# Paint stripper



## Starbite (Oct 7, 2018)

Since nobody seems to sell Super Strip or Stripeeze anymore what do you use? I've found Smart Strip in a few stores but at 60 dollars a gallon I just can't justify the price for what it's worth. I'm a Sherwin Williams employee currently but my hobby is refinishing old mosin nagant rifles, and I've found that Easy-Off oven cleaner will take the finish off of anything, alcohol or oil based... Since Methylene Chloride base products have been taken off the shelf what do you use?


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Starbite said:


> *Since nobody seems to sell Super Strip or Stripeeze anymore what do you use?* I've found Smart Strip in a few stores but at 60 dollars a gallon I just can't justify the price for what it's worth. I'm a Sherwin Williams employee currently but my hobby is refinishing old mosin nagant rifles, and I'vefound that Easy-Off oven cleaner will take the finish off of anything, alcohol or oil based... Since Methylene Chloride base products have been taken off the shelf what do you use?



I stock them...


Methylene Chloride has not been 'taken off the shelf' just some box stores decided that DIY's are too much a liability with the chemicals because people like to refinish tubs in small enclosed areas. If you shopped at independent paint stores and not corporate owned stores you will easily find it. Even my local acehardware has them.


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## Gymschu (Mar 11, 2011)

I'm lucky that my local hardware store still carries Stripeeze. It's just so much more effective than the "girly" DIY paint strippers. Used it last winter on some old varnished stair treads and it took the varnish off in minutes!


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Starbite said:


> Since nobody seems to sell Super Strip or Stripeeze anymore what do you use? I've found Smart Strip in a few stores but at 60 dollars a gallon I just can't justify the price for what it's worth. I'm a Sherwin Williams employee currently but my hobby is refinishing old mosin nagant rifles, and I've found that Easy-Off oven cleaner will take the finish off of anything, alcohol or oil based... Since Methylene Chloride base products have been taken off the shelf what do you use?



I imagine A gallon would go pretty far and let's face it. Refinishing stuff is an expensive time consuming job. Probably why I don't do much of it. Not to mention I also don't want to be handling those nasty products.
If your reselling the pieces afterwords, it's all relative no?


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## goga (Aug 6, 2015)

finishesbykevyn said:


> I imagine A gallon would go pretty far and let's face it. Refinishing stuff is an expensive time consuming job. Probably why I don't do much of it. Not to mention I also don't want to be handling those nasty products.
> If your reselling the pieces afterwords, it's all relative no?


Totally, 100% agreeing, as ppl do not consume in their heads, what harm to "remove" the "old" paint is.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Starbite said:


> Since nobody seems to sell Super Strip or Stripeeze anymore what do you use? I've found Smart Strip in a few stores but at 60 dollars a gallon I just can't justify the price for what it's worth. I'm a Sherwin Williams employee currently but my hobby is refinishing old mosin nagant rifles, and I've found that Easy-Off oven cleaner will take the finish off of anything, alcohol or oil based... Since Methylene Chloride base products have been taken off the shelf what do you use?


I'm done with MEK products (forever if I can help it). That stuff is definitely harmful to a person's health. 
A known carcinogen (at least according to the last Lead Renovator Refresher class I was at), and officially banned from use for professionals removing Lead Paint.


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## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

How much do we need to potentially shorten our lives or impact our health in order to finish projects faster? 

With waterborne products becoming more commonplace and more VOC regulations, I think painters/people have become complacent to the serious health dangers working with harmful chemical can have. The lack of training in our industry only exacerbates this problem. 

I’m amazed at how many guys I see spraying exteriors without any type of respirator or dust mask. It pisses me off every time I see it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Holland said:


> I'm done with MEK products (forever if I can help it). That stuff is definitely harmful to a person's health.
> A known carcinogen (at least according to the last Lead Renovator Refresher class I was at), and officially banned from use for professionals removing Lead Paint.



