Wanted some paint stripper for the spare sunroof on the old car, so being a BH decided to go to Wicks thinking it would be less busy. Expected to find the usual Nitromors, but all they had was 'De-Solv-it'.
10 quid for a litre. Says 'for all types of paint and varnishes' And it didn't even touch the paint on the roof which is probably cellulose. Nitromors does - I've used it before for just this.
Is it worth taking it back - even if some has been used?
Absolutely! If it doesn't do what it (literally) says on the tin, takle it back and ask for a refund. Quote the SoG Act and threaten them with Trading Standards if they argue!
Got some Nitromors this morning. And it doesn't work either - have they changed the formulation? Or is it the paint?
Years ago I bought a secondhand roof in the same colour - black - and stripped that with Nitromors before having it sprayed. Might have been a different paint, of course.
It could just be the paint, I tried to remove some paint on my old AJS but nothing would touch it because;
1/ The paint was stove enamelled.
2/ The paint does becomes harder through age.
On your sunroof you would probably better off using a DA sander if possible or leave the paint remover on applied thickly under cling film for a couple of days to give it time to attack the paint.
AFAIK Nitromors strips everything that caustic strips. I assume it's still the same old methylene chloride formula. If not, I'm sure Mylands in West Norwood still stock the proper stuff.
I've just spoken to Henkle who make Nitromors. Their tech guy said dichloromethane which was the active ingredient of the old Nitromors was banned by the EU recently. Hence the new formula - which he said isn't as good. He could only suggest mechanical removal of the paint.
I bought some last month from my local hardware store. £5.50 for 500ml and it has Dicholomethane listed in the ingredients. It might be old stock so have a look in a couple of local hardware stores and not the big sheds for some.
It was the all-purpose paint and varnish remover and did say "new improved" on the tin but it worked on a car. How well it worked I cannot really say.
Gawd help us. A paint stripper that no longer strips paint. The proper stuff must still be available from trade outlets or a lot of people would be driven out of business.
I know Rustins Strypit used to remove cellulose but it too has changed. Strypit's Q&A sheet on the change
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includes one which I feel reveals nicely what they think about the EU directive:
"Q What are the main differences between new Strypit and old Strypit? A The key active ingredient in old Strypit is DCM, a fast, powerful and cost effective chemical. We use a different key active ingredient in new Strypit, which is also powerful. From a performance standpoint, new Strypit is a little slower to work. From a cost standpoint, new Strypit is more expensive to manufacture. From a health & safety standpoint, new Strypit is highly flammable while old Strypit is not flammable. The main components in new Strypit are not as harmful and are biodegradable. "
Rustins don't claim new Strypit works on cellulose. You might try to find some old Strypit in stock. It still seems to be advertised but I'd check it really is old stock rather than just old advertising copy.
Oh, and the ban *does* apply to professionals according to Rustin:
"Q Why are you changing Strypit?
A One of the key ingredients in old Strypit is dichloromethane (DCM), also called methylene chloride or methylene dichloride, which effectively penetrates paint to remove it. In May 2006 the European Parliament decided that paint strippers with DCM are too dangerous for professionals and the general public. In decision 455/2009/EC passed on
6 May 2009 the European Parliament banned DCM paint strippers on a phased basis, with no supply to the market for the first time after 6 December 2010 and no supply generally after 6 December 2011. For the full text of the decision, see
I don't know in what respect it is so lethal if used with commonsense. I guess the latter may have been banned too. IIRC alkali *does* strip cellulose. I suspect this because the truck of a firm who used to deliver sacks of washing soda was almost devoid of paint where it had dribbled down in wet weather. That being the case, an easy home made stripper can be made by tossing a toilet roll into a 10% caustic solution. The resulting pulp can be spread on with a trowel
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