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Old 6th Dec 2019, 3:04 pm   #1
Nanozeugma
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Default Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Hi,
Could I invite opinion / experience as to the suitability of modern (non Methylene Chloride) paint stripper to safely remove aged paint from a Bakelite radio cabinet please?
TIA.
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Old 6th Dec 2019, 4:36 pm   #2
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

I've not had any problems.
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Old 6th Dec 2019, 6:15 pm   #3
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

I recently tried to use 'modern' Nitromors on the painted bakelite front of an HMV 1365, and after nearly 24 hours wrapped in aluminium foil (the bakelite, not me!) all I had was clean paint, untouched by the so-called paint stripper. The bakelite was unaffected. Another product which has been improved to the point of uselessness.
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Old 6th Dec 2019, 7:26 pm   #4
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

What sort of paint is it?
 
Old 6th Dec 2019, 11:13 pm   #5
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

I use automotive paint stripper designed for plastic bumpers.
Removes all the paint I have had to remove and doesnt touch the bakelite.
It even strips in tiny corners without problems.
It is expensive though!! about $50 Au for a spray can.

Joe
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Old 7th Dec 2019, 1:08 am   #6
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Meths will soften emulsion paint, allowing it to be wiped off with a rag.
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Old 7th Dec 2019, 1:44 am   #7
M0TGX Terry
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

I don't know what sort of paint it was on the HMV. Some sort of enamel maybe? I know it was VERY hard and I had to resort to using a Stanley Knife blade as a scraper, followed by literally hours of polishing to remove the resulting scratches. As it happened, the newly exposed bakelite had a quite pronounced 'tortoiseshell' finish which the set's owner preferred to the original paint. It's a fiddly design of overlapping circles, so lots of tight angles to clean out.
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Old 7th Dec 2019, 12:16 pm   #8
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

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Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell View Post
What sort of paint is it?
Nothing special, the cabinet is one of these...
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O...o-thwaites-af/
Regards.
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Old 7th Dec 2019, 4:13 pm   #9
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

I can not remember which Bakelite set it was but the original factory applied paint was in very poor condition flaking. A quick soak in warm soapy removed all the paint easily. It all depends which paint was used, and the type of Bakelite, some may absorb the water especially if soaked for a long time.


John.
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Old 8th Dec 2019, 2:00 am   #10
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Perhaps I should have added, Normally bakelite wasnt painted in Australia, but supplied in brown, brown or brown. Somebody had painted the bakelite that I restored with what I imagine was house enamel, oil based. I did stick to the bakelite like the proverbial, and it took a bit of fiddling around to find the paint stripper for plastic bumpers.
It was a panel beater/ spray painter to give me the heads up on the product.

Joe
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Old 8th Dec 2019, 3:05 am   #11
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Some years ago I picked up a black Bakelite telephone at the local Car Boot that had been sprayed with silver aerosol paint. I removed it with Nitromors paint stripper and it didn't harm the Bakelite in anyway.
The Bakelite finish was found to be in remarkably good condition, I think the silver paint had actually preserved it from UV light damage over the years.
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Old 8th Dec 2019, 10:52 am   #12
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

For paint stripping anything now I tend to use citri-strip. The reason is it does not attack underlying surfaces, bakelite, metal, wood etc and is easily washed off in water.

It is not particularly aggressive and you can even get it on your hands without too much worry if you bother to wash it off before 5 or 10 minutes elapses.

Some other paint strippers are hostile to skin & plastics and not wonderful for wood either.
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Old 8th Dec 2019, 6:44 pm   #13
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

I successfully removed multiple layers of paint from a sectric clock by leaving it soaking for an hour or two in very hot water and detergent, you need to keep changing the water to keep it hot. The paint could then be peeled off with a little effort. Not my idea, it came from youtube, but worked a treat for me.
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Old 8th Dec 2019, 7:12 pm   #14
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Quote:
Originally Posted by joebog1 View Post
I use automotive paint stripper designed for plastic bumpers.
Removes all the paint I have had to remove and doesnt touch the bakelite.
It even strips in tiny corners without problems.
It is expensive though!! about $50 Au for a spray can.

