Tin Ceiling Restoration Help Please

A. Hi Jenny. If you got 80% of the paint off, it's probably time to repaint it, possibly the color of tin. The idea of getting all the paint off and finding a decorative, usable layer of tin plating on the ceiling tiles underneath all that paint 125 years later doesn't sound realistic to me. What is the objection to painting them?

Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi Anne!

I don't know about Canada, but here in USA it's illegal to sand blast lead paint or sand it down. What we do down here is just scrape the loose paint and encapsulate with special primer to seal over the lead based paint, and pick every paint chip that was scraped out, put in a garbage bag and dispose of it properly.

Even if you remove all the lead paint from wood, the lead will still be there. If you're going to work with it, use some protection like disposable coverall [affil links], and activated carbon respirator ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] or good dust masks.

Good luck!

A. Best bet is to pay the price and send it to a commercial stripper. It is steel, not tin, and it will rust after the paint is removed, so have a good agreement with your stripper as to what he will do to retard the rusting. Sand blasting will ruin the metal unless it is done with extreme care and it will be slow and the surface will be rough. There is no cheap legal way out on this one.

A. I once saw a job come into a stamping house for 2 foot tiles.The molds were rubber, but that didn't prevent the tin from being cut at points along the tile if the press is not set up correctly. I would recommend good quality control specifications on any job, it is definitely not "just put it in the press and run it", and there are no "nuisance dimensions" on mold or the finished article.

Q. Hello, I have read your inquiry and am wondering if you met with any success, in that I am also interested in making Tin Ceiling Tiles.

Q. Have you had any luck with this? I am interested in molds as well.

Thanks.

? What's your ceiling like at the moment?

A. While looking for info on this same topic, I came across a snippet on another board about using oven cleaner ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] .

We had tried to use a few other things: Strypeeze (not thick enough to adhere to an upside-down surface); Citrustrip (less caustic and supposedly strips with a very thin layer - didn't work well); RediStrip (a paste-like remover that works upside down and is not caustic, but is very expensive and did not work well on the pressed detail of the Tin).

After seeing the tip about oven cleaner ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , we decided to give it a try ... it was just short of amazing compared to the other products "designed" for paint-removal.

Our ceiling had at least 5 coats of paint, the first one having been put on around 1910 or so... The first application of oven cleaner completely loosened the top 2 heavy layers of paint. After cleaning that with a plastic putty knife, another application of oven cleaner was applied that loosened most of the rest of the paint which we then took off again with the plastic putty knife. There was still quite a bit of paint left in the recesses of the decorative tin, so we applied one more application of oven cleaner and used a stiff plastic bristle brush to get into the crevices. Then wiped the whole surface with damp rags to remove the residue. It came out beautifully.

We waited about 2 hours after applying the oven cleaner before removing the loosened paint and made sure to have plastic sheeting below as the cleaner would eat into the hardwood floors. NOTE: The cleaner is supposed to be safe on metal (it is designed for ovens) but, do not leave the last application on for more than a few hours as it may leave minor pock marks in the old tin.

Glad to hear that it worked well, Joe, but also concerned about working overhead with oven cleaner because it's really strong stuff (lye); one drop in your eye and you could be blind. It works better than products "designed for the job" because it's much stronger. At least make sure that you are constantly wearing properly fitting chemical goggles ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . Ted Mooney, P.E. Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey Yes, I suppose that's true... oven cleaner in the eye could blind a person, but I do believe that just about any chemical that can strip paint could blind you if gotten in the eye... hence the common sense use of good eye protection (goggles) when working with any caustic chemicals whether overhead or not. Joe Varga [returning] - Rochester, New York

A. First take the cornice and the molding that transitions the filler strip to the actual panels. This opens up the ceiling so you can get under the panels. Most panels are nailed to 1x2's. Take a long pry bar and put it between the ceiling and the panel and pop it off the 1x2. Once you get it started you can sometimes yank down on it and pull several off at once. The hardest part is the molding which seem to be held on by more nails and bends easily.

A. I also have a tin ceiling that I am restoring. Do not take your ceiling down as others have suggested, this will bend and damage the tins. My ceiling has been painted with latex over oil base and lead base paint, which you should never paint latex over oil base or lead base paints this cause the latex to peel and also some of the under layers to peel. I found a new stripper that is environmentally safe, biodegradable, non caustic, and cleans up with water.

This product is called Multi-Strip [affil links].

I suggest that you cut a piece of plywood that will fit the size of your tin panel, place a double layer of towels over it. Spread a thick layer of stripper on the towel, then use a two by four long enough to prop the plywood to the tin panel. If you should get any rust, this can be removed with a brass wire brush ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and rust removers. I have been told by tin ceiling manufacturers to repaint with acrylic or oil base paint, never use latex as this is water base and will cause your ceiling to rust.

Good Luck!

A. It is easier, safer, smarter and cheaper to buy new metal.

Hi, Jack. We'll concede you 3 out of 4 :-)

Easier, safer, cheaper -- yes! Smarter? Some people have great respect for the past, and like the authenticity & heft of originals; they sometimes find cheap mass produced cardboard or thin gauge factory-finished knock-offs dumb. It's a matter of preferences, not intelligence :-)

Thread 1527 is on a similar topic and has some additional suggestions.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi. Check them with a magnet to make sure they are steel. If so, no common paint stripper will do any damage. If they are not magnetic they could be copper, or real tin as Goran implies above (my limited understanding is that the tiles were never made of tin, but of tin-plated steel). If they are not steel you are restricted to solvents that are safe for that metal. The methylene chloride based stripper (Aircraft Stripper) that Goran mentions is safe for all metals to my knowledge but is really really toxic to people. rubber gloves ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] , goggles, really good ventilation, and no working overhead is essential.

