How to remove old paint from woodwork
by Vicki Rowles
+3
The previous owners of my house were sloppy painters and there is paint on my wood trim. What is the easiest way to remove the paint?
6 answers
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I had this at my house and I spent several hours with a Mr Clean magic eraser. It makes the molding look rather dull and dry after, so I used a little Old English scratch cover on it. Be careful not to get it on the wall. You could also use one of the homemade oil formulas that are all over this site.
![Susan]()
Susan
on Mar 01, 2015
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I used rubbing alcohol to remove old latex paint from my stone floor. It took some elbow grease, but it did work.
![Lucy Nunn]()
Lucy Nunn
on Mar 01, 2015
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Goof Off! I've used this on 1 week old paint on woodwork and on 10 year old paint. It works great!
![Tracy]()
Tracy
on Mar 01, 2015
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First try scraping it off with a metal putty knife. If you are lucky, it will pop off. If that doesn't work use denatured alcohol.
![Jaime LaPlant]()
Jaime LaPlant
on Mar 02, 2015
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What kind of finish is already on it? I once had a house that had gorgeous wood trim and like your house, someone did a lousy job painting. Even worse they tried to put a water base paint and gave up when it wouldn't stick... Grrrr. I used rubbing alcohol. Sometimes I had to give it a little extra elbow grease but it did the trick! Afterwards, I used some deglosser then put a new coat of polyurethane and it turned out beautifully.
![Kathleen Glasscock]()
Kathleen Glasscock
on Mar 03, 2015
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Have you tried Goof Off? or heat, a hot gun, will sometimes remove it.
![Carolyn Hoxton]()
Carolyn Hoxton
on Mar 04, 2015
Susan
on Mar 01, 2015
Lucy Nunn
on Mar 01, 2015
Tracy
on Mar 01, 2015
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