Removing white paint from old brick house

Q. A friend in North Carolina wants to remove white paint from old brick on her house. Reluctant to sandblast the brick, she would appreciate an answer on an alternative removal method.

Mrs. Henrietta Anderson, Huntington, N.Y.

A. Apply a water-rinsable marine quality paint remover to the painted brick. Use generously. Allow the paint remover to stand on the surface long enough to soften the white paint film. Then scrub the affected areas, using a fairly stiff brush and water. This treatment should work on spots of paint here and there on the brick.

Note: If the areas of white paint are large, the removal problem is anything but a tea party. In this case, she may actually need to paint all the brick and get used to it, one expert consultant says.

Otherwise, be prepared to remove the paint with a remover as noted above. Again, it'll be no tea party.