Removing paint from Victorian fireplace

[swl17]

Hi everyone

As a bit of an after thought when partially renovating our new home, I wondered whether it would be possible to remove the paint from the vertical tiles in our Victorian fireplace (see image - sorry its not very zoomed in, original picture was to show the new alcove cupboards!) to reveal hopefully!! some lovely periodic feature beneath.

Has anyone tried this before?

Replacement isn't really an option as that would require removing the mantle and taking the fireplace out so as to access the rear of the fireplace in order to take these tiles out.

Someone else mentioned stickers can work? We'd never use the fireplace in reality so any and all suggestions are welcome!!

Many thanks in advance xx

[JoJoSM2]

Could you just try a paint stripper? Just over a tiny area first to make sure it doesn't damage the tile glazing underneath.

[Viviennemary]

It looks very nice as it is IMHO. I'd be worried that the tiles might be broken cracked or discoloured if you've never actually seen the fireplace without paint. But if you want to go ahead you could get a person in to do this that restores fireplaces and is used to stripping paint. It's a bit risky to do it yourself.

[wowfudge]

You could try a Stanley scraper first in a small area - they are sold for removing paint from glass after painting window frames. If the tiles are ugly or a hideous colour, you can touch up the paint.

[swl17]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I ended up scraping a bit using a scraper, and then buying some paint stripper from local shop - found some lovely tiles underneath!

[Knittedfairies]

It looks great!