walls, sometimes these make up fireplaces that require cleaning.
In terms of material, we will remove paint from any kind of brick. This includes:
If you're unsure whether we'll be able to work with the bricks you need paint stripping from, contact NW Wash today.
In theory, using a pressure washer can remove paint from bricks. It is how lots of people choose to do their brick cleaning at home. However, it is poorly advised. Using a pressure washer for paint removal will damage the brick surface, often irreparably.
We cover this in more detail in our post “will pressure washing remove paint from brick?”.
Pressure washers use a stream of water that is forced out of the nozzle at incredibly high pressure. This is how they get their name. The stream of water can be incredibly dangerous. It can completely decimate certain materials and cause damage to people if used incorrectly. In order to prevent any damage to you or your wall, you must put the pressure washer away and hire professionals like NW Wash instead.
Pressure washing is a no, but what about chemically cleaning your walls? Will chemicals remove paint from your exterior brickwork?
There are a number of products out there that claim to be paint strippers, but as well as paint stripping, many of them are very strong caustic chemicals. This means that they are not only dangerous to use without experience, but they are also incredibly detrimental to the brick.
Bricks are porous, which means they tend to absorb any liquid that sits on their surface - including a caustic chemical paint stripper. These chemicals will then soak through the brick and can cause structural issues by damaging the interior brick integrity.
The only chemical you should be using in the paint removal process is a proper paint stripper (sometimes called paint remover or paint thinner). It is specifically designed to remove paint from brick and other surfaces, and is not as bad as caustic chemicals and can be used to carefully remove multiple layers of paint. It can make the paint removal procedure much quicker by helping to remove paint from brick in chunks rather than layers.
This is especially useful on exterior brickwork, as masonry paint is designed to last well, so removing many layers at once can be a huge help. However, you will still have to put a lot of effort into removing the paint completely.
It is also important to note that there are lots of types of paint strippers. Each type is specifically designed for a different type of paint removal. As such, using the wrong type (i.e., using a latex paint stripper to try and remove a gloss paint, is not going to work.
You should also be aware that paint thinners and strippers (especially a heavy-duty paint stripper) are likely to have chemicals in them that can be risky to inhale, so should be used carefully. You may also want to take care when paint stripping to ensure that the solution does not run off into vegetation and the local drainage system.
Once you have stopped the paint from your wall, you will likely need to give the brick a clean. After all that time under the paint, the surface may well have pollutants, paint residue, and other dirt and grime.
Should you decide to opt for paint stripping over a professional job done by an experienced group of staff, then you should always start by getting all of your gear together. You will need a paint stripper, laminated paint removal strips, a stiff-bristled brush, a trowel, protective clothing (you should look for chemical-resistant clothing that you do not mind getting messy), painter's tape, thick plastic sheeting or drop cloths, and a heat gun.
It is important to note that some older paints may contain lead. In this case, the heat gun should not be used as it will cause fumes that are dangerous.
Lay the drop cloths on the floor as a protective layer, and apply painter's tape to the wood trims and window frames, and fixtures on the wall to protect them. For interior brickwork like a brick fireplace, cover anything that you don't wish to clean.
You should then start with a test patch. A test patch allows you to confirm that the stripper actually does remove paint from brick and that it does so without causing any harm to the brick beneath. Do this on an inconspicuous area of your brick wall and be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions.
If you're satisfied with your test patch, then you should continue onto the paint removal for the whole wall. This should involve you layering on the paint stripper, even in the crevices and on top of the mortar, and then pressing the strips into the stripping agent. Following the manufacturer's instructions, let these sit for a while before peeling strips away.
When the strips are on the wall, you should not see the brick at all. It should cover all the paint. If brick remains visible, you've missed a spot. Once the strips have been peeled away, you will then likely need to clean the wall. Stripping paint off tends to reveal dirty brick that needs cleaning. You will need to scrub and clean the wall using gentle cleaning solutions to remove paint residue and dirt from your brick walls.
