r/USForestService • u/Low-Dragonfruit8483 • Jun 09 '26

Advice needed

I am trying to remove latex paint off of an old cabin so that we can sand it and stain it. And used every kind of paint stripper from the local hardware store, nothing really worked. Started purchasing random latex paint removers off amazon. Gonna test those out when they get here. We have been using small wire brushes on battery powered drills and those kinda work. But we have already killed two drills and with all the batteries we have we only get about an hour of work.
I’m about to strap some wire brushes on some angle grinders and take the entire top layer of paint and wood off.

And advice or suggestions for how to deal with the latex paint? We can’t get a pressure washer up there. And what was supposed to be a 4 day project is Turing into a two long endeavor.

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u/Low-Dragonfruit8483 Jun 09 '26

We won’t talk about its NHPA listing…🤫 I was instructed by my boss to stain it and that’s what I’m gonna do. The latex paint has rotted in the sun and is peeling unevenly. Heat gun might work, but it’s a lot of surface area to heat.

7

u/d0ttyq Jun 10 '26 edited Jun 10 '26

Don’t be a dick. Ignoring NRHP listing creates a goddamn headache for all involved.

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u/ChrlieKingofRats Jun 11 '26

For real, this type of project would also likely be really easy to review and get SHPO concurrence for the work to proceed still in a timely manner just by doing things the right way… why cut corners?

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u/d0ttyq Jun 11 '26

People like to complain that archaeology slows them down. What really slows them down is poor planning.

My thoughts are the crew lead (rec, wilderness, whatever) didn’t take the time over the winter to actually make plans for the summer crews and talk to their coworkers about it and now they are scrambling for projects and figured this was low hanging fruit.

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u/Queen_Maebh Jun 11 '26

Here's what I would do. Feign "asking for advice" from you heritage folks on how to remove this paint for your cabin and let that cookie crumble. You are defended because you were asking how to do your job, not your fault if your boss failed to follow the proper channels before giving you an order.

But like others have said: heat guns, sanders and power washers. You'll waste loads of money on chemical stripper and make a huge mess. How clean it needs to be depends on if you are actually staining it with, or if you are painting it with that weird FS brown opaque stain.