How can you tell if wood is dry enough to paint?

I plan on restoring the original wood windows in my 100 year old farm house.The first thing I am going to have to do is remove many thick coats of paint.I have heard that steam works well to loosen thick coats of paint,and I am considering building a steam chamber out of a 55 gallon drum to heat the sashes up to 200 degrees or so to loosen the paint.Assuming I am successfull in removing the paint,how can I tell when the wood is dried out thoroughly,and ready to paint.


Please note,I am not submersing the wood sashes in water,I am exposing them to 212 degree hot air and steam.How can you tell if wood is dry enough to paint?
I have never heard of this technique - doen't mean that's wrong, but never heard of it. I am going to guess that if you do expose the windows to steam heat for a prolonged period, expect the glazing compound to fail. You didn't say if you planned on re-glazing.





Personally the product Peel-away works fine for removing many layers of paint. Peel-away is expensive, but it works and isn't as messy as regular paint stripper.





If I didn't want to spend the money on a paint stripper, I would next try a heat gun.





Lastly, the only sure way to see of the wood is too wet to paint is to use a moisture meter. Unfortunately, moisture meters are all expensive, which is a damn shame.How can you tell if wood is dry enough to paint?
If you're using steam that is 212 degrees, it should be hot enough that it evaporates fairly quickly and won't absorb too much into the wood. You should be able to tell by looking at the wood when it's dry (wood gets darker when wet).





I would think, though, that it would be better to use a paint stripper to remove the old paint (I'm not sure the steam thing will work). Paint stripper is a caustic gel that you paint onto what you want to remove and wait about 10 minutes. You can actually watch the gel penetrate the paint, dissolve it, and have it blister up so you can easily scrape the goo away to remove the paint. Then wipe away the remaining residue with a wet terry cloth. Use a screwdriver or small chisel to pick the stripped paint out of crevices and corners.





If you do use a stripper, wear heavy rubber gauntlet gloves (long gloves that cover your forearms) that are corrosive-resistant and long sleeves during the whole operation. If even a tiny drop of stripper gets on your skin, it burns like a wasp sting until you wipe it off with a wet cloth.