For the last few months, MIT Online Store has been offering a new line of eco-friendly chemical strippers by EnviroServe. The ban of methylene chloride chemical strippers is in full effect, and the questions are starting to roll in.

• What is the best?
• What is most comparable to Benco?
• What is the difference between the three types?
• The list of questions goes on and on!

Chemicals are nothing to joke around with even if they are considered eco-friendly, and that is why we decided to leave the testing procedure in the hands of the chemical professionals.

We stuck with what we know and that is powder coating! We powder coated three identical steel tubes with epoxy primer powder coating. We choose an epoxy coating because it provides excellent corrosion protection and chemical resistance. And what is better to test a chemical stripper with, our thoughts exactly!!

Now for the results, below is the lab report provided by David Jones from EnviroServe Chemicals, Inc. (An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company)

LAB REPORT:

Description: Three epoxy powder coated tubes were received to determine the speed of stripping of EnviroServe’s strippers on this chemical resistant paint.

Results: EnviroStrip 2352, EnviroStrip 2453, and EnviroStrip 2455 were prepared. Film thickness were measured on the tubes then immersed in the stripper solutions @ 75°F, 100% concentration.

      Average Paint                                                  Average Paint                                            Average Paint 

     Thickness = 2.8                                              Thickness = 2.6                                          Thickness = 3.3

Once stripped, the parts were rinsed with tap water

 EnviroStrip 2352 removed all the powder coating in 60 minutes at 75°F.

 EnviroStrip 2453 removed all the powder coating in 5 minutes at 75°F.

 EnviroStrip 2455 removed all the powder coating in 120 minutes at 75°F.

Remember, these tests were done with the solutions being ambient (room temperature 75°F). For best results, EnviroServe recommends heating the solutions up to the appropriate temperatures (120°-160°F) depending on which specific chemical stripper you purchased.

As you can see from the report, all of the strippers can do the job! The only deciding factors are how much time and money do you want to spend on your project?