Stripping Revisited

Some of you might remember my article on Stripping And I mentioned Stripping liquids I use Simple Green and Acetone. Well there is another product I failed to mention Castrol Super Clean.

I have tried this before and was like "meh...." as it didn't really work very well.

Well I recently was talking with a friend and come to find out I was using it wrong. I got some tips from my buddy (who swears by it) and I stripped my Dark Hunters marines using the tips I got from him.... and we now swear by it too.... Its actually VERY GOOD!!! But Why?? HOW do I use It??? Well here is all you need to know about Super Clean as a stripper!!!

First things first Where do you get it??
I got mine from a local Auto supply, but you should be able to find it at any auto supply like Advanced or Pep boys, or even Walmart. Your looking for the Jug like I have above NOT the spray. It should be between $6-10, I paid $10 but my friend Lyn Stahl has it in TX for about $6.....Remember Jug NOT spray

What does it do?
Well it removed paint from Plastic metal and resin. I have noticed that simple green works good on plastic but sometimes doesnt do resin. Also SG will eat impurities in metal where this will not. Also if left long enough it will also break the bond of superglue because its a chemical process that we will get into soon.

How do I use it???
Well follow the basics in my stripping tut. As for the Liquid Use 50/50 Super Clean concentrate and regular tap water. Diluting it in water is actually necessary to be more effective though.  This has something to do with the hydroxide ions being dissolved and such but Chemistry class was so long ago. Anyway Ensure there is enough liquid to cover your models and I was using a 2.5 gallon bucket from Home Depot VS a 5 gallon. I was unaware of the ingredients and I did not use gloves for the first strip, as I rarely wear gloves when stripping with SG.... BAD IDEA!! You can see how I have stripped all the oils out of my left hand and have a Dry skin issue. It went away after 2-3 days and hand lotion.

The reason it dries out your hands is it contains Sodium Hydroxide and uses it as a degreaser so... ALWAYS WEAR GLOVES!!! Also good ventilation is always good. Its also safe to pour down the drain if you want as its not toxic.


Now How does this work exactly???
Whats going on is really a chemical reaction with the Hydroxide ions and the paint. I like to think of it as like soda. the more I agitate it the more bubbles release and such SO if I reuse the solution over and over eventually it will go flat. Adding more Solution brings back the soak to optimum levels again, but I have been using the solution till its "flat" then starting new. If you choose to reuse it and  just add more dont dilute it as the water from the first mix and the "used" cleaner is basically water too so just add more concentrate to your mix.It comes down to availability of the ions in the solution to bind with the paint, which is going to be a function of the paint you're stripping, the solvent content, and the water content, assuming it works the way I think it does.The trick is also to remove excess paint as you can, allowing new paint to be exposed to the solvent. It is  recommended to take a soft toothbrush to the models 30 to 60 minutes after they hit the dip, and then again another 30 to 60 minutes later. I dont always do this as I dont like to brush them but once but if you want the best strip you can. I just let them soak for a bit and then scrub them down. If its not clean I toss it back in and get it later. But Im lazy. Its ALSO good to point out that Chemical reactions are picky and lazy, and not smart. As you strip paint from the model, the large chunks of paint are often left in the solution. The solvent doesn't care if the paint is on the model or not so it's going to react no matter what. A large amount of your solvent is being used up in unnecessarily dissolving this paint that has sloughed off in the soak. Another reason it is recommended to take a brush to the model within the first hour or two a few times, removing those large amount of paint that are loose enough for you to remove, but otherwise will waste a bunch of your solvent's stripping power. Remember the soda.... this is like shaking your bottle before you pour it in a glass.

And from a Forensic Chemist This is whats going on....
SuperClean contains EDTA.  EDTA is an agent that will help with water hardness and acrylic paint is water soluble. The hardness is caused by for example calcium and magnesium ions (the cause of scale on kettles and in bathrooms, etc) and EDTA is a chelating agent - basically mopping up these ions, softening the water and therefore helping the solubility of the acrylic paint and making the sodium hydroxide in solution more effective. Sodium metasilicate also decreases water hardness. The Poly(oxy blah blah) is a surfactant - it lowers the tension between two liquids and you'll see various surfactants in every detergent known to man - basically helping break down the barrier between two liquids. When that barrier is lowered it aids in cleaning.

Well thats a mouthful but in Monkey terms its making it good. It works and thats what matters. Really. So my assessment?? Its what Im going to use to strip paint off plastics from now on. Its amazing how well it works and I am planning on getting rid of all my simple green and replacing it with super clean.

Well thats it for the Stripper Revisit so till next time Serve the Emperor well!!!

Munkey!!