Many people wonder what the point of removing paint from brick is. Masonry paint, when done well, can look really lovely on brick walls - so why should you remove it? Well, the answer is: you don't have to. If the paint looks great and is causing no issues, there's no reason why you should go ahead with paint removal.
However, often, the paint begins to deteriorate or it starts to cause issues for the residents. This is when paint removal is important. You should consider removing paint from your brick walls if:
There are two types of paint: flexible and brittle. Flexible paint moves around a lot more and as a result, they have a tendency to trap moisture beneath them. When this happens, the moisture can then be soaked up by the bricks and cause internal damp and mould issues.
Mould and damp can be structural issues, but they can also cause health problems for those in the property such as respiratory health concerns. As such, they should be dealt with as soon as they arise.
If the painting was done long enough ago that it is now starting to show signs of weathering, then it may be time for paint removal. By removing the chipped and damaged paint you are able to re-paint the home and protect the brick walls from moisture that may make its way in through the cracks.
Through both damage to the paint and the use of flexible paint, masonry surfaces are also at risk of frost weathering. This is when water gets into the bricks and then freezes at low temperatures. The brick then expands by as much as 10% in size, only to shrink again when the water melts. This can cause serious structural issues.
For many homeowners, the colour of the brickwork on their home is something that they feel they're just kind of stuck with. But if you remove paint from your brickwork, you can choose to repaint it, render it, or anything else! By removing paint, you suddenly open up the door to lots of opportunities to personalise your home and make it that little bit more yours.
By removing damaged paint or the wrong type of paint, you can save yourself hundreds of pounds by preventing and removing the cause of many damp issues. Damp is a pervasive problem in the UK, our weather simply makes it almost impossible to avoid. Paint removal, however, is one way to help tackle it.
Brick is often considered to be a natural beauty, and homes with beautiful brick facades and brick fireplaces (anything brick, really!) will often do better on the market. So if you're looking to sell or rent your home soon, paint removal is a great way to help boost the worth a little bit without having to do very much!
It is significantly easier to maintain a brick facade than masonry paint, especially a light paint job. Over time, a home that has gone through paint removal will fork out much less for maintenance.
In older properties, the original brick facade is a point of pride for many owners, and rightfully so. When this is revealed through paint removal, it can be a truly magical feeling and it can help owners fall back in love with their property.
As with many practical jobs, it is hard to determine exactly what paint removal will cost each individual person. This is because the cost will differ depending on a number of factors:
How long the paint removal takes, and therefore, how long NW Wash charges for brick paint removal services will depend on all of the above.
Generally speaking, residents and homeowners can expect to pay roughly £50 per square metre of wall that needs paint removal. But for a true quote, contact NW Wash today. A member of our team will be able to get all of the information that we need from you regarding the brick surface, and from that we can estimate how long it will take us to remove paint. Then we can give you a proper free no-obligation quote so that you can make an informed decision about removing paint from your brick surfaces.
Once NW Wash has completely removed paint from the bricks, there is every chance that they will need a good clean. Masonry paint is often applied to brick walls without the brick being properly cleaned first, and dirt and grime can get in any nook or cranny. For information on brick cleaning solutions, contact NW Wash. We'll help remove paint and bring your brick back to standard with non-abrasive, efficient cleaning methods.
If a paint stripper is good enough at removing paint, why hire NW Wash? What do we offer that a good paint stripper doesn't when it comes to removing paint?
Even with a good paint stripper, removing paint is hard. Masonry paint has been designed to last well. It really sticks to masonry surfaces and can be hard to budge, making it very difficult, in some situations, to remove paint. It is a long and hard job and one that requires lots of patience.
Too often, homeowners decide to remove paint themselves, only to get fed up and reach for a pressure washer or a sandblaster, which then ruins their beautiful brickwork completely in the process of removing paint.
