Best stripper you can buy?

[stevenf]

I used to work for a furniture repair and refinish shop. I worked there for a year and we used a can stripper almost the entire time. Right before I left, He started to order this stuff in a 55 gallon drum over the internet. He would then hook it to a small pump and we would use it to squirt it on the furniture like a water hose. This stripper was amazing! On really tough chairs, I was managing to strip 1 per 4 hours or so. With that new stripper I was getting down 4-5 per 4 hours. We could also use this stuff alot more then the van stripper. This stuff could strip 4-5 chairs using the same ammount of stripper over and over.
What is this stuff? Where can I find it?

[Claw Hama]

I'd say you need to ask your old boss, I think we'd all like to know what it was. Sounds like radioactive waste.

[chrisb691]

I don't know about buying.....but the best one I ever hired was called Candy.

[astrid]

:d

What happened to my grin?

[Honorary Bloke]

:d

What happened to my grin?

Have to have at least one alpha character before it.

[Frank&Earnest]

Sounds like it is methylene chloride. It is fast, but it is carcinogenic and stings like hell, need thick rubber gloves because it goes through the thin ones DNAMHIK.

[stevenf]

Sounds like it is methylene chloride. It is fast, but it is carcinogenic and stings like hell, need thick rubber gloves because it goes through the thin ones DNAMHIK.

That is true. We used to wear a face mask, a huge rubber aprin, thick rubber gloves that passed our elbos.
This stuff burns like fire when you get it on you. Its almost instant.

[stevenf]

After researching it a bit. I do believe that it is methalyne chloride. He buys it in a 55 gallon drum and from the ones I have seen, its a blue drum.
Any idea on how much this stuff cost by the drum?

[rotten_66]

Also known as dichloromethane.

Here in Oz,
I have used it in a gel form, most hardware stores stock it, you can "paint" it on and the surface coat all blisters and you can scrape it off. Usually it comes in much smaller home sized packs.
Note: A 55 gal or 220 litre drum is going to be very heavy (640lb/300kg plus the drum)

Have a read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloromethane

(Lover of wood in spare time, Analytical Chemist by day)

[astrid]

sounds bloody dangerous.
metholine chloride is bad enough but I've never heard of a spray on version that will strip 4-5 chairs in an hour.

I'd be wary of some stuff bought over the net if i didn't know exactly what it was, safety standards etc.

we do have our standards for a very good reason

[durwood]

Methylene Chloride is the base of most good modern paint strippers. Depending on the brand will depend on how much is in the mix.

The cheaper the stripper the less it will contain. Before MC stripper they were based on Benzol which was highly inflammable and needed to be removed with another inflammable stripper. MC is neutralised in water so it is not only better at dissolving the paint but is easy to remove.

There are many brands and recipes. You can get a liquid version which allows you to dunk bits into it, if its put in a container. Depending on your pocket and the size of your drum - tank you can dip any item into it. Where I worked we had a large tank which held over 200 litres. Large car panels couild be put in it, pulled out and then hosed off. OHS made us remove it ( even though we had used it for years) as it was possible to drop a piece in it which may have splashed and landed on some one even though we had a hoist we used to pull things out of the tank with. We did this as we lifted the cage with the bits in it and let it drain off to help save the stripper.

We did have an aircraft MC stripper but it was so strong one small speck on your skin had you racing for a tap it came in specially plastic lined tins it was so strong The usual ones strong enough for dissolving hard paint like Poly can be bought from auto paint suppliers. Paint companies are the usually manufacturers of good stripper.

Often one brand will work well on most finishes but ocasionally a different brand will work better on a certain paint. Good stripper is usually thick (has wax added) so it will hang on a vertical surface if its runny it usually is watered down.

I notice Stevenf is in the USA so any product we have here won't be the same as available there so as suggested by claw hama check with your employer (wasn't there a label on the blue drum?). I doubt that spraying it on is a recommended method ( wasteful if nothing else) but it doesn't stop someone from doing it.

Using liquid stripper is a quick method of removing finishes but it can cause big problems refinishing as you have to remove all traces of it or it will strip the new finish preventing it from drying. I wouldn't be surprised if it is not banned in the near future as the residue is a major problem to dispose of.

Even though it also has its own problems caustic soda has been the main method for mass stripping of furnature. It is a lot cheaper and also is neutralised by water, it only works well as a solution that you can dunk into and works better if heated so its not as practical for the one off large piece by the home user.

[astrid]

I've used caustic once and never again, was on an oak chair with a lot of carving.
turned it grey and furred the timber up so much, sanding was hell