FAQs

Traditional paint scrapers are NOT recommended. A high quality pull scraper, that is a scraper that you pull towards you instead of away from you, is essential with the Speedheater 1100. Inexpensive scrapers found in many paint stores have not been designed to work with the Speedheater Method™. The scrapers we sell are top quality steel, manufactured to the highest standards in Sweden. They are not necessarily as sharp as other scrapers as they have been designed to do the least amount of damage to the wood.

The Speedheater 1100 is NOT shower proof. As a general rule, you should protect all electrical equipment from exposure to water or other liquids.

Yes it will remove varnish and paint off trims, architraves, skirting boards and doors very quickly and effectively. You can usually strip an average door in less than an hour.

Yes this is an ideal tool for removal of varnish on wooden boats. Thick layers of varnish can be removed with a sharp scraper after heating. Thin layers can be removed by heating and buffing with steel wool. You can also utilize diluted linseed oil (80% linseed oil 20% mineral turpentine). Apply the linseed oil and let it soak in for 24 hours or longer. Reheat and buff with steel wool.

One consideration to take into account when making a purchase for a paint removal project is that the Speedheater 1100 is a one off cost. It can be used for many projects and requires minimal maintenance, with the bulbs giving you up to 5000 hours of use. Most chemical strippers require additional purchases of the chemicals and other solutions which adds up. Along with the safety and ease of the Speedheater 1100 it is a great alternative.

Position the scraper handle parallel to the painted surface or closer. Grip one hand on the rear of the scraper handle and apply pressure with your other hand closer to the blade this will make the scraping very effective.

You expose the paint to the infrared heat for approximately 20 to 60 seconds depending on the paint type and thickness. The paint will form large blistering bubbles when the bond has been broken, making scraping off a breeze. Usually you can remove all the layers down to the initial primer coat in one go. This is a very rewarding experience to see the paint come off in sheets. You will not experience burn marks on the wood you are removing paint from and this process does not create any dust or lead vapours.

Infrared heat removes moisture and mildew from the wood, drawing moisture out during the stripping process. Removing moisture from the wood creates a porous substrate and a tooth for the primer to grip on to. This extends the life of the new paint layer. Infrared heat opens the grain of the wood much more effectively than any other paint removal methods without damaging the wood.The woods natural resins are melted and also drawn to the surface during the infrared process increasing the ability of the wood to withstand moisture.

Exterior paint removal:

You can strip 1.5 to 2.0 sqm per hour - using a hands-free kit.
These figures are approximate and are based on ordinary exteriors. Intricate exteriors may take longer, while flatter ones can be dealt with more quickly.

Internal paint removal:

Large flat interior areas such as doors can be stripped quickly. It takes approximately 45mins to 1 hour to strip the side of a reasonably flat door. After a light sand it is ready for re-painting immediately.

As soon as possible, preferably the same day as the moisture level in the wood will normally be as low as 8 to 10%. Leaving the wood exposed for too long will increase the risk of moisture being absorbed by the wood, which can result in adhesion problems with the new paint.

The prices of the Speedheater 1100 and the accessories do not include delivery. We send our products by courier to ensure your valuable order is tracked and insured.

The fire risk is minimal as the operating temperature is normally just 100 to 200 degrees c. It is only the exposed surface that becomes warm. This is in contrast to the 500 to 1000 degrees c produced by a heat gun where the hot air can get blown into cracks and start fires on the reverse side of the wall.

It is important to note that at the low operating temperature of 100 to 200 degrees c no plumbic (lead) gas is produced as the melting point of lead is 327.5 degrees c. When using the Speedheater 1100 inside it is recommended to slightly reduce the heating time to avoid any unnecessary exposure to paint fumes. You should always protect you and your employees from unwanted fumes or dust when removing paint. It is more important to use a respirator for indoor applications, as there is less air exchange inside than outside.

There is minimal risk as the Speedheater 1100 only produces as much radiation as is produced by the embers of an open fire.

If pairs of tubes stop working, either a fuse or breaker has blown or there is a fault on the electrical cables running to the Speedheater. Please return it to us for service and repair, as we are trained agents for product repairs. If only one has stopped working you may require an new bulb. We sell replacement bulbs over the website or call us on our freephone number to purchase.

Keeping the blade sharp is essential. If the blade is not sharp enough it will make the removal process twice as hard and take twice as long. We recommend using a diamond lap sharpener which we found to be the best product for sharpening our blades. They are inexpensive and easy to use - see our products section to purchase.

Paint can be removed at any time of the year, including winter. It is not recommended leaving the wood exposed until warmer weather arrives as this increases the risk of moisture being absorbed by the wood, which can result in adhesion problems with the new paint. Painting as soon as possible gives the best result, therefore it is recommended to do the paint removing at temperatures when painting can be conducted soon after. During the winter wind can also have an affect on the effectiveness of the Speedheater 1100 to project the heat into the wood. Wind has a strong cooling effect, irrespective of whether it is hot or cold outside. For this reason, you should always protect the working surface in windy conditions using tarpaulin or similar.