For a long time, paint of all kinds was lead-based. Lead paint has now been phased out as we discovered the many health concerns that were directly linked to the presence of lead in many household items, but the paint often remains. It is always a risk when it comes to old paint. As paint removal experts, we know precisely how to handle lead paint removal without putting ourselves or anyone else at risk.
So not only can you rely on NW Wash to do a professional job, but you won't have to lift a finger. As paint removal experts, we have all the skills and protective gear needed to completely change your painted wall, from the patch test to the cleaning process, you can trust us.
The job isn't all we offer, either. As leading professionals in the field of brick paint removal, we can also offer professional advice on how to maintain painted and non-painted brickwork.
If your render is in need of a clean, contact NW Wash today for a free no-obligation quote!
One of the things that our expert team can offer support and professional advice about is how to protect and maintain your brickwork now that the paint is gone. Having your property's natural beauty back is great, but it comes with a whole new range of maintenance jobs and concerns.
One of the ways that you can maintain your brickwork is simply to clean it on a regular basis. Bricks, just like render, paint, or any other exterior surface, need to be cleaned to be maintained. This will allow you to remove any natural growth as and when it arrives, and it will also allow you to spot any and all damage before it has progressed to something that immediately needs resolving.
Beyond that, our team can also provide expertise and insight on things like coverings for your wall. These can be targeted to your specific needs, i.e., if you live in a damp area you might want to protect your brickwork from moisture more than someone living somewhere dry.
If your render is in need of a clean, contact NW Wash today for a free no-obligation quote!
Still not sure whether removing paint is worth doing? Here are some frequently asked questions about the paint removal job.
When you hire experts to remove paint from brick walls, you don't have to worry about there being any damage to the brick's surface. We use DOFF and steam cleaning techniques that allow us to remove paint effortlessly using just heated water. Sometimes we will use a solution to help encourage the dried paint off of the wall in order to make it easier to remove paint, but this is a solution that is completely safe for use on porous brick surfaces.
Using a pressure washer or harsh chemicals puts the brick wall at risk of damage, which is why we always recommend you avoid these techniques.
Once we're done removing paint, you may wish to clean your brick surface. Removing paint often reveals a dirty brick wall from atmospheric pollutants, moisture, general dirt, and grime, but as soon as this layer of dirt is washed away, you'll find your naturally beautiful brick facade.
Removing paint from brick can take anywhere between a few hours to a few days. It depends on how large the wall or brick surface is, and how many layers of paint there are. Removing a couple of layers of paint from one side of a home may only take an afternoon, maybe into the evening, but for multiple layers across a whole large detached house may take longer.
As with any cleaning, there are lots of 'hacks' online and old wives' tales about what will do a fantastic job at helping to remove paint from brick and getting your brickwork looking brand new again. All sorts have been suggested as an alternative paint remover. Some of these paint stripping methods include:
Generally, though, it is best to stick to a specially designed tool for removing brick paint. Or, better yet, hire paint removal experts like NW Wash. Whether it's ancient lead-based paint, a new bout of spray paint or you've simply chosen the wrong colour for your fireplace, NW Wash is your best bet at brick paint removal service. Contact us today for a free quote and expert advice on how to keep your brickwork looking as fresh as the day it was laid.
If your render is in need of a clean, contact NW Wash today for a free no-obligation quote!
Brick paint removal involves stripping paint from brick surfaces to restore the original appearance. This process requires professional techniques to avoid damage.
Safe paint removal from brickwork involves using non-toxic chemicals or gentle blasting methods that do not harm the brick's integrity or the environment.
Yes, removing paint from brick can enhance your home's aesthetic appeal and potentially increase its market value by revealing and preserving the original brickwork.
The cost to remove paint from brick depends on the surface area and the paint type. It typically ranges from moderate to high, considering the complexity of the process.
The duration of the paint removal process varies based on the project's size and the paint's adherence, generally taking from a few days to several weeks.
Paint removal from brick can be environmentally friendly when using eco-conscious methods and materials that minimise harm to the surrounding environment.
