Im in the process of stripping my FS frame using green nitromors and its not going very well. I was expecting the paint to really bubble up and fall off when brushing. It doesnt. Small bits bubble up but most of it stays the same. I have removed about 50% of the paint from the stays but the rest isnt budging. I'm not using a paintbrush with real bristles is that where I'm going wrong? I'm beginning to get a bit fed up with it.
Not leaving it on long enough?
They've really watered down Nitromors recently, it used to do as you say, make the paint bubble and peel but it's also horrendously toxic/carcinogenic (basically a mix of dichloromethane and methanol) so now it's a lot weaker than it used to be or it comes as a sort of gel-like liquid - less likely to get splashed everywhere and fewer fumes but also less effective.
Leave it on longer or give it a bit of a scrub with some wire wool or a scouring pad. And wear thick gloves when using it!
ime i've always found it cheaper and hell of a lot easier to pay someone else to do it.
You have to put it on nice & thick. It will come off, but might well need to be softened by a couple of applications. But think thick, & do small areas at a time. I stripped a ht frame a year or so back, laid out a bin-liner on the floor & ket popping out every 30 mins or so to re-apply. Took about 2-days. Failing that, chemically stripping is a lot easier. I was just being tight. 🙂
I was leaving it on for how long the tin suggests but Im thinking about leaving it for an hour and seeing how it goes. A green scratch pad works a bit I have some brillo pads I might give one of them a try.
Kuco its definitely easier to pay somebody but it would cost a lot more. This way I can work around the bearings and hopefully not have to replace them.
I am just finishing off an Orange 5.
I think it depends completely on the quality of the paint job. There are loads of fellas who will say they put it on and all the paint basically flaked off in half an hour. They probably rode commencals.
The Orange 5 paint job i have to say is a very tough hard wearing one. Its been a complete ball ache to get done. You will need a wire brush and a healthy quantity of steel wool.
I am also in the process of stripping the lowers of a set of old rockshox revelations and that seems even worse. There is no paint bubble or lift at all. I am basically gonna have to rub it down with steel wool by elbow grease
I think the fella a few posts up has it right though, nitromorse is definitely weaker now. I remember years back spilling a drop on my dads ride on lawn mowers bonnet and seeing the paint lift up off it before my very eyes. Balls!
It doesn't help you much, but I did an Ellsworth Joker a few years ago and it was a proper pain - took about 3 days solid and hours of picking off little bits of paint in the crevices. I will never do that again!
All I can suggest is leave it on for ages and be patient!
Are you doing this outside in the cold?
I've done this on two frames. In the cold- when the frame was stored in the back garden- it didn't work at all. Frame needs to be warmer IMO.
I agree with Barry.
I've stripped three frames. The first was a case of put it on, paint falls off. The other two have been more of a ball ache.
The best technique I found was apply very thick (dabbing the brushes contents in one small area and leave for 20 minutes. Check after 10 minutes and see if the thick layer has slid off or been absorbed. In both cases, but more onto the same area.
Hora good point about the cold. Should have thought about heat as a catalyst. I might warm up the stays in the oven before putting the nitromors on. If that works god knows how I will warm up the front triangle!
I am definitely going top slap loads on tonight and leave it a couple of hours with regular checks on progress. See how 2 hours does the job rather than 20 mins like the tin suggests.
Kuco its definitely easier to pay somebody but it would cost a lot more. This way I can work around the bearings and hopefully not have to replace them
Really?? Last time I stripped a frame I picked a place out the yellow pages close to work, dropped it off on the way in, picked it up on the way back - £10 cash, and a really good job to boot. Gotta be worth phoning around, Shirley??
Plus £25 for some bearings.
I_ache- I've got a bet on- how long ago did you sell me those 36 floats! 🙂
did you have a steel or aluminum frame stripped?
anyone know how caustic soda and aluminum react?
Hora is this something about the longest you have owned a pair of forks?
I go an email from you on 07/05/10 saying you had received them.
@pastcaring - it was aluminium. Chemically dipped - no idea what, told the guy what it was and he said no problem.... and it was indeed no problem.
thanks bb
the key I find with nitromors is washing off between applications. The active ingredient is neutralised by water so I follow a sequence of applying with a brush - leave to bubble - scrap with an old credit card ~(that will melt eventually) - wash with lots of water and then dry. Then re-apply and so on. If you get to a stubborn primer - eg etch primer on alloy wheels then I use wire wool with the nitromors.
I did hear it was getting banned so maybe they have altered it now.
Oh and I always wear 2 pairs of gloves - nice thick marigolds as it hurts.
There is a more friendly paint stripper around. Toolstation sell it and it was developed by a University spin out company and is supposed to be good but not tried it myself.
Mmmm. Neither Methanol nor DCE are affected by being mixed with water at room temperature. You may be confusing dilution with 'neutralisation'.
The methanol won't stick around very long due to its volatility, and although DCE is volatile enough for us to detect it, mostly it'll hang around.