Luck and Regards,

Hey Joleen B,

? Did you ever get the tile done? I'd love to see a picture of it even if it's not finished.

A. Latex over oil base is OK, oil over latex isn't. Something else caused it to peel.

Zinsser B-I-N Primer

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. I did this on two ceilings about 8 years ago. I tried everything for removal; Chipping, propane torch, Methylene chloride. I finally found a product called Peel Away ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . It is a Sodium Hydroxide paste that is troweled on and a paper-plastic film that is pressed against the paste. The next day the film is peeled off with the paint sticking to the paper. Sometimes it will just fall down from the weight. No toxic fumes but use rubber gloves ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and eye protection goggles ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ; NaOH burns the skin. Applying thicker paste means less work cleaning in the details but this has to be balanced against the cost. At that time a 5 gal bucket was about $125. It was still a lot of nasty work but I could not have completed the project without this product.
There were too many different shades of gray to leave the metal unpainted. I used some kind of white primer, I think it was a Zinsser oil base (Zinsser B-I-N Primer Sealer ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] ) that cleaned up with water. The finish coat was a latex base with metallic powder mixed in. One room was done in bronze, the other with brass color. It was applied with a HVLP paint sprayer ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and I was very pleased with the result.I think the paint was called Chromatone from Crescent Bronze in Chicago and it was also expensive.

Crescent Bronze metallic powders on eBay (affil link)

Our building inspector commented that this was the only remaining original residential tin celling in town that he knew of.

A. I haven't seen a definitive resource, such as a detailed article from a metals conservator at a museum, but thread 1527 is interesting and informative. Good luck.

A. Try Conservation OnLine website (palimpsest.stanford.edu/)!

A. You can use any methylene chloride based paint stripper (or dimethyl formamide based). And no sanding, tin is soft metal. For clear coat you can use Incralac ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (USA product, if you want coloured finish add to it some artists' pigment).

A. Hi Lisa,
A clearcoat would require removing the rust first and would offer only limited protection. If it doesn't offend your aesthetic sense, I think Rustoleum Hammered Metal [affil links] paint in a silver color would be a more promising & permanent solution.
Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. I have a house built in 1908 that has tin walls as well as tin ceilings. I started peeling the cracking layers of paint in my bedroom and ended up with a huge ugly mess. I'm now in the process of having someone soda blast the room, like sand-blasting, only with baking soda. I have yet to see the final results, as it's taking the guy longer than he thought, but I'm hoping this is my solution.

I'm intrigued by the oven cleaner ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] idea that others have posted, but it does sound a bit dangerous.

Q. Want to take paint off our tin ceiling. House is early 1800's and ceiling is original to house. BUT, concerned about paint being lead based. Any thoughts/suggestions? Have lots of grand-babies here and worry about danger of the paint removal. Any suggestions on safe removal or product(s) to use would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

A. Hi Reba. Is there any way you can leave the paint in place and just continue to paint over it? We appended your inquiry to a thread on the topic and it isn't very safe to strip and scrape lead based paint. It's usually left to professionals and will probably be cost prohibitive for you. You probably can do it, but certainly don't do it while the grand-babies are there. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

We recently unearthed a hidden tin ceiling in the kitchen and decided, like idiots, to restore it. It's not a particularly fancy ceiling, luckily, comprised of "corrugated" panels with cross bars and rosettes. 90% of the paint had already fallen off inside the false ceiling, but the remaining paint was a nightmare to remove. Obviously, it was lead.

I investigated dry ice blasting, but frankly didn't want to spend $15 per sq ft for lead paint removal. Had we been able to, we would have left it bare, or urethaned it. We had to admit defeat and ended up painting it with Glidden (Ralph Lauren) metallic silver paint with sponges.

We stripped it, FOR A SOLID WEEK, with a variety of scrapers, some custom ground, and a variety of chemicals. We used oven cleaner that we read about here. It does work, but there's no one cure-all. We tried peel away #1 (had it already) and just didn't have the patience after discovering 24 hours was not enough. People, this is not easy work. It's a real labor of love. You couldn't pay me enough to do this in someone else's home. For the bits that we simply couldn't get off I used oven cleaner and brillo pad ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to soften the edges. Obviously, we used HEPA mask [affil links] the entire time and trisodium phosphate ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] for cleanup. Max strength oven cleaner ⇦ on eBay or Amazon [affil links] was good for quick passes because it's quick acting. Spray it on, wait a few minutes, scrape/scrub, wipe it off before it hardens. Repeat.

Now I know why the tin was abandoned.

A. I had 60 tiles I bought from an antique dealer. They had many layers of paint.

I got an old oil tank which had been cut in two (an old bath tub would also work). I filled the oil tank with water and poured in 8 kilos of baking soda [in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . I used two propane burners to bring the water to boiling. I boiled the tiles for 30 minutes.

I then pressure washed (pressure washer [affil links]) them. The paint poured off them and left them looking new.

A. I'm in the same place as most of you. Right now I'm trying to scrape it off with a weed wacker, it works but the auto feed on those things are a joke. If your tin ceiling isn't yet installed you're lucky! Take the tiles to someone who does glass bead blasting (ask an auto body shop if you can't find one.) Be sure to use a metal primer (Zinsser B-I-N Primer Sealer) before you paint it.