Of course, we all know how difficult it is to remove Weetabix once it has been left in the bottom of a breakfast bowl
Last night, while researching paint removal on a cornice ( I have used the Peel Away system on fireplaces and beams, but it is messy and horribly expensive) I found a mention on a website of using porridge. Admittedly I was sceptical, expecting to discover that it was an April Fools joke. But no, apparently humble porridge really is perfectly designed for removing water-based paints from intricate plasterwork (I just knew we weren’t supposed to be eating it!)
I homed in on one blogger’s post and she was kind enough to get in touch and give me the benefit of her personal experience (thank you), including the results. I was impressed
Back when we were kids (late 60s/ early 70s) porridge was a staple on cold mornings. I hated it and used to smother it in top of the milk, golden (demarara) and dark brown (muscovado) sugars to make it edible, pretending that the crunchy golden sugar which went on first was gold and had to be completely buried in brown sugar – soil – before eating. Now, of course, I feel completely vindicated because I realise that we should have been spreading it on the plasterwork like normal people
Porridge gave rise to a much-used expression in our house. I can’t quite describe it but even now, I can tell my older brother that someone gave me a ‘porridgey look’ and he will give me a knowing smile 🙂
I now look forward to rustling up a trial bowl of this and slapping it onto the wall. I will of course wash all utensils immediately after use
What would Goldilocks say?
Poshbird with Passion 
So how did the porridge work out in the end?
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It was fantastic for emulsion but it stalled at gloss. Fair enough, I think. I’ll still use it where I can, so thanks for the tip
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I love porridge! As long as it isn’t too thick because then it sits in my stomach like a lead weight. I love it with my home made lemon curd which probably wouldn’t be a good addition if you were smearing it on paint. Bon courage.
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Who’d have thought that porridge has magical qualities over and above human nourishment? I agree that on its own it is less than appetising, but in its defence it does warm one up on a winter’s morning, and it can be persuaded to look appealing with the addition of lots of fresh fruit and honey. Cannot imagine how it might work slapped onto cornices and high ceilings though – I can only advise you to wear a wide brimmed porridge-proof hat …
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The thought of your renovations makes me feel dizzy and full of admiration for the tasks you are tackling… porridge to remove paint, who would have thought it..not Mr Quaker I expect !
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Good luck with that- I have found a brilliant chemical free process that works which I will post about soon- sadly does not strip paint from plaster mouldings but you may find it useful elsewhere.
I always thought that Kevin from Grand Designs was omnipotent, omniscient and imformatively unimpeachable, but sadly a recent programme made it look like something was really easy and I know it isn’t!!
Life is full of these let-downs
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I’m afraid I got really tired of GDs. And a lot of other programmes! And everyone on them always spends 80,000 + on windows!
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True.and their idea of skint is down to their last 20k.
They all seem to be closet millionaires, unlike Trev and I
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Also, I didn’t realise you’d actually USED Peelaway in the past! We never got around to trying it out ourselves, so I’ll be very interested to hear your comparison.
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The Peel Away system is exactly the same as your breakfast-based one but it costs a lot more than porridge! It needs to be left maybe 10 – 24 hours depending on the temperature but any longer and it goes dry and doesn’t work well at all. Then you need to neutralise it with vinegary-smelling stuff which hangs around. Admittedly it works on gloss paints but it takes a lot of scraping so I didn’t find it to be that good, TBH. I’d seen it on a Grand Designs programme or something where it miraculously ‘lifted’ centuries of paintwork from an amazing cornice, but I have not had the same experience
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I very much look forward to hearing how it goes! Good luck!
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