paint stripper question......

Posted by Ken on August 9, 2005, 9:29 am

SavedOne2000@webtv.net wrote:

> my earlier post i recieved alot of good onfo on what to use to stripper
> a dresser....
> and now i have another question....
> has anyone in here used a product called citrus strip?
> if so is it any good?...
> reason i am asking is the people at home depot said it would be good to
> use since it doesnt have a chemical smell o it.
> any help would be appreciated...
> thaks in advance

My experience is that the more environmentally friendly strippers work
slower, and therefore are left on the workpiece longer, and
subsequently have more time to soak into joints and start removing
glue. I've had pieces start to fall apart on me when using citrus
strip.

Normally I prefer less toxic things in general, however, for paint
stripping I almost always use the toxic methylene chloride strippers
because they seem to do the best job. I either use it outdoors, or
else if I use it in the basement, I have a strong fan exhausting the
fumes.

One tip I'll add: If there are many layers of paint that need to be
removed (as opposed to just a thin layer of clear finish), I start by
removing a lot of the paint with a heat gun and scraper to reduce the
amount of finish that has to be chemically stripped. But then you have
to worry about if it's lead paint, and that's a whole 'nuther topic
itself.

Ken

Posted by Baron on August 10, 2005, 7:16 pm

Citristrip works much more slowly than standard strippers and by a
different mechanism. The citrus smell goes a long way and gives me a
headache after a while even in well ventilated conditions.

Citristrip is an NMP based stripper. It works by dissolving the finish
rather than releasing it from the surface as methylene chloride does.
That's why it is slow. It is fairly safe because of its slow evaporation
rate but it is on the expensive side. I found I still had to solvent wash
the pieces I have used it on after removing the stripper.

As far as a "chemical smell", all "smells" are from chemicals. Some are
more toxic than others and some are more pleasant than others but they are
all "chemical".

Good Luck.

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