GreenSage E-zine 11/2008

Who Needs Paint Removers When You Have Walnuts?
By Melanie Plenda

New Hampshire local nonprofit Hannah Grimes has gone nuts -- walnuts that is.

The group, which helps entrepreneurs get started in the marketplace, has teamed up with a Merrimack company to find a green way to renovate its 100-year-old building located on Roxbury Street just off of Main Street in an effort to spruce up the neighborhood.

"The building has three layers of paint that's sort of a tacky, fluorescent, burgundy color," said Tiffany Mannion, Hannah Grimes Center's building coordinator. "When you look at Main Street in Keene, it is pristine. The landscaping is impeccably maintained and the historic art and architecture of the buildings are also maintained. But you go one block away where we are on Roxbury Street and the neighborhood changes: there's no pristine landscaping, the sidewalks are chewed up and uneven. . . . We wanted to change that and with renovating our building, help restore the historic character of the neighborhood."

As a part of being a good neighbor on Roxbury Street, Mannion said the group wanted to make sure that any renovation would be environmentally friendly and would not adversely affect residents in the area or the people using the Hannah Grimes Center.

After months of searching and no luck, Mannion said she found out about Richard Forrest and his company Procare Services Inc., one of the only companies in the state to offer a "green" paint removal process.

He explained that by using a power blast of walnut shells or baking soda, he could take off the layers of paint from brick façade without damaging the building and without releasing caustic chemicals into the air. It works by using an industrial strength baking soda -- which is still food grade and water soluble -- in combination with compressed air. The particles actually create tiny explosions which then gently dislodge dirt and other matter from surfaces, Forrest said. Walnut shells, which create a more powerful blast, are also being used on this project and are swept up and either reused or disposed of at the end of the day.

"It doesn't pose any risks to buildings, plants or landscaping," he said. "And it doesn't pose any risk to our guys. When you use a commercial paint stripper, workers have to wear these huge fresh-air respirators. I liken them to the masks deep sea divers use, and they have to make sure that the chemicals running off the building are contained. With this process, you don't have to worry about any of that. If the walnut shells hit a car, for example, you just rinse them off with a garden hose, and that's not true, obviously, of chemical strippers."

Forrest said that commercial cleaning and restoration with baking soda was first used in 1979 when those working on the Statue of Liberty needed to find a way to clean the great, green lady without damaging her.

Forrest said the process is still not widely used but is highly effective in delicate exterior work.

"It's a slower process and the equipment is expensive so some people don't want to invest in that," he said. "I chose to invest in the technology and equipment, because I saw a niche that wasn't being met. More and more people are looking to find green ways to do this kind of work, and I wanted to be able to provide that service for people."

By Melanie Plenda, The Union Leader, Keene, NH