The following describes a number or situations where removing all the paint back to the wood is advised:

• For purely cosmetic reasons. Often detailed trim work and mouldings can be painted so thickly that their forms become unclear or disappear completely. By stripping them you can restore them to their former glory.
• Previous incorrect preparation of the paint surface that may have resulted in the paint having poor adhesion resulting in flaking or peeling.
• Incorrect preparation, for example latex or acrylic paint applied directly on the wood without an oil primer or the exterior wood surface was exposed to too much oil, resulting in poor adhesion (this is common in coastal areas).
• Paints have been applied that do not harmonize with each other, e.g. film-forming paints on top of whitewash or vice versa. Similar problems may be encountered with modern paints applied on top of old linseed oil paints.
• The bottom paint layers may have aged so that their elastic and adhesive properties are unable to hold additional paint resulting in cracking (crocodile skin appearance) and flaking.
• The paint layers have become too thick, too hard and riddled with penetrative cracks.
• Blister formation on the painted surface that is perhaps as the result of moisture or linseed oil blisters.
• The paint layer shows a hairline crack pattern that may run horizontally, vertically or in a diamond pattern.

From a maintenance perspective, removing old paint from exterior facades and windows is ideal. If a paint layer is too thick, the paint will crack and re-painting will only provide temporary protection before the paint cracks and flakes again. When paint is removed, it affords the opportunity to begin re-painting using modern deep-penetrating undercoats that provide excellent adhesion for the paint.

If the painting work is carried out correctly, you can have a problem-free facade for at least 30-40 years that only needs normal maintenance. Remember that paints age and their adhesion to the lowest layer decreases regardless of whether the frontage is well or poorly maintained. The last layer of paint is usually held responsible for peeling, when in reality it is the first layer that no longer has sufficient adhesion. Don't forget that paint is only as good as the bottom undercoat.

In summary the risks of other methods are briefly noted below:

• Sanding: Lead dust, expensive, time-consuming, messy, potential to damage wood surface.
• Heat Gun: Small application area, slow, high risk of fire, ineffective on some paint types.
• Chemical Strippers: Expensive, damage to wood surface, hazardous to use.
• LPG burnoff: Extreme fire risk, possible invalidation of insurance.
• Paint stripping with lye (Potassium or Sodium Hydroxide):
  Lye is mostly used in the paper pulp industry for separating wood due to its ability to dissolve lignin, the substance that holds the fibres of the wood together. Using this method softens the wood and makes it pliable and the resin, which is wood's natural protection against moisture and rot, is to a large extent removed. The wood surface also takes on hairline cracks that draw in moisture. The most serious problem is that lye gets into the capillaries in the wood, where it dries and forms salts that draw in moisture. When enough moisture has been drawn in, the salts seep out and break down the new paint layers and emerge on the surface in the form of a white powdery substance.
• Solvents:
  Generally speaking, removing paint using solvents will not damage the wood; there will be a certain amount of leaching of resin, but not to any great extent. The problem is that different types of paint usually come loose one at a time and must be scraped off one by one using new coats of solvent, which is why such an approach often requires many applications of solvent. It is also very important to clean the surface thoroughly after stripping the paint, eliminating any solvent residue that will impair the adhesion of new layers of paint.
• Blasting wood:
  Blasting away old paint cannot be done without causing substantial damage to the wood. The reason is that old oil-based paint is harder than the wood and thick layers of plastic paint are more tenacious than wood. Therefore, it requires more force than can be tolerated by the underlying material, resulting in the softer parts of the wood being pulled away at the same time as the paint, leaving a surface reminiscent of an alpine landscape. Paint applied to such a surface is liable to crack within a short space of time, and the underlying wooden surface has a greater propensity to absorb moisture causing the paint to peel.
• Utilizing hand sanders and wood shaving equipment:
  These types of tools will cause irreparable damage to the wood siding surface. They can also cause OSH issues as dust and paint particles can become airborne during this process. Painting on surfaces treated this way often result in a very uneven and unattractive painted surface that will show sanding and shaving patterns in the painted final coat.
• Heat gun:
  Utilizing a heat gun can cause burn marks on the wood surface. The temperature at which a heat gun operates will cause paint to become airborne in the form of various gases which are a huge health risk. It is important to make sure that paint will not be heated up to that extent. Risk of fire is high and must be taken seriously.

It uses approximately 13 cents per hour.

Yes, however you may find you need to use the solution (80% boiled linseed oil and 20% mineral turpentine). Sometimes acrylic paint has been painted over old layers of oil-based paint, and again using the solution will usually enable this to be removed using the Speedheater Method™.

Yes it will, however you may find you need to prepare the surface using a solution of 80% boiled linseed oil and 20% mineral turpentine. This solution can be applied either with a paintbrush or a spray bottle. Once the solution has soaked into the paint and the wood for at least 24hrs use the Speedheater Method™ again to remove the paint.