Regular readers may recall the Promain Blog: A Blistering Issue, which proved a popular guest appearance from Chris Langham of Teamac.
We are delighted to have received the following guest post, from Mike Keep of Magic Bullet Products, into our inbox.
Thank you Mike and over to you:
Not long ago, we all understood paint stripping.
You applied the smelly chemical – if you got a splash on your hands, it stung – and the surface bubbled and fizzed. When the reaction stopped, you scraped off the residues and repeated the process until the substrate was clean.
The Banning of DCM for Paint Stripping
That smelly chemical, variously known as methylene chloride, dichloromethane (DCM), was banned within Europe for paint stripping purposes in 2010. A variety of replacement products have been launched since then. None of these work the same, and many believe they do not work as well.
The banning of DCM opened the door to the first waterborne stripper, Enviromose. This is effective but slower and requires patience from the user while the product does its work. There are other waterborne alternatives which vary in effectiveness. However, all are less effective at lower temperatures and require forward planning by the user.
Replacement Strippers
Solvent-borne replacement strippers were introduced. However they all struggled to achieve the levels of performance produced by DCM. All were quite flammable (in some cases extremely so), and a number posed a genuine risk of explosion.
Sparks from tradesmen’s tools were reportedly triggering fires. The relative ineffectiveness and poor value for money of these replacement paint strippers caused many tradesmen to revert to heat guns for paint removal, in frustration and disappointment at the chemical alternatives.
However, British research and development has saved the day!
Introducing Speedy Strip For Paint Stripping
SPEEDY STRIP from Magic Bullet is a unique, solvented paint stripper which gives the sort of all-round performance that has not been available to the trade since the regulations changed in 2010.
Speedy Strip gives a satisfying initial blister and continues to work for a half an hour or more, removing several layers of paint, varnish or even polyurethane.
As it is a ‘proper’ solvented, trade, paint stripper, Speedy Strip is ‘gelled’ for easier use on vertical surfaces. It is effective on wood, metal and plaster. Speedy Strip is also effective as a bare surface graffiti remover from brickwork, blockwork and pebbledash.
The product harks back to the golden days of paint stripping, in the fact that it is fully water washable.
Field Trials
During field trials, Speedy Strip was supplied to a number of projects. Particularly where the client could not achieve satisfactory results by using products from their usual supplier.
Station refurbishment projects are frequently a problem due to the multiple layers of old alkyds frequently found and a major modernisation project in Penrith proved an ideal testing ground.
Success!
Nottingham City Homes called on Promain’s advice for a particularly stubborn old coating. This was in the communal areas of a low rise block of flats, dating back to the sixties.
External decorative columns at the Bank of America, in London, were causing the contractor problems until he tried Speedy Strip.
Speedy Strip was a success where everything else failed. Rapidly achieving a perfectly prepared substrate for each project.
The attached photos illustrate recent successes.
A traditional hall and staircase offered a range of challenges: paints, varnishes, lacquers and stains but Speedy Strip proved itself to be up to the job. Giving the team at Promain itchy fingers to start recommending regenerating products to re-apply and really breath new life into the wood.
