Stripping paint on Victorian fireplace

[Ben&Anna]

Hello all, I’m new on here but this forum looks like it includes loads of experience and I would be grateful for any suggestions. We have a large slate fireplace surround in our sitting room which has been painted white. We’re not sure how many layers, but I am guessing at least 3. From what I’ve read on threads it sounds like using a stripper plus lots of patience and elbow grease is our best option.

Can anyone recommend a product they’ve used successfully?

Thanks for any hints or tips.

 

[Cubist]

There are many good products available and others here will be able to advise on these but regardless of which product you ultimately use, be very careful when using metal scrapers - scratches in the slate can be very tough to get rid of.

 

[Ben&Anna]

Thank you - good tip, I’ll keep away from metal scrapers. I am a tad nervous

 

[Ashville87]

We had the same, ended up using peelaway paint stripper. It goes on as a thick paste then covered with a paper blanket to work. Some bits took a few applications. I did use a wallpaper scraper to get the paint off, nothing too sharp. To get the slate to a finish I used an orbital sander working to a fine grit sandpaper then oiled with olive oil I think. Happy with how it came out.

 

[LadyArowana]

Once you have stripped all the paint be careful of what product you use to ‘restore’ it. I used something which was supposed to be a slate specific one ( on a clock - not a fireplace ) and whilst it did make it shiny it dried rather streaky and with hindsight I think an oil as mentioned above might have been a better option. On another stone carving I was recommended a ‘mineral oil’ rather than anything organic, but the thing wasn’t slate, some weird Chinese stone used for seal carving.

 

[Ben&Anna]

Thank you for the warning, I’ll think carefully about what product to use for the last stage and finish. It’s a big area of slate to get wrong.