This company has the best customer service I've seen in a long time! Catherine answered question after question about the SpeedHeater infrared paint stripper, on multiple phone calls. I had done A LOT of chemical stripping about 30 years ago, but never worked with a heat gun or power strippers (Just as well; my old house--an 1890's victorian--had a lot of lead paint. And here I am again, working on an 1880's victorian, also with lead paint.) So I was pretty nervous getting started. Catherine walked me through the process of buying a safety mask, and the necessary preparation. (If you already have PPE the set-up is pretty easy and quick.) Her explanations of how to use the tool were clear and thorough. This is someone who has obviously used it a lot and knows the technique.
There's a bit of a learning curve in knowing how long to apply the heat. It depends on your individual situation--type of paint, number of layers, ambient temperature. (I burned a spot while I was figuring it out.) But the SpeedHeater is much lighter and easier to handle than I had imagined. I used it on baseboards and a windowsill. Where it worked, it worked well. It took some areas right down to the wood quickly. I can see where this tool would be great for stripping clapboards. Unfortunately my under-layer was some kind of old primer that didn't want to move. Scraping was hard and only partially effective. It was more like dry-scraping. Unfortunately again, the top layer turned out to be latex, so coating with linseed oil to refresh the old paint didn't work. What a shame! This was a rental, but I would have definitely bought if it had worked. The cost of a new SpeedHeater is about the cost of 1 room-worth of the special lead paint strippers. And I could have used it for the whole house.
There's a newer version called the Cobra that's only available in Europe right now. It looks easier to use for interior work than the 1100 model. I will be keeping a watch for when it's available here in the US, and may try again. It's such a good idea--no goop, no apply and wait, no lead vapor. read more