How to remove paint from brick?

If you’ve found yourself swept up in a recent design trend of painting your brick fireplace, or if you’ve accidentally splattered paint on it, you’re now facing unwanted paint on brick. Before feeling disheartened that your painted brick is a permanent fixture, there’s good news – you can indeed remove the paint. However, there are important considerations to bear in mind before you begin the process.

This article delves into successfully removing paint from brick, outlining what to do and what to avoid during the paint removal process.

First, What Not to Do 

Before we dive into the most effective methods to strip paint from brick, let’s first address four techniques you should steer clear of:

Sandblasting: It might seem like sandblasting is an efficient way to get rid of paint from brick surfaces, and indeed it is. However, it’s a bit too aggressive for the job. Not only does sandblasting peel off the paint, but it also significantly increases the risk of harming the brick itself. The technique could cause more damage than benefits, particularly if the bricks are old or in a fragile state.

Power Washing: Similar to sandblasting, using a high-pressure water stream will likely strip the paint off, but it might also harm the brick’s exterior layer in the process. Any method that applies such force in removing paint poses a risk of damaging the material’s surface. It’s advisable to bypass these approaches altogether.

Sanding: While not as intense as sandblasting or power washing, sandpaper is still an abrasive that could scratch or damage the brick’s surface. Furthermore, using an electric sander reduces your control over the process, and manual sanding is excessively laborious and impractical. There’s a better strategy out there.

Vinegar: Vinegar is a versatile household cleaner, though it’s not as harsh on bricks as some other methods listed, it’s not particularly efficient at fully removing paint from brick surfaces. Additionally, vinegar might not be the most feasible solution for larger areas.

While the above methods can indeed remove paint from brick, the potential harm they can inflict makes them less than desirable options. This is especially true for older bricks, which are more prone to damage. The last thing you’d want is to compromise the integrity of the brick, leading to further time and expense in repairs.

Having gone through the “don’ts” of removing paint from brick, let’s now explore some effective techniques that will achieve the desired results without causing damage to the brickwork.

The Best Way to Remove Paint from Brick