Best heat gun and advice needed - sash window refurb

[SteveLuck]

I am in the process of refurbishing sash windows in a Victorian house.

I've been stripping all the old paint off using a Dewalt DW340 heat gun, this is my third one, they keep breaking, element stops working.

Two questions:

1. Do I need to strip all the paint off with a heat gun or is there a better method? I read somewhere that sanding off the loose / flaking paint would be better, i.e. the more layers the windows have the better. My view is that this wouldn't be a good as removing all paint to bare wood, undercoating + 2 coats of gloss but I am open to advice.

2. Can you recommend a decent heat gun that'll last longer than a couple of weeks, I've been looking at the Makita HG651CK however at around £130 it seems a lot, if I need to though I will be happy to spend money on a decent tool.

All advice welcome.

Thanks

Steve

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

I have been using heat guns for over 32 years at work and by far the best one I have used is a Black and Decker my last one was in daily use for eight years.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000 ... 1000489863

 

[SteveLuck]

Thanks for the advice. I would agree that Black and Decker made a great hot air gun however my Dewalt is exactly the same as the link you sent me, just different colour and name. Black and Decker own Dewalt. Reviews on amazon suggest that this B&D model has the same problems as the Dewalt. Unfortunately they just don't make them like they used to.

Other suggestions welcome?

 

[AndyT]

I did a complete refurb on our Victorian sash windows last year. I used a heat gun followed by a basic random orbital sander to clean up. The heat gun did a good quick job which is what I wanted as I needed to get each pair of sashes out, stripped, draught proofed, primed and back in, in a day. I managed it but it was fine weather and some quite long days. The worrying thing is that I used a very basic B&D hot air gun bought in the 80s for about a tenner! I don't want to replace it with something worse. Perhaps it's proof that tools like that are not designed to last any more.
Good luck!

 

[MrYorke]

Watch out for leaded paint!

 

[Mike.S]

If you haven't already it may be worthwhile trying a scraper e.g. Bahco that works 'on the pull', rather than traditional 'push' scrapers. I find it often is sufficient to remove weathered paint without heat but, with or without heat, it's superior, in my experience, to others.

Just in case, and at the risk of teaching you to suck eggs:

- don't overheat the paint - just soften it and scrape; excess heat makes paint into a sticky glue, requiring more heat and scraping!

- keep gun at an angle to the work, so that heat doesn't reflect back into the nozzle, causing the element to overheat.

- try to keep the gun on constantly, heating ahead of your scraping, rather than frequent 'on, off, scrape, on, off....' as heating elements usually wear out more quickly with switching on/off (think lightbulbs).

P.S. some interesting feedback comments by customers on the Amazon link 'percy' posted e.g. thermal cut-outs, fuses blown.

 

[AndyT]

Watch out for leaded paint!

I know it's a hazard (though not in this case as I was removing paint I had put on only 20 years earlier) and I would not want to stand in an enclosed space sanding down old paint all day long, but does anyone have any evidence on how different levels of exposure affect us? If I grew up breathing in car exhaust fumes will a one-time exposure to lead paint double my risk or leave it much the same?

 

[Baldhead]

I too have a Black and Decker which is over 27 years old! I think from time to time Aldi sell a cheapy, a lot of their stuff comes with a 3 year guarantee, they may be worth a look.

HTH

BH

 

[Tierney]

I am on my second dewalt hot air gun. The first one broke only because I allowed the scraped bits of paint to fall on the element. I've scraped all the paint off the internal joinery on two 80ish year old houses. If you have a couple of different scrapers (push type and pull type), I find that I get a good rhythm going and am happy with my dewalt hot air gun. I tried Nitromors once and just found it more trouble than it's worth.

DT

 

[Tierney]

Oh and get a decent mask with replaceable filters, shouldn't cost much more than 10 decent disposable ones.

Regards,

DT

 

[Rob Bacon]

I have used four makes in the past twenty years My first was a Wagner which was used on fairly regular basis but did eventually burn out the high element then a B&D which lasted about the same time span and the same fault, both of these were used on refurbs and certainly lasted a few years the one that has only recently packed up after ten years was a Draper which I think was trade rated I have replaced this with the Earlex DIY model from Toolstation £25 - 30 only because the Draper broke half way through a job and this was available, but Earlex do a trade gun which you would need to look their web site for a price I have not used the DIY gun enough to say if it will last, but the build quality is fine comes with a case and tools I do use the Earlex combivac and steamers which I have found to be reliable even with trade use so I would expect the gun to be as reliable.

hope this helps with dissension Rob

 

[Bigdanny]

Hi,
Similar to what Mike.S says avaoid the on off action.

I use a DWT german heat gun among others . It has 2 or 3 speeds. When first element burnt out it was repaired under guarantee no probs. However the repair shop advised me that after using on high temp to then switch to the lowest setting and place gently on ground for a few minutes then switch off. Touchwood havent had problems since then. I think it allows the element to gain some strength as when very hot is very fragile a bit like a tungsten lightbulb.
HTH
Danny

 

[caroleb]

Err, suprised no-one else has mentioned this - is there a reason?

I have a couple of Steinel guns. Both excellent and years old. And Leister guns are just as good, if a bit more money.

HTH

Caz

 

[SteveLuck]

Thanks for all your advice. After a number of hours research I have decided to go the Steinel HG 2310 LCD, pleased you mentioned this make Caz as I ordered it last night.

Cost me around £100 plus another £15-20 for some nozzles. From the looks of the reviews it should last a long time, a bit expensive but if it means I don't have to have two Dodgy Dewalts on the go, waiting for them to pack up, then it's worth every penny.

I'm going to see how I get on with the new gun but may well invest in the Bahco scraper too so thanks for the tip Mark.S

Thanks for all your help.

Steve

 

[caroleb]

Yeah, should be fine. I assume you got a warranty? I have three in total; two in edgebanding machines (for iron on edging) and one handheld. Mine are pretty old, and certainly not LCD. But they are no frills, well made tools. I guess it is always going to be the element that goes as it is quite a fine bit of wire, sometimes tightly coiled. Anyway - point is they get my vote.

Glad to have at least eased your concerns. I know that they are well thought of in the trade and preferred to DeWalt et al.


Cheerz

Caz

PS - Get a Skarsten scraper. Push/pull - all good. Rare nowadays a they are no longer made, but still cropping up on ebay.

 

[Shrubby]

Steinel are a good choice - mine has a Wurth badge on it - they are OEM for brands like Bosch and Makita also
Matt