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04-28-2016, 01:24 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Omaha, NE (KMLE)
Posts: 2,247
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bnt83
Why not just sand it off? You'll never see stripper slathered on any composites at a certified repair station. Especially when a flap, cowl etc is a $40k+ composite part.
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Partly because the spinner is the test case for what I'll do with the rest of the airplane. Sanding paint off of a plane built with blind rivets is a non-starter, so I've got to find a stripper that works. This stuff is also on thick enough that sanding would not be my first choice for anything bigger than the fuel cap.
An RV-12 spinner is not a $40K factory part, and I'm not an FAA certified repair station doing work on a factory plane And thank goodness for all of that. I have the luxury of being able to work in my garage, with access at any time of day or night, to test materials for efficacy and compatibility.
__________________
Dale
Omaha, NE
RV-12 # 222 N980KM "Screamin' Canary" (bought flying)
Fisher Celebrity (under construction)
Previous RV-7 project (sold)
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04-28-2016, 08:04 PM
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Tylertown, MS
Posts: 186
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Smithsonian strippers
I stopped by the Smithsonian Paul E Garber facility years ago when they use to restore their planes there. I was fixing to strip my Stinson at the time and just so happen, they were stripping a plane. I started talking to one of guys that was doing the stripping and asked him what exotic stripper did he use. He said they just went down to the hardware store and bought a good paste. He said to put it on thick and don't work it much till it does it's stuff. I've had good luck with BIX. The older the paint, the harder it is to remove. I used a plastic putty knife and a tooth brush. Roughing up the paint with a fine sandpaper before using the stripper will help also.
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04-28-2016, 08:41 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Omaha, NE (KMLE)
Posts: 2,247
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The plot thickens... along with the finish. In some places the paint seems to have been applied over smooth, un-scuffed fiberglass. It chips off easily. Over much of the surface, though, there now seems to be what I am suspecting is polyester body filler (think Bondo) under he paint. I've been scraping ?nd paring off layers as the strippers soften it up to do so, and have about 10% of the fiberglass exposed.
If it is putty, I'll repeat this test on a metal piece without the polyester filler. I'm still not expecting much from either of them, given the lack of performance so far. Regardless of the substrate, I'd expect the stripper to either dissolve or loosen the paint. Neither one as even making headway where the paint was chipped up around the screw holes, which doesn't really indicate it's working well.
I emailed the manufacturer of the PTI product to let them know I wasn't having much luck with their paint remover. No response yet, I'll give it a few days.
All I know for sure is, the spinner will be substantially lighter when I finish with it.
__________________
Dale
Omaha, NE
RV-12 # 222 N980KM "Screamin' Canary" (bought flying)
Fisher Celebrity (under construction)
Previous RV-7 project (sold)
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04-28-2016, 08:59 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Panama City, FL
Posts: 132
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Seems it getting harder to find the strippers that work well. You will not find this at Home Depot, but it works. Not sure scraping is real practical on the aluminum skins with rivet heads protruding. You might consider a low pressure pressure washer and lots of red scotch brite pads. Stewart Systems has some good videos on aircraft metal prep and painting, including using a pressure washer to rinse clean the aluminum.
http://www.ppgaerospace.com/Products...t-Remover.aspx
John Salak
RV-12 N896HS
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04-29-2016, 06:23 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Lincoln NE
Posts: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaleB
Partly because the spinner is the test case for what I'll do with the rest of the airplane. Sanding paint off of a plane built with blind rivets is a non-starter, so I've got to find a stripper that works. This stuff is also on thick enough that sanding would not be my first choice for anything bigger than the fuel cap.
An RV-12 spinner is not a $40K factory part, and I'm not an FAA certified repair station doing work on a factory plane And thank goodness for all of that. I have the luxury of being able to work in my garage, with access at any time of day or night, to test materials for efficacy and compatibility.
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http://www.gracosupply.com/Images/pr...x_2871_tds.pdf
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04-29-2016, 06:26 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Lincoln NE
Posts: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 12vaitor
Seems it getting harder to find the strippers that work well. You will not find this at Home Depot, but it works. Not sure scraping is real practical on the aluminum skins with rivet heads protruding. You might consider a low pressure pressure washer and lots of red scotch brite pads. Stewart Systems has some good videos on aircraft metal prep and painting, including using a pressure washer to rinse clean the aluminum.
http://www.ppgaerospace.com/Products...t-Remover.aspx
John Salak
RV-12 N896HS
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I've heard that works good.
