Is there anyway to remove white paint on brick around my fireplace?

Drgnpryncess
by Drgnpryncess
Years ago,10+, the fireplace in our home was painted white. My husband I have wanted the brick to be brick and not the white wash it is. How can we remove the paint to get back to the red brick?
  6 answers
  • Country Design Home Country Design Home on Nov 16, 2015
    I've never done this myself, but I under stand it is a pretty messy process. And, if the brick was very old and porous to begin with, you may not be able to remove all of it, leaving some white flecks behind. Which, I think would look nice, but that's just my opinion. This is from Bob Vila, a good tutorial on how to remove paint safely from brick. Good luck! http://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-remove-paint-from-brick/#.Vkm3d3arTIU
  • Momma's Sweets Momma's Sweets on Nov 16, 2015
    Oh boy, I think it was 30 yrs ago I removed white paint from a stone fireplace. We found some strong paint remove, then sandblasted the rest off. Not sure you can do that with brick. Good luck
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Nov 16, 2015
    Try using a gel stripper which is less toxic first.This web site explains the process. www.ehow.com/How to Take White Paint Off Red Brick.
  • 100699 100699 on Nov 16, 2015
    Many years ago I had a friend who faced the same problem. Stripping brick is very difficult, and eventually they gave in and instead repainted the fireplace a beautiful brick red. Not the perfect solution, but it did fit better than the white with the classic style of their old home. Here's a blog post on restoring a realistic brick look using paint: http://www.prettyhandygirl.com/painting-brick-fireplace-from-white-to/
  • C. Nestor C. Nestor on Nov 17, 2015
    I actually removed paint from this type of red brick fireplace. I used paint stripper as you would for wood. I scraped and then wire brushed it afterward. I used turpentine remove the remainder stuck in the grout. It looked fine but it was a huge job. I recommend using air ventilation, heavy vinyl gloves, a mask and safety glasses also as it is quite odoriferous and toxic.
  • S S on Jul 20, 2016
    If it has been "lime washed" there's no easy way of removing it, sometimes it cannot be removed at all.
    • Drgnpryncess Drgnpryncess on Jul 25, 2016
      Thanks for your suggestion. I have decided because of how old it is and not knowing any of its history, I'm going to paint it back to its original glory. A lot of patience and experimenting. A lot of blending and more patience