Tools, Sharpening and Power Machinery - compressor/pressure washer

I need a pressure washer for a couple of reasons. Chiefly, I have some old paint on the trim of my house and I want to get rid of it so I can stain it. I was watching a Canadian Tire commercial this morning and they advertised this Simoniz pressure washer and wee using it to strip paint. this raises 2 questions.

First, is a pressure washer a suitable way to strip paint? How much power do I need?

Second, is there a "tool" for my compressor that I can connect a water hose to and use it as a pressure washer? My thinking is, if I have a beefy compressor it would make on hell of a pressure washer and get that paint right off.

Thanks

A garden hose connected to an air nozzle will not do much more than the two of them separately.

Yes, a pressure washer will most definately remove paint but what the commercial doesn't show is the rough wood surface left behind.
The paint will come off but the blast loosens up the fibres of the wood.
The surface will have a fuzzy feel that will have to be sanded if you want a fairly smooth surface.

Thanks Greg for the reply.

I don't really care at all about the surface texture. I am going to stain the wood fairly dark instead of repaint it. It is just trim on the house and most of it is up high so you don't get that close to it anyway. Sounds like it will work to blast it off.

I didn't read your original post closely enough for the fact you want to stain the wood after you remove the paint.

One thing I should mention is that you will most likely have some areas where the paint adhesion will be very good and won't be easily removed by a lower powered washer.
I have a 5 hp commercial gas powered washer that delivers 2500 psi @ 2.5 gpm and this won't quite remove all the paint on some things I have cleaned up.
You may want to consider a washer that has a bit more power.

Maybe someone else can chime in with their experience at removing paint with a pressure washer.

You may need to use a paint/deck stripper in addition to the PW.

Stripper = sodium hydroxide = BE CAREFUL.

fred

Painters use pressure washers to remove lose and peeling paint along with dirt. The surface left behind is pretty rough even with someone who knows what they are doing. Working off a ladder is out of the question for most people since you have to hold on to the gun with 1 hand and the extension pole with the other while at the same time keeping yourself 3 or 4 feet away from the surface[a smaller extension tube may help with this]. Porter cable makes a tool specically for the purpose and although it gets the vast majority of the paint,and leaves a nice surface, you will still need to scrape or use a stripper. You also have the problem of the roof to contend with while pressure washing. You can't go near it or you will blow it off, yet you need to get near it to get the paint off. In short I think you need to post in the painting section and find out all your options. Btw you would be surprised how much you can see of the second story from the ground especilally when it looks bad. If you post be a little more sopecific. Like will you be working off a ladder for 1. I am sure they might like to know why you are staining this trim rather than painting it like most people

Don't bother with those $40 air compressor 'pressure washer' attachments from Sears, even if you have a huge compressor. Junk. It's good for blowing water all over the place; that's about it, and you'll be fumbling with not only
an air line, but also a bulky water hose.

I've been able to blow off some paint with my gas 2500psi, 2.5gal/min washer (probably the same as GregH), but only in pencil-tip mode at close range of a couple of feet, and that's leaving visible wood damage as GregH infers. None of the fan spray patterns will do much good. With pencil-tip mode, it'll take eons to finish the whole house. Probably best to just blast off whatever is already loose and just paint over the rest.