Nitro-Mors... more like No-Mores!

[Tasky]

The vice I recently bought came to me with 3-4 thick layers of gloss paint over the top... No problem, I thought. Couple coats of Nitro-Mors to blister all the gack off, finish with a wire brush and just paint it properly.

Nope... I was unaware that Nitro-Mors had changed their recipe to a caffeine-free low-calorie Diet version.

I once knew it as this chemical weapons grade kind of slop that would rival Genklene in its ability to burn the armour off a tank from 50 yards away, and B&Q required you to wear a full NBC suit just to enter the aisle where they stored the stuff!!
This new stuff seems so weak and pathetic, I'm considering using it to spice up my martinis...

I'd picked up a 25mm crimped/cup wire brush for the drill and hoped that would be better, but that also turns out to be so weak it'd struggle to take the skin off a rice pudding... Seriously, it wouldn't even scratch the latex gloves I was wearing. How it's supposed to shift any rust, I don't know - Even there, I had far more success in far less time with just elbow grease and a brown Webrax pad!!


Can anyone suggest a better method for stripping and de-rusting an old Record vice?

 

[Cheshirechappie]

There have been a few reports that Nitro-Mors has morphed into Nitro-Less. I gather it can just about lift soft interior-grade finishes off furniture (when it's having a good day), but that's about it.

I've not tried this, but brake fluid used to have a bit of a reputation as a pretty effective paint stripper. However, I don't know if the formulation of that hasn't changed to remove anything useful in it. Other thoughts are a propane torch, scraper and care, or maybe a hot-air gun. (On that note, how about playing it a party political broadcast, though you may have to use very effective ear defenders doing that).

 

[Lazurus]

I have found with the new improved Nitro-Less, if you cover said item and put in a sealed plastic bag it seems to improve the reaction. Brake fluid used to remove all the paint on my dinky cars when I used it as oil!!!!!!!!

 

[Sideways]

I've discovered the wire bush cups and wheels for the grinder that have twisted tufts. It makes them hold together better than untwisted versions so they seem more durable and aggressive. Picked up a nice Norton cup version from Screwfix and a no-name flat syle from Toolstation that also works great for 1/3 the price.
Last job was to take 20 years worth of rust off a carver clamp. Worked great.


And, yeah ! Nitro-mors used to burn if you got flakes of paint on your skin when scraping and brushing the softened paint off. The nanny state can be tiresome :-(

 

[Geoff_S]

I gave up a long time ago with the Nitromors stuff.

The last time I stripped paint I used a product called Peelaway. Excellent stuff I found.

 

[Tasky]

However, I don't know if the formulation of that hasn't changed to remove anything useful in it.

Having seen a number of spills that customers have not cleaned up, it does still do this, but it takes a (comparatively) long time to do so.

Other thoughts are a propane torch, scraper and care, or maybe a hot-air gun.

I had a very quick go with the Rothenberger MAPP torch thing. Usually I use that for heating up stubborn, rusted car bolts and lighting people's cigarettes. Wasn't sure about using it on 1940s era cast iron, especially as it already has a ding/crack along the lower lip.
Anyhoo, the heat won't get into the corners or around the lettering very well.

On that note, how about playing it a party political broadcast, though you may have to use very effective ear defenders doing that.

Nah, that's a technique for later on, to help the new paint dry in a faster, more entertaining fashion!

Picked up a nice Norton cup version from Screwfix and a no-name flat syle from Toolstation that also works great for 1/3 the price.

Mine was a random brand, but this style: https://www.screwfix.com/p/norton-exper ... 25mm/5929h
Are the Norton ones any better?

 

[NickN]

Paramose is still excellent for paint stripping, Synstrip is another - they are very much in the same category as Creosote - still available but officially only for use by 'licensed professionals'. :-"

A search on Ebay for 'industrial paint stripper' also throws up a few products which would far outperform the current Nitro-morose.

 

[ED65]

Nitromoors green Tasky?

Old formula: almost all methylene chloride, a little methanol, jigger of white spirit.
Current formula: 1,3-dioxolane, methylal, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol.

Apparently the current version of the new stuff comes with a completely different application schedule, which if followed will get the job done. Just much, much slower and it requires much more of the product. Edit: not their fault BTW, blame for this falls firmly at the feet of pencil pushers in Brussels.

As it seems you don't mind the toxicity, and IF you can find someplace that will sell it to you, there's Strip Away Pro by Langlow. Ingredients: mostly dichloromethane (methylene chloride), some methanol, a dash of naptha hydro desulfurised heavy (AKA white spirit).

You could strip it using caustic soda if you have a large enough container to sit the vice components in. The caustic won't harm the steel and iron. Must mention the need to wear suitable PPE if going this route.

 

[Sideways]

Mine was a random brand, but this style: https://www.screwfix.com/p/norton-exper ... 25mm/5929h
Are the Norton ones any better?

Hi, I haven't used the Norton cup brush enough and in like with like comparison against others to form a view. I did quickly realise that the twisted tuft type is better than the crimped wire styles which were all i'd used up to then.

