The Silent Paint Remover, aka infrared paint stripper, might be your ideal solution for assassinating old paint. Let’s face it, stripping old paint is a hassle. You could use methyl chloride stripper, but then you’d risk it eating your flesh off, and there’s the potential carcinogen issue. Heat guns are effective, but carry a high risk of lighting your house on fire or risking lead poisoning. I have now tested a Silent Paint Remover on a couple projects and have found it to be one of the better paint stripping options out there. The tool works fairly quickly (10-60 seconds per section, depending on the paint you’re working with), and it bubbles and softens the paint nicely and cleanly. You just heat a section, and then use a high quality pull scraper to strip the paint.
The lower temperature on the tool is designed to prevent dangerous vaporization of lead paint. However, because this is a dry stripping process that involves scraping, I think there is still a likely risk of causing paint dust to become airborne. Before you strip any older paint, I would highly encourage having lead testing done. If you do plan to work with lead-based paint despite the risks, carefully observe lead safe work practices, or hire a reputable lead abatement company. The Silent Paint Remover
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The Silent Paint Remover and Speedheater are both copied from the original infrared paint removing system invented by Hans Allback (Sweden) in the early 1980. The Silent Paint Remover has all UL listed components and is made for the North American electrical system. Speedheater simply rewire the 220 Volt units to work on 115 Volt. The wires in the Speedheater tool are too small for running more electric, therefore the Silent Paint Remover utilizes heavier wire that will generate significantly less heat. The Silent Paint Remover is a heavier duty tool. Now also available with a heavy duty stainless steel reflector that will not degrade over time. Speedheaters bulbs are suspended in a complicated spring system that simply falls apart after just a few years.
I purchased the Silent Paint Remover this summer (2009) and was quite pleased with it. I then ordered the hands free attachment which, I was told, would make my job much easier and much faster. I was extremely disappointed with it. The design is very poor and it is very time intensive and difficult to setup and move. I tried to return the unit beyond the 30-day “trail period” and was told they would not take it back and I should consider selling it on EBay.
Thanks for the additional info Catherine!
Keep in mind that the Silent Paint Remover is now a copy of the original Speedheater Infrared Paint Remover invented and still manufactured in Sweden. The Speedheater has passed Underwriters Laboratory rigorous safety testing to be UL Certified. To pass, the design was improved by adding shock absorbers to the infrared bulbs to reduce the risk of damage when the tool is dropped. Documented testing of the Speedheater verifies the user safety of the tool in not producing lead vapors during the low temperature heating and in effectively removing lead-based paint.