FYI MEK is methyl ethyl ketone, similar to acetone it is a member of the ketone family of solvents.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

*Jasco*



Starbite said:


> Since nobody seems to sell Super Strip or Stripeeze anymore what do you use? I've found Smart Strip in a few stores but at 60 dollars a gallon I just can't justify the price for what it's worth. I'm a Sherwin Williams employee currently but my hobby is refinishing old mosin nagant rifles, and I've found that Easy-Off oven cleaner will take the finish off of anything, alcohol or oil based... Since Methylene Chloride base products have been taken off the shelf what do you use?


I know that big box stores around here stopped carrying methylene chloride strippers, but smaller stores still carry it. Just got a gallon of original meth chloride Jasco at my local BM store 3 weeks ago. The methylene chloride-free Jasco found at big box stores now is nothing like the original. 

The Easy-Off you use is primarily sodium hydroxide, which I've also used several times in the last few weeks. I get 50lb bags of Caustic Soda Beads from a local chem distributor, which is 99% pure NaoH. For larger scale orders, search your state for Univar or Brentag, 2 of the biggest chem suppliers in the world & found in nearly every state. For smaller scale, search Amazon or whatever local supplier for caustic soda beads, (also called caustic soda pearls or micro pearls). Use with extreme caution and know that you'll also need to follow up any sodium hydroxide application with an acid like oxalic, citric, citralic etc., which will neutralize the wood to bring the pH back down to optimum levels in order to prepare for stain or sealer. It'll also lighten the wood, since NaoH darkens most woods immediately. For smaller scale purchases of an acid, search for wood brighteners in your area, sometimes referred to as wood bleach, (although it contains no sodium hypochlorite as the name would suggest).

Keep the 2 products away from one another at all times and avoid cross-contamination in buckets and storage vessels. Wear appropriate PPE and do your homework before handling these products. 

As a side note, stripping costs are usually made up primarily of labor expense. The last thing I'd do when trying to decide on a stripping product is to factor in the material cost. JMO.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

cocomonkeynuts said:


> FYI MEK is methyl ethyl ketone, similar to acetone it is a member of the ketone family of solvents.


Thanks, I don't want to spread bad information...

MEK and Methylene Chloride are not the same thing. I have been using them interchangeably - I stand corrected.

MEK was delisted from EPA's list of carcinogens a few years ago, i don't know if that means they can be bought and used used now? 
However, Methylene Chloride is considered a "likely carcinogen", and is accompanied with a strong health warning from what I can find.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

cocomonkeynuts said:


> FYI MEK is methyl ethyl ketone, similar to acetone it is a member of the ketone family of solvents.


final thoughts: new information does not change my opinion. MEK is nasty (and probably bad for you), and it sounds like Methylene Chloride can potentially give a person cancer.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Hey mods. We got a jackass....


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## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

Woodco said:


> Hey mods. We got a jackass....


Just one?


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## brooklynpainters (Sep 5, 2019)

good insight. i personally don't mind the refinishing stuff. Good money


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## brooklynpainters (Sep 5, 2019)

And to also add as far as pricing, i like to be more lenient on these kinds of jobs.


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## NoviceRon (Oct 12, 2021)

Greeting paint pros and hobbyists. First post.
I noticed that I can buy Strypeeze at Home Depot online and the can reads 

"Formulated without Methylene Chloride and NMP"...


Is thIs a new development (this thread is a few years old)?

Also, I remember using Strypeeze 40 years ago and it worked like a champ. Anyone use this non-methylene chloride formulation that can speak to it's effectiveness?

I plan to refinish a piano bench, ladder back chair, and mid-century modern console stereo (though not yet sold on using a harsh solvent on stereo, might sand instead).


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

NoviceRon said:


> Greeting paint pros and hobbyists. First post.
> I noticed that I can buy Strypeeze at Home Depot online and the can reads
> 
> "Formulated without Methylene Chloride and NMP"...
> ...


 The lower VOC stuff is never as good as the toxic stuff. Obviously and for obvious reasons.


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