Paint stripper

[Doug]

To perform the initial Horizontal Stabiliser SB on my RV-6 I needed to strip the epoxy primer from the area to get a good clean view of the metal so I took the oportunity to talk with the local experts at my home airport to discover the best approach. On a number of occasions during the construction I had cause to try stripping this BMS1079 (iirc) primer and found nothing in my arsinal of chemicals had any significant effect so I knew I needed something special.

As soon as I asked the LAME (A&P) about my problem I noticed an immediate glint of recognition then promptly and very kindly allowed me to borrow something he characterised as 'the good stuff'. I was sure this was probably true since this organisation regularly resurected sad and tired aeroplanes by amongst other things completely strippping and repainting the airframes.

In fact, I took a rag and a dab of this product from inside the lid and wiped it on the area of interest. About 30 seconds later I wiped the paint clean off to reveal the bright base metal.

This was the product -



Now I know this is an Australian product but as they say 'there is nothing new in China' I'm cetain the same is available in your part of the world. The product details are on the side of the can.

I hope this may be useful to someone.

[Larry DeCamp]

I was frankly shocked to see how effectively Stewart Systems stripper removed IMRON from my rehab project. The plus is no fumes, no smell, no corrosion concerns and water cleanup. The down side is they recommend covering with thin plastic film to keep hydrated while it does the work.

[BABALU]

Thanks for the Info Larry, I will do some research . I have a couple of areas that require repair at this moment so maybe I will just use in small quantity as you did and when , ( if ), finances permit let the pros tackle the entire stripping job. I will just have my plane wrapped ultimately but the paint has to go either way. If you can't paint like a pro ,or afford to pay a pro to do it ,DONT Paint your plane! It will cost you or somebody else double to fix . I would prefer bare metal over bad paint any day plus it looks kinda cool with a few decals to enhance and makes repairs easy.

[BillL]

Classically, the best paint strippers use Dichloromethane (DCM, or methylene chloride) as the active ingredient. It is non corrosive to aluminum. It, also, would work better with a covering to prevent evaporation. I use aluminum foil, but don't know that would work on a large area. You should use heavy rubber gloves with DCM as it will absorb in the skin. It makes my hands red - I use gloves and ventilation. It works very very well.

Dichloromethane (DCM, or methylene chloride) can be kept for long periods if a water barrier over the top is used to prevent evaporation. It is more dense than water.

Stewart Systems uses 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone as the active ingredient. If it works as well as DCM then it will be my new standard. You might do a side by side.

[acam37]

We used Turco stripper when I worked in the corrosion control shop (Navy). This is some nasty stuff. Before using I recommend you read the SDS carefully and wear all required PPE. You don't want to get it on exposed skin.