Topic

Not for my TF but for my old MGB GT project car. Whats the best type of paint stripper to use on cars that people have had experience of ? I've started with Clostermann's largely because people had warned me that modern Nitromirs isnt as strong as the old stuff and i should be prepared to spend a bit more per litre for a stronger paint stripper. However this stuff is not as good to use as I expected given the panel I'm stripping was replaced by the previous owner hence not too many layers of previous. I've used about half a litre on 1 front wing so far and it's hard going. Anyone used anything better than this stuff ?

I used Paramose Industrial paint stripper on my MGB and it removed the paint down to bare metal easily with the exception of the two front wings that had been replaced by the previous owner. I believe that new panels come with epoxy primer hence the difficulty in removing it. The reason that modern paint strippers don't strip paint is that the Methylene Chloride (the active ingredient in good paint strippers) has been removed from all DIY strippers. You will need to Google to find a supplier of industrial paint strippers and then sign a declaration that you are a skilled trade user before you will be able to purchase. The strange thing is that Methylene Chloride or Dichloromethane is readily available from Amazon in five litre drums or one litre bottles from most chemical suppliers. Before you do anything READ THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

I’ll be out in the garage after our evening meal & I’ll look at my tin, it came from my local auto paint specialists & it’d take the shell of a tortoise.
I’ll post back shortly.
M

Many years ago I used a paint stripper that was so strong it could lift weights!
I don’t remember the brand, I doubt you could get it anymore anyway.
This was seriously nasty stuff, it even removed filler.
You would open the container and green vapour would waft out the top………smelling strongly of chlorine, which itself self is nasty stuff ( chlorine gas nearly killed me in an industrial accident, but that’s another story)
This paint stripper was hazardous to use, if any got on the skin, what would happen is at first you’d feel nothing, than after a minute or so you’d feel a tingling, then you feel a strong burning.
You had to wash it off throughly with water.

I was stripping the paint of a Bertone Alfa GTV 2000, I had a dog “Cobber” whose name I borrowed for this Forum.
Anyway Cobber was a bit of a cocktail, his mother was a German Shepard / Bull Terrier cross and it is assumed his dear ‘ol dad was a Border Collie…. The result was a dog the size of A German Shepherd, the muscular build of a Bull Terrier and the markings of a Border Collie!
He was a very handsome dog, utterly fearless, headstrong, very loyal and a great character ( not necessarily the same thing as a dog of good character ) he’d never take a backward step and was an alpha male amongst alpha males. In short a force of nature!

So whist I’m stripping this car Cobber, gets into the workshop and I see him sitting with his very generous endowment of gentleman’s vegetables in a puddle of paint stripper, before I could do anything, he looks down to try and see what the tingling sensation is, before leaping up and running about in circles to try and see who’d set fire to his balls!
I had to rugby tackle the dog and hold him down to wash his doggy wedding tackle…… no easy task with such a powerful animal in great distress, it would have been easier if the mate who was helping me do the car, could do anything to help but he was incapacitated due to the fact that he was quite literally rolling about doubled over in laughter!

No real lasting harm was done to Cobber’s sporting equipment as he went on to fatherhood, there are a great many legendary stories about Cobber and even though it’s been 30 odd years since he graced us with his presence, he and his antics is still remembered by all the residents of the village who knew him.
RIP Cobber!

Sorry I forgot, I knew I had to look at something but couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was; it’s an age thing.
I’ll look tomorrow, you wouldn’t have run out & bought some this evening anyway, anyway I can tell you it’s on the top shelf, at the back, to the left hand side, on the shelf, behind the thinners & it’s in a red/yellow/black tin with white block script.
None of that helps you but I’ll see that in the morning & remember.
M

Yep that’s Methylene Chloride, here are some of the side effects from Wikipedia
Even though DCM is the least toxic of the simple chlorohydrocarbons, it has serious health risks. Its high volatility makes it an acute inhalation hazard.[28][29] It can also be absorbed through the skin.[1][30] Symptoms of acute overexposure to dichloromethane via inhalation include difficulty concentrating, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, headaches, numbness, weakness, and irritation of the upper respiratory tract and eyes. More severe consequences can include suffocation, loss of consciousness, coma, and death.[1][30]

Thanks. That sounds like the stuff to use. I will find a supplier.

Definitely something to only be used with appropriate ventilation, eye and hand protection. I'm ok with that and will handle with extreme care.

And keep the bloody dog away, unless you enjoy washing it’s balls!

It seems Ebay wont sell paint strippers with DCM - i wish this was made clear in their description. That Clostermann stuff at £ 24 a litre is only as strong as modern Nitromors. Frankly i dont think it should be described as suitable for stripping car panels as no one who does car bodywork for a living would use anything so weak. Ive used the best part of half a litre just on one front wing, it took a load of elbow grease and it's still not finished so it would be quite impractical to strip a whole car to bare metal with this.

On the other hand £ 50 delivered has just bought me 5 litres of Industrial grade Paramose with DCM from their UK distributor Ktec Products.
I had to confirm it will be used in a suitable workshop environment and not for general consumer purposes. I will definitely be keeping the dogs away too

In my last message I said that I'd check this morning, well it'd got until now to respond, sorry. My contribution to the debate is ''Langlow Strip Away Pro''. This concoction contains Dichloromethane, which is the 'dogs bollocks' so all the previous warnings to dog & man apply.
M

I boosted my Paramose by adding about 10% DCM, you can never have too much of a good thing. The USA has also banned DCM paint stripper for DIY use but there is "Aircraft Grade" stripper which apparently is easily obtained. How is the "B" going? I am currently working on the four link rear suspension, when I have to wait for parts I swop ends and go back to installing the engine and gearbox. I collected the bellhousing for the RX8 gearbox this afternoon so I can go on with that as well. I dropped the flywheel off for refacing and was delighted to find that I had a "lightweight" from a Mondeo ST200, six pounds lighter than standard.

Sorry Philip I replied 2 days ago but just noticed it isnt here so didnt post.

I am really impressed at the Jaguar & RX8 running gear conversion you are doing on your B,. Ive been guilty of being a bit overwhelmed with mine as failing to work out where to start resulted in it being left in favour of other things. To be fair Ive done quite a bit of work on the 2x TFs (one since sold) and my daily driver this year but its time to now re awaken the enthusiasm for the B. To make it less daunting Im tackling it in a series of jobs, beginning with the paintwork and the EPAS power steering conversion.
Those should keep me busy for a while and once done I will have a proper think if its worth using the SD1 V8 and LT77 gearbox just because they are sitting here or stick with the original B series running gear or look out for a different engine & gearbox to transplant.