Paint stripper, what's the best?

J

Jomac

Member
Joined
12 Apr 2017
Messages
31
Visit site
I recently bought some Nitromors paint stripper, and boy, what a disappointment!!!

Its years since i did any paint stripping and I've always used Nitromors, It was strong and did the job. Back then it was a clear coloured gel that smelled acrid and the slightest spot on the skin and it used to burn. Now its green, smells like flowers and barely does the job. I put a thick coat on a metal panel and did the quick dodge of covering it with cling film and letting it soak in for 24 hours, after which time it barely removed two layers of paint. At that rate it would take me several days to complete the job.

Every product I've looked at, boasts 'Industrial Strength' including Nitromors, but are they? From what I've read, Nitromors had to rethink their recipe because the stripper contained harmful chemicals.

So, my question is, is there a paint stripper left on the market that actually does a decent paint stripping job like Nitromors used to?

TIA
 
On my wooden boat, I gave up on using Nitromors, and haven't found anything that compares with using a hot air gun, and a scraper for either speed or efficiency.
It does require a bit of effort of course, and a lot of concentration in not burning the area.
 
Of no direct use to someone in Europe but in Oz I've been using paint stripper containing:

Dichloromethane

Which seems to be the active ingredient.

But it depends more on what I'm trying to strip and varies dependent on the paint or paint quality.

The Oz stuff strips paint off hooks etc used in the lifting industry sometimes with ease and sometimes it takes 2 or 3 applications. Cheaper components, possibly painted with cheaper paints strip more easily than higher priced products - same stripper. Products from America use a very resistant paint, as do some Chinese components - others the paint comes off easily.

Jonathan
 
Synstrtyp by Starchem is the good old fashioned stuff. I buy it on eBay.

An easier alternative for anything that will stand it is to boil it in 50/50 Persil bio and water.
 
Paramose, you can get it from Ebay, it is old school, strong stuff that permeates through latex gloves and painful to the skin! Before it is shipped you have to acknowledge a disclaimer to accept you are aware of its risks and only use in a well ventilated area.

It lifts many coats of old varnish with one coat, I used a proper wood Scraper to remove the spent paramose to reveal the timber. Great stuff.
 
Screwfix paint and varnish remover got everything off our cast iron keel, down to (and I’d argue even slightly softening) the final later or some sort of epoxy/polyester fairing. Cheap, thick, easy to come by, and no dramas!
 
harvey38 said:
Paramose, you can get it from Ebay, it is old school, strong stuff that permeates through latex gloves and painful to the skin! Before it is shipped you have to acknowledge a disclaimer to accept you are aware of its risks and only use in a well ventilated area.

It lifts many coats of old varnish with one coat, I used a proper wood Scraper to remove the spent paramose to reveal the timber. Great stuff.
Click to expand...
This I can vouch for from professional experience. It is banned from sale to the public and I have to occasionally sign a paper (which is then kept in a filing cabinet by my supplier) which states all the dangers etc and that I have blown air circulation or similar. It is certainly not to be used without due care, you will burn your skin or worse. It is proven to be carcinogenic and not to be used in a small enclosed space.
Flick it in your eye I guess it would blind you. Thick rubber gloves, goggles and outside recommended.
I only by the thin stuff which is spirit washable. My use is varnish/lacquer related. Thick coat applied for 30 mins, reapply a thinner coat, paint scraper, very thin coat, thick wire wool then neutralise with meths.
Thick stuff is water based I believe. With fine veneers etc it will raise the grain and take longer to dry.
 
Seashoreman said:
This I can vouch for from professional experience. It is banned from sale to the public and I have to occasionally sign a paper (which is then kept in a filing cabinet by my supplier) which states all the dangers etc and that I have blown air circulation or similar. It is certainly not to be used without due care, you will burn your skin or worse. It is proven to be carcinogenic and not to be used in a small enclosed space.
Flick it in your eye I guess it would blind you. Thick rubber gloves, goggles and outside recommended.
I only by the thin stuff which is spirit washable. My use is varnish/lacquer related. Thick coat applied for 30 mins, reapply a thinner coat, paint scraper, very thin coat, thick wire wool then neutralise with meths.
Thick stuff is water based I believe. With fine veneers etc it will raise the grain and take longer to dry.
Click to expand...


OUCH! at £40 a gallon???
 
Rappey said:
sodium hydroxide - caustic soda? Can mix it with wallpaper paste so it stays put.
Click to expand...
I went off on a wander on YouTube to see if I could get any more information. I watched a video where a guy compared caustic soda and wallpaper paste to a commercial stripper and the old trick of covering with cling film to stop the mixture from drying out. The conclusion was the caustic mix worked just as well as the commercial mix but took a bit longer to strip varnish. His mix was 500g to 1L of water and added wallpaper paste until you reached the desired thickness. I'm wondering if a stronger concentration of caustic would speed things up? As all the ingredients come to less than £5 or $6.81 I would be more prepared in trying this than spending £40 or $54.49, eespecially when this mix worked close to the performance of an 'Industrial' stripper.
 
Slowboat35 said:
Seconded for Paramose via ebay. It's the real thing.

What I want to find is a source for real Gunk degreaser.
Click to expand...
You are in the same boat so to speak as the paint stripper. I bought a gallon of Gunk degreaser and found it was a pink liquid and not the black coffee look I was used to. Didnt work as well as the old stuff. In teh end I bought a home degreaser, yellow in colour called Elbow Grease which had some of the ingredients of Sugar Soap
 
Jomac said:
I went off on a wander on YouTube to see if I could get any more information. I watched a video where a guy compared caustic soda and wallpaper paste to a commercial stripper and the old trick of covering with cling film to stop the mixture from drying out. The conclusion was the caustic mix worked just as well as the commercial mix but took a bit longer to strip varnish. His mix was 500g to 1L of water and added wallpaper paste until you reached the desired thickness. I'm wondering if a stronger concentration of caustic would speed things up? As all the ingredients come to less than £5 or $6.81 I would be more prepared in trying this than spending £40 or $54.49, eespecially when this mix worked close to the performance of an 'Industrial' stripper.
Click to expand...
I doubt if more caustic soda would make any difference - you're already way over a saturated solution, so some of the caustic isn't dissolving anyway. If it's exposed to air, it will slowly absorb moisture from the air (caustic soda is very hygroscopic).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top