eating metal

[JFife 14]

Okay, we all know Naoh strippers will eat metal.........I bought some Drano last night for my shower (yeah, so I'm losing some hair:)) and I was looking at the active ingredients in it. I knew the main ingredient was Naoh, but it also has bleach in it. But the thing I found interesting was that it listed Sodium Silicate in the ingredients, and said it was a 'corrosion inhibitor.' Sure enough, I poured it over the drain and left it, and the stopper looks fine. I plan on putting some Drano on an oilbase stain and seeing if it will lift it, and if it will, I'm going to then brush it on some metal threshholds and see what happens. If this works, then I'd think a stripper manufacturer (bob/russ) would be able to lessen the destructiveness of a Naoh stripper. Thoughts?? I'll report my results.

[James 625]

It,s quicker to get a coat hanger-- but I think you have a new hobby- BoBing for HAIRLOST - This is not a winning ticket !!!!!!

[Russell Cissell 65]

Jon

Yikes!

Sodium silicate is nothing you want near wood. It is just another type of "salt" however when it breaks down the silicate will stay in the wood and will not rinse away. This is a bad bad thing. It would lead to a very splotchy finish application.

There is a company out there that claims to be petrifying wood using a similar (old) technology. The trouble is, once it is in the wood, you cannot get it back out by conventional methods. This is why you may see 25 year guarantees associated with this type of product. It is rather permanent.

Trouble is most customers like wood that "looks good" one you've introduced silicates you are going to have issues with penetration and evenness. While the silicates will last and last, the color will not and you will still have to do maintenance if you want to wood to "look" good. But how do you maintain something that will not longer evenly absorb material?

Some types of tooth paste have Naoh in them. This does not mean you should brush your teeth with HD-80 even though it is a lot less expensive than tooth paste. Chemical formulation is not always as simple as some think. I bet Drano would strip most stains. Heck, we make a vent hood cleaner that will strip faster than HD-80 but it is not designed to be gentle on wood.

Keep in mind just because you go out and buy what is listed on a label or a MSDS does not mean you are going to end up with the same thing.

So while other products may strip great, they also deplete more of what is in the wood and cost you $$ in extra stain in the long run.

Your idea is awesome. If we could make a stripper that would not harm the metal that would be ideal. Oh yeah, there is EFC-38! It may not strip every finish, but it will strip most oils and it will not harm the metal.

I do not want to ever discourage you from sending more ideas! Ideas are what lead to innovation and progress!

[Russell Cissell 65]

oops, I did that salesman thing again!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Heck, we make a vent hood cleaner that will strip faster than HD-80 but it is not designed to be gentle on wood.

Can you explain this a bit more? Inquiring minds....

Beth

[Russell Cissell 65]

Well, you know how I am always talking about wood restoration as a system? Each step is part of that system. When you have to remove a finish that is one step in the restoration process.

It is possible to speed that step up. One of the products we make is a vent hood cleaner, it is pretty hot and has some tooth to it. It is made to cut through nasty build ups of cooked on grease.

It would strip finishes faster than HD-80 but it would do more harm to the wood. Many people think Sodium Hydroxide is what makes a good stripper. You also have to look at what your stripper is doing to the wood itself (system).

HD-80 was designed to do minimal damage to the oils and sugars in the wood. This makes the overall system more profitable for the restoration contractor. You do not want to speed things up a little if you are in turn costing yourself extra $$ in stain and working against your purpose of "preservation."

Leaving the natural oils in the wood is the best thing you can do to "preserve it" at this point. If you could leave the wood attached to it's roots and covered in it's own bark that would be ideal!

There may not be much difference between two products but sometimes the differences are VERY important.