Paint Shaver Tips

Without a doubt my favorite get the paint off the house tool. It is truly a fine piece of equipment that works, "as advertised", which is saying volumes this day in age. This tool only works on flat surfaces, so if the boards are warped, beveled or cupped you will be out of luck.

The first thing you do is countersink all the nails on the wall that you are going to be working on. Even though the Paint Shaver will be attached to a vacuum, you should still lay out 6 mil plastic or drop cloths to catch falling paint and debris.

I then get the heat gun out and remove the paint approximately 8 inches from the edges and all the areas that the Paint Shaver will not reach. Make sure that you do not bother with any heat gun that does not blow at least 20 cfm. http://www.masterappliance.com/master1.html   For additional heat gun laws and information go to www.epa.gov/lead 

You can strip the butt and face of clap-boards simultaneously. Be very careful here as it is easy to make your boards uneven do to shaving inconsistently across the butt. I would make one even pass down each board when shaving the butt side of the wood, then recess the blade so it no longer cuts any of the butt and shave the face of the boards from right to left. Make sure to only set the depth of the cut to shave off 1 to 2 layers of paint at a time. Believe me, you can do more harm than good in short order with this tool if you try to get aggressive. Do not just plant it in the corner and start digging, instead place the tool in a kick stand position (left side down, right side angled up) on the face of the board. Begin moving from right to left and while in motion ease the tool from the angled position to flat on the surface. Always keep it in motion (easy on - easy off) and you will have much less sanding and gouges to fix when all the paint is removed.

If more than one side of the home needs stripping, make sure to start on the side that is not as noticeable like the back or the side. Leave the front or the noticeable areas for when you've gained some skills, it does not take long to get really proficient with this excellent tool.

For more information, you will find it at www.paintshaver.com