Westox introduce D-Lam 20 paint removal system
Westox , suppliers of heritage restoration products, have recently released a new solvent based paint removal system known as D-Lam 20, which removes paint coatings from timber, plaster and masonry one coat at a time.
By timing the application paint can be removed one coat at a time, which is particularly desirable in heritage restoration, or alternatively several coats can be removed together.
The D-Lam 20 paint removal system is ideal for exposing original heritage stencil work that has been hidden by numerous coats of paint.
It was used on a project by Tanner Architects to restore the Female Orphan School in the Sydney western suburb of Rydalmere, which is now part of the University of Western Sydney Parramatta campus.
The architect working on the project, Megan Jones, a Director of Tanner Architects, stressed the importance of being able to remove paint one coat at a time on heritage buildings.
“The Female Orphan School is a nearly 200 years old so it needed very special treatment. It was originally an orphan school, then a psychiatric hospital and now it’s in its third life with the University.
“The entrance hall of the building clearly had three separate colour schemes which we could see where the paint was peeling.
“We were very keen to see each of these colour schemes and D-Lam 20 helped us remove the paint coat-by-coat so we could see the decorative paint effects and stencils that had been used.
“This gave us a chronology and helped us estimate which pattern dated from which period. Of course there has been some paint finish lost through wear and tear but we were still able to get a really good impression of the previous paint coats,” said Megan Jones.
“We have now restored the entrance hall and incorporated the different eras in a sympathetic way. The form of building itself is fairly simple from an architectural point-of-view so uncovering the original decorative paint finish has allowed us to reveal the diverse character of the building’s interiors,” she added.
The D-Lam 20 is the brainchild of Westox Managing Director Barrie Cooper, who spent the early part of his career as a plasterer.
Barrie Cooper has developed a number of heritage restoration products including the successful Cocoon, which removes salt from masonry.
The D-Lam 20 is a non-caustic, self-neutralising product that is easily applied with a trowel approximately three to four millimetres thick. The reaction time can be as short as 20 minutes to remove one coat and 24 hours to remove up to six coats.
16-Sep-2008