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Tags: Painting by Jerry
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You may wish to remove exterior house paint for a number of reasons, including to prep for new siding, or to prep for repainting and restoring your home. Oftentimes, especially with older homes, layers of paint are compounded on top each other on exterior walls. This, in addition to exposure to the elements, can result in flaking, cracking and chipping. Luckily, there are methods you can use for the easy removal of exterior house paint.

Chemical Stripping
Perhaps the simplest method for removing exterior house paint is to use a chemical stripper. You should read and follow the instructions for your specific brand, but generally you will either need to spray or roll the stripper on, and then let it sit for a few hours or overnight. The chemical stripper will react with the paint, allowing you to easily peel off paint layers with a scraper or pressure washer. According to HomeTips.com, some chemical strippers can be quite hazardous to your health, and you must wear hand, eye and respiratory protection when applying them. Neoprene or rubber gloves , shop glasses or goggles, and an organic vapor respirator should do the trick.

Nontoxic Stripping
For those of you who are leery of using toxic, caustic chemicals to removing exterior house paint, ThisOldHouse.com recommends using water-based, nontoxic stripping solutions that are available at most hardware and home supply stores. You apply them in the same fashion as other strippers, but there is no need for you to wear protective gear, not even gloves. Unlike traditional chemical strippers, which dissolve the paint, nontoxic strippers separate paint from underlying materials. After letting the solution soak, you can easily peel off the paint with a putty knife .

Heat Stripping
Heat stripping works by essentially boiling paint molecules until they can be easily peeled or scraped off. You create this heat by using a heat gun, which looks like a modified hair dryer . According to ThisOldHouse.com, you can use a heat gun in combination with chemical and nontoxic strippers, applying the heat to stubborn areas of paint that the solution did not react with well. However, you should always use the utmost care when performing heat stripping, as heat guns can generate a substantial amount heat; enough to start a fire. According to ThisOldHouse.com, it is not uncommon for tiny embers created by heat guns to go unseen, which can potentially produce disastrous consequences.

Tags: Painting by Jerry
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Lead is an ingredient commonly found in paint. Before the 1970s, high levels of lead was used in both interior and exterior paint in homes. Lead-based paint that contained over 0.6 percent lead was banned in 1978. Before the 1950s, levels in paint were at the 50 percent mark and, since 1997, have dropped down to 0.1 percent or less.

Traces of Lead
Exterior paint that contains lead releases dust, paint particles and paint chips of the chemical into the soil and grass around the house. Remodeling or removing old paint from the exterior of the house can
also disturb and release lead around the perimeter of the house.

Areas
Areas closest to the house have the highest amount of lead concentration. This area is known as the drip zone, because this is where the majority of paint residue and chips have fallen from the outside of the house.

Effects on Children
Young children pick up and eat paint chips and soil around the house. Children also pick up soil and particles that leave lead dust on their hands or toys.

Effects on Adults
Adults breathe in the lead particles and dust from maintaining the yard or remodeling the exterior of the house.

Expert Insight
According to the National Safety Council, 40 percent of all U.S. homes still contain lead. Experts say the safest way to keep children from entering the drip zone is to plant bushes and trees around the drip zone.

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