Layer by layer, build the stripper up to the thickness recommended by the manufacturer. Be thorough, making sure to push the gel or paste into all the little crevices in the brick and mortar. Next, using a trowel or a specialized tool provided by the paint stripper manufacturer, apply the compound to the brick. Before applying the gel or paste, start out by scraping away any paint that’s already loose. Don the protective gear recommended by the manufacturer of the paint stripper you’ve chosen.If you don’t want to disturb the finish of nearby painted areas-the adjacent wood trim, perhaps-take the time to cover it up completely with painter’s tape. Don’t forget to tape the drop cloth or plastic to the bottom edge of the brick. First, lay down a series of drop cloths or some thick plastic sheeting to catch the peeling and flaking paint that will fall away from the brick. Minimize cleanup by setting up your work area in a thoughtful way. No doubt about it, this is going to be messy.You may still opt to hire a pro, or you may decide you can put up with the paint, after all! Another good reason to start with a test: Doing so gives you a sense of how much effort the job is going to take. You may find that the stripper you’ve chosen does not work as well as expected, or you may discover the brick was painted to conceal its poor condition. Before applying a stripping agent to remove paint from brick, test the stripper on an inconspicuous part of the installation.

The right paint stripper can do much of the work for you, but most situations call for a great deal of further scrubbing and/or scraping by hand. In the final step, the fabric strips are peeled away, taking the paint with them in the process and exposing the natural brick. The paint stripper triggers a chemical reaction that causes the paint to soften and adhere to the fabric. Today, the best solutions are gel or paste compounds, followed by fabric-based peeling strips. Particularly if you’re dealing with old brick, it’s critical to not to clean the brick in a way that does lasting harm. If you remove paint from brick using any of these potentially damaging methods, you may end up with a problem that’s much more serious than paint. Many caustic chemical-based paint-removal solutions compromise brick in a similar way. You may be tempted to try a shortcut, possibly sandblasting or power-washing the paint, but this may do more harm than good, leaving the building material in a vulnerable condition.

From Brick & Darkness by J.L. Sullivan