Here's the "Abracs" one that cleaned up the carver clamp for me
https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Power+ ... ush/p67421

And the Norton
https://www.screwfix.com/p/norton-exper ... 65mm/2399h

 

[nabs]

I have used 'strip away pro' (mentioned above by ED65) to - amongst other things - to successfully get a couple of overpainted tools back to bare metal and can confirm it still contains the magic deadly poisonous ingredient that makes it work.

As noted above it is officially for 'industrial use' only so you have to do a bit of sleuthing to find a seller. I got a 2.5 litre tin in preparation for when it is finally banned altogether

 

[nabs]

Incidentally, when researching deadly poisonous paint strippers I stumbled into the world of model making where it is apparently common practice to use certain household detergents (e.g Fairy Power Cleaner) to remove acrylic and enamel paints.

Does anyone know if this actually works?!

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/inde ... om-tescos/

 

[ED65]

Fairy Power Cleaner and the Tesco equivalent, and some other clones, have caustic soda in them. Slightly older advice along the same lines, which seems to have just been pushed aside in favour of trying the New Best Thing (something all too common in modelling circles where "Oh look shiny!" rules), is to use oven cleaner.

But like with most things it's cheaper just to go straight to the active ingredient, which unlike some other once-common household chemicals has not become hard or impossible to get. Other advantages include being able to tailor the dilution to suit; there's a standard dilution for paint stripping if the paint is a bit wimpy or you're happy to let the thing soak for a bit, but for tougher paints and thick coatings you can make it very concentrated and make it hot if you want to give it even more oomph. Safety warning: great care should be exercised if making up a hot caustic bath as the solution can easily boil furiously, spattering or overflowing the container.

 

[mbartlett99]

I used to mix up caustic soda with wallpaper paste to get it into a sticky gel. My flatmate poured it into an ally cup once with hilarious if ever so slightly dangerous results.

 

[Brandlin]

Incidentally, when researching deadly poisonous paint strippers I stumbled into the world of model making where it is apparently common practice to use certain household detergents (e.g Fairy Power Cleaner) to remove acrylic and enamel paints.

Does anyone know if this actually works?!

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/inde ... om-tescos/

Yes. I put model soldiers in a jar of dettol and leave them a day or two, then just wash them under a tap with a toothbrush for the stubborn bits

 

[Geoff_S]

Incidentally, when researching deadly poisonous paint strippers I stumbled into the world of model making where it is apparently common practice to use certain household detergents (e.g Fairy Power Cleaner) to remove acrylic and enamel paints.

Does anyone know if this actually works?!

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/inde ... om-tescos/

Yes. I put model soldiers in a jar of dettol and leave them a day or two, then just wash them under a tap with a toothbrush for the stubborn bits

Is that enamel or acrylic paint on the soldiers?

 

[Brandlin]

Is that enamel or acrylic paint on the soldiers?

It works on both but is MUCH less aggressive on enamel.

Bear in mind that a lot of figures are not cast metal these days and even if they are there are often conversions and resculpts added with epoxy clays etc. Also almost all figure painting is done in acrylics these days, so a very aggressive stripper is not required.

 

[D_W]

What about abrasive removal/soda blasting, etc? It's not quick, and it's filthy if you don't have a cabinet or outside area to do it, but it works and as of yet, the government action on the ingredients is pretty minimal compared to the chemical removers (and finishes, etc).

 

[Tasky]

Nitromoors green Tasky?

Yellow cap. I understood that was slightly better than the green.

Apparently the current version of the new stuff comes with a completely different application schedule, which if followed will get the job done.

I read the lies printed on the tin and followed. Even left the second coat a good thrice longer than specified, tried keeping the third coat topped up to prevent drying out, etc etc.... I still think my aftershave would have done better!

As it seems you don't mind the toxicity

Well, I didn't do this indoors, if that's what you mean... if I am fine simply being outside, then fair enough, but once I start needing NBC kit for this task I'll likely just go up B&Q to buy some elbow grease!! :lol:

I had a quick bash last night with a Dremel bit on the lettering detail and that did far better than anything else so far. Did well on the rusted side, too.
I might get some of those Norton brushes this weekend (pay day!!), to finish the job. I do need to get on with my workbench, after all!!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Not trying to be funny or owt, but if the existing paint is that well stuck on, does it really need to come off? I can see the point with the rust - makes the in-out motion feel a bit gritty (and nobody wants gritty feeling motions), but the paint's not going to affect functionality (or how it works). You could just slather some more on top if you wants smart and shiny.

 

[Tasky]

Not trying to be funny or owt, but if the existing paint is that well stuck on, does it really need to come off?

Oh lordy me, yes!!!

Were it just the standard vice blue it was born with, I'd agree... but this has has thick white, then green gloss paint slapped one atop the other. The paint had then flaked and chipped off over time, exposing the layers beneath and looking utterly awful. Had I simply painted over that, it would have looked like badly hammered metal

But the biggest reason for stripping and recoating, aside from it looking hideous, was to ascertain the extent of damage. So far it looks like just one ding on the lower lip of the front jaw and a fair bit of rust in general.