Pigeon Point Paint Peeler Porch Project

We didn’t get everything done that Trissa hoped we might, but the dent was pretty substantial. After all, we did strip 150 square feet of bead board.

And this was no regular paint. It was “poor man’s stucco paint”. If you can’t visualize this, think of painting with concrete. Literally a quarter of an inch thick in spots, this stuff would only succumb to the Pigeon Point Paint Peeler:

The Paint Peeler is the most awesome device known to renovators around the globe. It is fed by a combination of 120 volt AC (house current) and fumes from melting paint. In our experience it takes approximately 20 seconds to melt a 12” x 4” section to a toasty brown, suitable for harvest. Once toasted, the “scraper” uses a 3” knife to quickly lift the cottage-cheese consistency paint from the wood and fling it into a bucket. Two workers can easily remove the paint from three 6’ long sections of bead board in about 10 minutes.

Our new neighbor asked us today why Trissa “got to wear the respirator”, while I didn’t get to wear it. I had several answers ready, but the one that I said aloud was “she the one who gets to bear children.” That said, the fumes were starting to get to me and I realized this when I heard one of the boards talk to me. It said “OH! Thank YOU SO MUCH! I Never thought I’d see the light of day AGAIN!” The board really was beautiful under that gross concoction of cement and paint, and I empathized with it. “Don’t worry board, we’re going to put a nice coat of spar varnish on you, and you’ll shine for the next 50 years.” I said. “Kind sir, thank you so much”, replied the bead board. “I’m so thankful you bought this house and didn’t leave me hidden under this cementatious cake. I promise to give you at LEAST 50 years of warmth and shine!”

Trissa just looked at me as she always does - as if I were crazy.

Here’s a picture showing the progression from “heavily graveled” to “nicely stripped” to “ freshly sanded”.