Joe
Do you have a brand/makers name please?
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Old 8th Dec 2019, 7:44 pm   #15
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

I once acquired a Bush TV22 that had been painted white to er, modernise it I guess. The paint simply flaked off with little more than a finger nail. Now, I'm not saying that every overpainted bakelite item will give up its paint so easily by this method but I'm pretty sure that in general paint doesn't get too much of a hold on bakelite. Various methods will remove it as described above.
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Old 9th Dec 2019, 1:20 am   #16
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

http://www.bodylineimports.com.au/Bu...stic-510G.html

Have a look there Steve.
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Old 9th Dec 2019, 12:31 pm   #17
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Quote:
Originally Posted by joebog1 View Post
Ah yes, I have been aware of Aircraft (brand) paint remover for some years but never been able to find a UK supplier, and importing it from the US is just too expensive. You have to log in to get a price from that linked site/company, has anyone done this?

Given its potency, I'm surprised that it hasn't been 'stamped on' by our standards/safety people as they have on UK products? In many of the write ups I've read in the past it is one of the only substances that will remove the thick, hard lacquer from cheap, Chinese and Korean made electric guitars and even two part epoxies. Even old style Nitromors won't touch that stuff. Maybe the importer is winging it?
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Old 9th Dec 2019, 3:03 pm   #18
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

It's most likely dichloromethane based, which - within the EU - can only lawfully be used by professionals who have been trained and who use it in controlled conditions - not in a domestic setting, and that's been the case for some 20 years now. (I think since 1997, but stand to be corrected).

For those who are so minded, DCM based strippers such as Langlow's 'Stripaway Pro' and similar brands of DCM strippers can readily be bought on line if you know where to look. EG, a 5L can of 'Stripaway Pro' can be bought from a supplier in Belfast for £49.95 including carriage to UK mainland addresses, but for obvious reasons, I'm not going to post the link.

For the avoidance of doubt, I don't think that this is 'health and safety gone mad' because once supplied to the general public, the conditions of use can't be controlled and hence, not just the possibility, but the probability, exists of dangerous misuse - for example, stripping varnish off a bedroom floor with no personal protective equipment being used. Or come to that, a piece of furniture or radio cabinet in a garden shed.

It's rather a shame that though there is a plethora of strippers on the market which make what seem to be exaggerated claims of effectiveness, nothing seems to work quite as well as DCM based strippers, which seem to strips anything and everything in their path. We've been here before in lengthy, but inconclusive threads.
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Old 9th Dec 2019, 3:20 pm   #19
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Quote:
Originally Posted by David G4EBT View Post
It's most likely dichloromethane based, which - within the EU - can only lawfully be used by professionals who have been trained and who use it in controlled conditions - not in a domestic setting, and that's been the case for some 20 years now. (I think since 1997, but stand to be corrected).
I wonder what "professionals who have been trained and who use it in controlled conditions" actually means in this context? In my day-job before I retired, I worked in a chemical research lab and could access dichloromethane and many other "dangerous" chemicals. I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry. Am I qualified to use dichloromethane-based paint stripper?

Colin.
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Old 9th Dec 2019, 4:57 pm   #20
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Default Re: Painted Bakelite and paint stripper...

Quote:
Originally Posted by ColinTheAmpMan1 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by David G4EBT View Post
It's most likely dichloromethane based, which - within the EU - can only lawfully be used by professionals who have been trained and who use it in controlled conditions - not in a domestic setting, and that's been the case for some 20 years now. (I think since 1997, but stand to be corrected).
I wonder what "professionals who have been trained and who use it in controlled conditions" actually means in this context? In my day-job before I retired, I worked in a chemical research lab and could access dichloromethane and many other "dangerous" chemicals. I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry. Am I qualified to use dichloromethane-based paint stripper?

Colin.
I think it's basically a case of such 'professional products' only being available through so called professional outlets. Of course with the internet and forums, non-professional people get to know about these products and with little more effort than showing their willingness to splash their cash, are able to buy them. For example, if you yourself Colin were to speak eloquently and knowledgeable to them, explaining your own experience as you have here, then I would bet you'd get a sale no problem. As you allude to, that's a bit of a hit and miss process, but I reckon that's the way it is. Otherwise, is each and every professional buyer required to show some kind of credentials regarding their ability to use pro paint stripper? It's doubtful. So no, it's basically a case of pro products being available through pro suppliers, and amateur stuff being available in the 'sheds'. And given the 'correct' approach, almost anyone can step up to pro products level if you talk the talk, or maybe not even, just talk money..
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