After a huge first step and a second step where we faced some setbacks, it was felt good to make moves into a final stage.

Almost ready to quit

We were frustrated that weeks of work hadn’t removed the paint completely.

We gave a couple more products a try. The oven cleaner worked well, but while it loosened the paint, it wasn’t as effective as we had hoped . We did a patch-test with some acetone, but we didn’t want to use that stuff in the dead of winter with no ventilation.

We finally decided to buy a can of Citristrip and give it a try.

Using Citristrip

Citristrip is a neon-orange spray, but it also comes as a liquid you can “paint” onto surfaces. We sprayed some on to a test brick and waited 24 hours.

The next day, the paint started to flake away from the brick and we were able to scrape it. Scrubbing with a wire brush and hot water lifted off almost all the rest of the paint. Just like that, very much by accident, we felt that we found the final method to help strip the fireplace.

Before and after applying Citristrip

You’re only supposed to leave Citristrip on for 24 hours, but I got a cold and left it on for too long. Eventually, I scraped the flaked paint, and then used vinegar and boiling water to scrub the remainder of the paint with a small wire brush.

After I was finished scraping, I used boiled water with a little vinegar for a final rinse. Finally, there was more brick than paint, and I could see the dark mortar.  Success!

You can see how textured the brick is, and how deep the paint is within the crevices. I think this textured brick is unique and adds so much character to the house.

Effective but Time Intensive

This method worked well, but it’s time-intensive. Cleaning two small bricks took about an hour. They have a lot of baked-on paint. Most of the other bricks have a lot less paint and will hopefully take less time.

This will probably be my last update on the fireplace until I’ve cleaned all the bricks. I promise we’re going to update on some other projects, because I bet you’re sick of reading about the nitty gritty of BRICK CLEANING. I never thought I would write this much about bricks in my life, but here we are.

We’re either going to install the stove, repair our crooked garage, build a new mantle, or paint the walls … we’re not sure yet. But those are likely to be our projects this spring.

Things I learned:

• If you’re scrubbing brick, wear gloves and remember to take off your jewelry. I kept ending up with bloody knuckles because I am an idiot.
• If your hands are dry and you’re working with vinegar, WEAR GLOVES. Vinegar stings!