[VAC] Re: Clearcoat removal frustration

[Cynthia Grant <Cynthia.Grant@xxxxxxx>]

I don't know if this would work on clearcoat or not, but there is a 
water-based stripper called variously Hydrostrip 502 and Removall that has 
been discussed on some aviation lists, which sounds like great stuff - it 
might be worth trying.  Below is one of the postings about it.  The web site 
of the manufacturer is http://www.removall.com.

Cynthia

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe Hohn [mailto:joe@quilterscache.com]
> Sent: Friday, December 14, 2001 6:00 PM
> To: luscombe@topica.com; oswaldaus@netscape.net
> Subject: Re: Luscombe: 8E weight - Stripping to Save weight!
> 
> 
> Chris,
> 
> I FINALLY FOUND THE INFO!! Vern Hendershott cross posted it 
> from another list.
> 
> It is on Topica at this location
> http://www.topica.com/lists/luscombe/read/message.html?mid=800275124
> 
> And it WASN'T Hydrogen Peroxide based...   just water!
> 
> Cut and Pasted below for all to see.
> ---------------------------------------------------
> "Fugate wrote--
> 
> P.S. Anyone have suggestions on how to remove paint and primer
> effectively and quickly?"
> 
> The following is from another list from people who do seem to 
> know what they are talking abouut for what it is worth.
> 
> I recently tried using a new, at least to me, product called 
> Remove All. It is a paint stripper developed by the makers of POR-15 
> products in Canada. I was told that spraying the remove all on the Coupe 
> with a primer gun, waiting several hours and then pressure washing it off
> would do the job.
> 
> They were right. That process removed 98 percent of the 
> paint/primer in one step. I touched it up with a little more remove all, 
> and then scrubbed it clean with lacquer thinner. This latest stripping job
> took about one days worth of work when I have had used up to a week 
> before.
> 
> Best of all, remove all is water based, so there is no environmental 
> hazard except from the paint chips you are removing.
> 
> The aircraft was painted with a unknown product. The previous 
> owner said that she bought 5 gallons of paint at the Boeing Surplus 
> store in Seattle and painted the airplane with it. It was a two part 
> product requiring mixing before application. (Epoxy??). I have tried 
> unsuccessfully to remove the paint and have tried seven different products 
> and have been able to only soften the top surface let alone remove any to 
> bare metal. Kleen Kut aircraft paint remover allowed me to get down to 
> primer after four applications in a one foot square area. I was ready to 
> ship it out and have it Blasted.   Then I saw the message about a product 
> called RemovAll stripper and I decided to try it. I looked it up on the 
> Net and found out after a bit of research that it is manufactured by 
> Napier in Canada and is distributed in the US under several different 
> names. RemovAll is the trade name for Napier's SV-35pma stripper that is 
> distributed by TURCO distributors.
> 
> The same product is sold by ICI paints as Hydrostrip 502 and 
> was available locally. The local Napier sales rep. told me that Sherwin 
> Williams will be carrying it in the very near future. It is expensive, and 
> I paid $32.00 for a gallon of hydrostrip at ICI. It is a heavy bodied 
> product that uses Hydrogen Peroxide as the active ingredient. It works by 
> penetrating the paint to the aluminum where it reacts as a catalyst to 
> create oxygen that forces the paint away from the surface it is adhering 
> to.   It is shipped with NO hazardous material charges and it is not 
> classed as a Hazardous material and does not affect plastics or rubber. In 
> fact it is recommended for stripping Fiberglass cars and rubber bumpers on 
> cars. It is recommended that it be sprayed on. I used my HVLP spray gun. 
> I have two, one suction gun and the other a gravity fed gun. It would not 
> flow from the suction gun but the gravity gun worked great.
> 
> How did it work.??
> 
> I started at the tail end and sprayed a coat on one side to 
> the rivet seam at frame 'F' and then went to the other sided and started 
> at the tail end and continued to frame 'F' to complete the empenage. 
> When I walked around to look at the first side, I was amazed to see the 
> paint falling off in great big sheets, right down to the aluminum. I let 
> it work for half an hour and as I don't have a pressure washer I got out 
> my shop vacuum and sucked the paint off the airplane. I then used a hose 
> and scotchbright pad to clean up any residue. Total time to strip the 
> empenage including the half hour wait was one hour and 15 minutes.   Get 
> this, No goggles, No respirator, No smell, No burns on bare skin and my 
> HVLP spray gun looks brand new. It removed all the paint residue from the 
> inside of the gun wherever the stripper touched. The paint in the vacuum 
> after it dried is just that, Dried paint and no more hazardous that if it 
> was still on the airplane.
> 
> The only easier way to strip the airplane would be to apply this stuff all
> over the aircraft at the airport then start the engine and blow off the
> residue with the prop wash. :-)
> 
> 
> Have a good day.
> 
> Best regards,
> Vern
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe Hohn [mailto:joe@quilterscache.com]
> Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 11:41 PM
> To: luscombe@topica.com
> Subject: RE: Re: Luscombe: 8E weight - Stripping to Save weight!
> 
> 
> Chris & Dan
> 
> I thought I read on the list about a paint stripper based on hydrogen
> peroxide.  Very environmentally safe.  A company out of I think Texas
> distributes it.  You put it on and can even use a wet dry vac 
> to remove it.
> 
> Sorry but I don't know the name. (I thought I saved the 
> E-Mail but can't find it.)  I even went to their website and this stuff 
> looks great!
> 
> If anyone remembers the name, it could be a great time saver.
> 
> Joe
>