Method for removing paint with air stream heated by hot gas

The method of removing old paint from a surface comprising, providing a housing having an air heating chamber, a nozzle having a cross-sectional area less than that of the air heating chamber, and a burner including a mixing chamber, feeding pressurized air to the housing, surrounding the burner with the pressurized air while bleeding a small portion of the air into the burner mixing chamber and directing the remaining air into the air heating chamber, mixing the air in the mixing chamber with a fuel to provide a combustible fuel mixture, burning the fuel mixture to form a hot gas, transferring heat from the hot gas to the air in the air heating chamber to heat the air, directing the heated air from the heat chamber into the nozzle for increasing the velocity of the air in the nozzle relatively to the velocity of the air in the air heating chamber and for exhausting the hot air from the nozzle as a high velocity concentrated stream, exhausting the hot gas from the housing, and directing both the hot air stream and the hot gas onto the painted surface to remove the old paint without damaging the surface.