Paint Removal from Brick and Stone London-KOKO Theatre Camden

LBC are delighted to have recently been awarded the task of removing the paintwork from one of London’s  prestigious land marks the KOKO theatre in Camden. Previously known as Camden Palace it was one of the premier live music venues in London until it was damaged by a fire in January 2020.

The project involves removing the paint from both the front and side elevations of the building and should be completed within 6-8 weeks. The resources allocated to this job will include 3-4 team members and 2  x DOFF machines.

Using a method which involves applying a paint softener to the paint, allowing adequate dwell time and then DOFF steam cleaning the paint off. The project also has the added complexity of some of the paintwork being lead based paint.

To see what else our DOFF machine can do click here 

Lead based paint was banned from sale to the general public in 1992. Prior to this lead compounds had been used for the pigment and drying agent in different types of paint.

The toxic effect of lead causes nephropathy and may cause Fanconi syndrome, in which the proximal tubular function of the kidney is impaired. 

Lead based paint was found in the test samples carried out and due to the toxicity of this metallic element added precautionary methods will be included in our work processes. 

When removing lead based paint swell as added Personal protective measures we also need to think about the environment, specifically avoiding any lead containing water run off from entering the waterways.

For this we use a recovery unit which recovers all paint and waste water run off and then pumps it into an allocated tank which is safely stored on site until it can be removed by a specialist hazardous waste company.

The DOFF system is great for removing paint from stone and brickwork as the controlled low pressure and high temperature mean that the patina of the building is not damaged. 

Looking for paint spill clean up?