Trial Purpose:
To evaluate four paint removers using a manual removal of paint and varnish from painted wooden coupons.
Date Run:
07/15/2015Experiment Procedure:
Twelve pre-weighted wooden coupons were double coated with the supplied paint or varnish. Once dried, a second weight was recorded to determine the amount of paint added to the coupon. The cleaner was applied to each coupon with a brush and then cleaned using a 3 m Heavy Duty Scour Pad. Each coupon was scraped firmly ten times every five minutes for a 30-minute period. Then by visual and manual comparison efficiency were placed.
Trial Results:
| Cleaner | Dirty Weight | Clean Weight | % Removal |
| Nature Sol 100 | 0.1190 | -0.1509 | -1.27 |
| -0.1938 | -0.0209 | 0.11 | |
| 0.4473 | -0.0317 | -0.07 | |
| EP-921 | -0.0420 | -1.0986 | 26.16 |
| -0.1148 | -0.3655 | 3.18 | |
| 0.3454 | -0.2382 | -0.69 | |
| Bio-Solv | 0.2217 | 0.2840 | 1.28 |
| -0.0294 | 0.0095 | -0.32 | |
| 0.8010 | -0.4589 | -0.57 | |
| Soy Gold 1000 | 0.2684 | -2.8769 | -10.72 |
| 2.2256 | -2.2438 | -1.00 | |
| 0.8212 | -0.9771 | 1.19 |
Visual Ranking
| Cleaner | 5 min | 10 min | 15 min | 20 min | 25 min | 30 min |
| Nature Sol 100 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
| EP-921 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4.5 | 3 |
| Bio-Solv | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Soy Gold 1000 | 5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 2 |
Success Rating:
Preliminary compatibility tests on substrate coupons encouraging for at least one cleaning chemistry. More in-depth laboratory testing necessary.Conclusion:
Overall, Biosolve was the best paint stripper for removing all three paint contaminants. EP 921 would be another good option to look further into as a Methylene Chloride alternative on other types of paints. Future testing should include these two paint strippers.
