Paint stripper

[Jacob]

Is Screwfix No Nonsense OK or are there better options?
I've air gunned the paint but there's thick varnish underneath like treacle toffee

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I found Paint Panther Paint & Varnish Remover 1L better than I thought it would be.

 

[xLrc]

I watched this a while back. Compares the No-nonsense to another well known brand. Seems there's not a lot in it these days

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I suspect it's gone the way of many things - they found the effective part and removed it.

 

[Argus]

It seems that there was a mass-eradication of strong VOC solvents in many preparations a while back.

Some additives were replaced. The new requirements were satisfied at the expense of the effectiveness of many products.

P.S. This was, I recall, an EU thing....... other places carried on as normal.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

Oven/barbecue cleaner works worryingly well. I know this because I have just ruined someone's table by mistake - I put the bottle down and a few drips ate straight through the finish and the stain underneath. Oops.

I now need a crash course in furniture restoration.

 

[Jacob]

It seems that there was a mass-eradication of strong VOC solvents in many preparations a while back.

Some additives were replaced. The new requirements were satisfied at the expense of the effectiveness of many products.

P.S. This was, I recall, an EU thing....... other places carried on as normal.

It was EU new health and safety regs 2009 and very good for the trade in terms of health but annoying for the occasional user who would get less exposure and be at less risk to start with. Other places banned it too. Many VOCs are toxic, given enough exposure.
I might have a go with the oven cleaner.
I've just found that Wilkos stuff does the varnish but not so good on the paint

 

[johnnyb]

the methylene chloride stuff is still about( if you want it) go to car body repair shops.( paint shops)
the safe stuff is reasonably OK but very slow( leave it overnight)

 

[sploo]

I found Paint Panther Paint & Varnish Remover 1L better than I thought it would be.

+1 for Panther. The last time I tried Nitromors it was useless, but the Panther stuff worked well.

 

[mikej460]

I need to strip what looks like black paint (hoping it's not powder coating) off an old mitre gauge as it is badly chipped and I want to use in my bench sander. I don't want to use the hot air gun in case it damages the gauge but equally don't want to spend up to £15 on a tin of paint remover that I'll never use again for years.

 

[chaoticbob]

The primary active ingredient in oven cleaners (ones that actually work anyway) is sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) - cheaper to buy it pure and make your own solution (10-15%). It works well as a stripper (though won't deal with acrylics) but can damage wood - if you're not careful to clean it off quickly it can leave the wood with a sort of fibrous texture. I think it leaches out lignins.
Bob

 

[Jacob]

The primary active ingredient in oven cleaners (ones that actually work anyway) is sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) - cheaper to buy it pure and make your own solution (10-15%). It works well as a stripper (though won't deal with acrylics) but can damage wood - if you're not careful to clean it off quickly it can leave the wood with a sort of fibrous texture. I think it leaches out lignins.
Bob

Right thanks for that Bob. I don't use caustic soda except in emergencies! Or on metal - I've got a bucket full of caustic with some sash pulleys and Baldwin hinges cooking nicely.
This piece is a big old Victorian school cupboard with some very nice looking pitch pine on the front, so I don't want to wreck it.
Hows things in Wirksworth - you done any turning yet? The Sorby chuck seems excellent so thanks for that too.

 

[chaoticbob]

Right thanks for that Bob. I don't use caustic soda except in emergencies! Or on metal - I've got a bucket full of caustic with some sash pulleys and Baldwin hinges cooking nicely.
This piece is a big old Victorian school cupboard with some very nice looking pitch pine on the front, so I don't want to wreck it.
Hows things in Wirksworth - you done any turning yet? The Sorby chuck seems excellent so thanks for that too.

Maybe not worth the risk on a nice piece then - I remember the stripped pine craze (late 70's -80's?) when people took their painted pine doors to 'professional' strippers who used hot caustic baths - sometimes they came back OK, sometimes (very much) not. OK in general for metals though - but not aluminium alloys in case mikej460 is tempted to try it on his mitre gauge.

Wirksworth is chugging on much as usual - the town was brought to a standstill last week by people queuing for fuel at the Co-op, but sanity seems to be more-or-less restored now.

I've done some turning with the Sorby gouge - much more successfully than with my homemade skew. Thanks!
Good to hear that the chuck adapter is working.

Apologies to readers who may be more interested in paint strippers than traffic and lathery in Wirksworth! On topic, I've not yet found anything that compares with methylene chloride, but it seems that the Panther stuff is worth a try - looking at the data sheet it's an interesting cocktail of solvents.
Bob.

 

[Jake]

Peelaway 7 is pretty good although I've not used it on wood.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Is Screwfix No Nonsense OK or are there better options?
I've air gunned the paint but there's thick varnish underneath like treacle toffee

The thick varnish might well be crystal varnish so it would be worth giving it a scrub with some meths first. If not the only strippers that work well are the Dichloromethane based ones such as Paramose but Peelaway 7 is also good as Jake suggested. You can get the 'proper' stripper from any polish supplier but you will have to fill in forms and send them a letterhead to prove you are trade.

 

[Yorkieguy]

The original Nitromors and similar paint strippers contained Di-Chloromethane, ('DCM') which - from 1 Dec 2008, under the 'REACH Regulations ( the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), was banned by statute from paint strippers for use by other then trained and certified professional operatives. As with substances such as creosote, strippers which contained DCM were being used carelessly by members of the public with no PPE in unventilated rooms.

The REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 (legislation.gov.uk)

Certificated Professionals can buy 'Stripaway-Pro' which contains DCM, but have to provide written proof:

Paint Stripper – Strip Away Pro (professional users only).

Please note that all purchasers of Strip Away Pro will need to sign a one off acknowledgement/disclaimer sheet acknowledging the receipt of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and a statement explaining the Health and Safety requirements for the use of this product. Even if purchased it will not be despatched until the acknowledgement sheet has been returned.

Paint Stripper - Strip Away Pro (professional users only) - Paintman Paint

I've seen both Stripaway-Pro and Paramose (also DCM) for sale 'no questions asked' at Autojumbles, but though legal strippers available retail aren't as effective, personally, I'd steer clear of DCM strippers. Apart from that, a breach of the REACH regulations can have serious consequences including heavt fines and imprisonment for up to 2 years:

Offences and penalties in relation to a listed REACH provision and Schedules 4 and 5
Offences
11.—(1) Except in relation to Article 67 of REACH, it is an offence for a person to contravene a listed REACH provision or cause or permit another person to do so.
(2) On and after 1st June 2009, it is an offence for a person to contravene Article 67 of REACH or cause or permit another person to do so.
(3) It is an offence for a person when subject to paragraph 6 of Schedule 4 (defence exemption certificates)—
(a)to provide a false certificate or copy; or
(b)to fail to provide when requested, as appropriate—

(i)the defence exemption certificate;
(ii)a copy of the certificate made by the Secretary of State; or
(iii)a copy of an extract of the certificate made by the Secretary of State,
or cause or permit another person to do so.

(4) On and after 1st June 2009, it is an offence for a person to contravene paragraph 5(b) or 6 of Part 1 of Schedule 5 (marketing and use of leaded paint) or cause or permit another person to do so.

Penalties
12. Any person guilty of an offence under regulation 11 is liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both.

Ride at your own risk!

 

[bobblezard]

I've used the Screwfix No Nonsense just fine on lots of things including trailer bodies, tool handles,wooden furniture etc. but found it bogged down on the thick treacly stuff you described. If it is the same stuff that was the edges of the flooring and stair treads in my house the only thing that seemed to work was mechanical means, best when dry and hard.
Heat, chemical stripper etc just resulted in masses of goo which streaked and stained everywhere...

 

[Jacob]

The original Nitromors and similar paint strippers contained Di-Chloromethane, ('DCM') which - from 1 Dec 2008, under the 'REACH Regulations ( the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), was banned by statute from paint strippers for use by other then trained and certified professional operatives. As with substances such as creosote, strippers which contained DCM were being used carelessly by members of the public with no PPE in unventilated rooms.

The REACH Enforcement Regulations 2008 (legislation.gov.uk)

Certificated Professionals can buy 'Stripaway-Pro' which contains DCM, but have to provide written proof:

Paint Stripper – Strip Away Pro (professional users only).

Please note that all purchasers of Strip Away Pro will need to sign a one off acknowledgement/disclaimer sheet acknowledging the receipt of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and a statement explaining the Health and Safety requirements for the use of this product. Even if purchased it will not be despatched until the acknowledgement sheet has been returned.

Paint Stripper - Strip Away Pro (professional users only) - Paintman Paint

I've seen both Stripaway-Pro and Paramose (also DCM) for sale 'no questions asked' at Autojumbles, but though legal strippers available retail aren't as effective, personally, I'd steer clear of DCM strippers. Apart from that, a breach of the REACH regulations can have serious consequences including heavt fines and imprisonment for up to 2 years:

Offences and penalties in relation to a listed REACH provision and Schedules 4 and 5
Offences
11.—(1) Except in relation to Article 67 of REACH, it is an offence for a person to contravene a listed REACH provision or cause or permit another person to do so.
(2) On and after 1st June 2009, it is an offence for a person to contravene Article 67 of REACH or cause or permit another person to do so.
(3) It is an offence for a person when subject to paragraph 6 of Schedule 4 (defence exemption certificates)—
(a)to provide a false certificate or copy; or
(b)to fail to provide when requested, as appropriate—

(i)the defence exemption certificate;
(ii)a copy of the certificate made by the Secretary of State; or
(iii)a copy of an extract of the certificate made by the Secretary of State,
or cause or permit another person to do so.

(4) On and after 1st June 2009, it is an offence for a person to contravene paragraph 5(b) or 6 of Part 1 of Schedule 5 (marketing and use of leaded paint) or cause or permit another person to do so.

Penalties
12. Any person guilty of an offence under regulation 11 is liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both.

Ride at your own risk!

I got 5 litres of Strip Away Pro from ebay. Read the rules etc but wasn't asked to sign anything as expected.
I am a "pro" so am OK on that front. Same prices as Paint Stripper - Strip Away Pro (professional users only) but a different seller.
But was surprised when it arrived badly packed with the tin all bent as though dropped a few times, but luckily not leaking.
"toxic 6" it says on the tin. Hazmat Logistics UK - Transporting Class 6 (Toxic and Infectious Substances) Dangerous Goods.
This not good so I tipped off ebay.
This stuff IS toxic and a leaky tin in a small space could be very bad news, let alone the horrible mess it could make.
I've had bad experience before with Nitromors; stripping the inside of an open boat, ventilated room but the boat must have held the heavier vapour. Headaches, stoned feeling and weird dreams to follow!
So anybody who goes on about nanny state and EU stupid rules is talking out of their rrrs.