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04-29-2016, 07:29 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central IL
Posts: 5,516
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Vickers
Recently I was over at our local house paint supply store and while waiting for them to mix my order I struck up a conversation with a sales rep that was there to speak with the business owner. He said that Dad’s brand paint stripper is one of the highest strength consumer grade products that he is aware of, and with that suggestion I purchased a quart. It works better than any other product I’ve tried recently including Kleenstrip “Aircraft Paint Stripper.” It still is not like the paint strippers of the “good old days”, but it is the best that I’ve tried. The parent company on the back of the can says Sansher Corporation, Fort Wayne Indiana, and the website is www.dadseasyspray.com. Heat makes it more reactive, so try experimenting with hot air from a hand held heat gun or hairdryer. I just stripped the valve covers from my Chevy small block V8 and it lifted (crinkled) about 80% or the paint. I've tried ALL of the paint strippers stocked at my local ACE hardware - nothing worked.
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MSDS:
INGREDIENTS
Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane)80% Methanol 2-Butoxyethanol 10%
If you use a methylene chloride product do not heat, and definitely cover it with aluminum foil. It is not a liquid at normal temps/pressures. It will readily turn to gas. Keep the container tight.
__________________
Bill
RV-7
Lord Kelvin:
“I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about,
and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you
cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge
is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind.”
Last edited by BillL : 04-29-2016 at 07:32 AM.
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04-29-2016, 08:18 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Omaha, NE (KMLE)
Posts: 2,247
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The tech data sheet for nearly every stripper I find claims it removes everything, effortlessly. Apparently marketing claims and reality don't always completely line up - shocking, I know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 12vaitor
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I would have concerns about being able to wash and neutralize that one after it was done removing paint.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bnt83
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That tech sheet reads almost exactly like the PTI product. At $55 a gallon, and only available in 5 gallon pails, I think I'll pass.  I wouldn't mind the cost if I could know that it works, but I don't think I'm up for spending a few hundred bucks to find out.
At least neither of the products I've tried seems to have any effect at all on the fiberglass, which is good. I have a few cut-off scraps here I'll use to test anything else I decide to try before using it. I wasn't worried about the PTS-202 since it seems to have no solvents. I was a little more concerned about the citrus based stuff, but there's been no softening of the fiberglass from that either.
Nor has there been any significant paint removal from either one of them, for that matter. Since my original post I've kept applying both products as I removed layers of paint. Never once, even after scratching & roughing up the surface and re-applying, has either one resulted in any lifted or loosened paint. Nada.
__________________
Dale
Omaha, NE
RV-12 # 222 N980KM "Screamin' Canary" (bought flying)
Fisher Celebrity (under construction)
Previous RV-7 project (sold)
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04-29-2016, 10:54 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Lincoln NE
Posts: 77
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaleB
The tech data sheet for nearly every stripper I find claims it removes everything, effortlessly. Apparently marketing claims and reality don't always completely line up - shocking, I know.
I would have concerns about being able to wash and neutralize that one after it was done removing paint.
That tech sheet reads almost exactly like the PTI product. At $55 a gallon, and only available in 5 gallon pails, I think I'll pass.  I wouldn't mind the cost if I could know that it works, but I don't think I'm up for spending a few hundred bucks to find out.
At least neither of the products I've tried seems to have any effect at all on the fiberglass, which is good. I have a few cut-off scraps here I'll use to test anything else I decide to try before using it. I wasn't worried about the PTS-202 since it seems to have no solvents. I was a little more concerned about the citrus based stuff, but there's been no softening of the fiberglass from that either.
Nor has there been any significant paint removal from either one of them, for that matter. Since my original post I've kept applying both products as I removed layers of paint. Never once, even after scratching & roughing up the surface and re-applying, has either one resulted in any lifted or loosened paint. Nada.
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Lets just say there is probably about a 1000 gallons of the Ardrox west of Omaha. Yes there are time lapse videos on facebook of it being used for some very neat airplane paint jobs.
Last edited by bnt83 : 04-29-2016 at 10:57 AM.
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04-29-2016, 10:59 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Calgary Alberta Canada
Posts: 456
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Stewarts
http://www.stewartsystems.aero/produ...paint-stripper
I have not used this but I have been told that it works well. Might be worth a try for the safe use consideration.
__________________
Troy Branch
RV10 Built and Flying Since Feb 2009
950hrs Plus
CC EX-2 Flying
SuperSTOL Built and Sold
RV9 Built and Sold
Avid Aerobat Built and Sold
Dues paid Nov 2019
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