Just a follow-up from me, as I started this thread here and have started similar threads in other places.
I had initially asked here <span style="text-decoration: underline;">what fellow antiques restorers have used to remove paint since this product became unavailable</span>. Thanks to several of you who replied with your answers.
The reason I removed the initial post is in response to replies on Facebook and elsewhere. My simple question degenerated into a political disagreement and mud-slinging fest. This is precisely what I did not want to happen. Even after removing my original post, I see that this discussion is edging towards the same path.
As with all chemicals, there are hazards associated with it. I too believe that people dying from an incident with a product is extremely bad and should be avoided; however one must weigh the options, to determine what is the best way to prevent it. What I must remind people is this. All of the MC-based paint removers have had dire warnings about the lethal potential of the vapors of the chemical. The issue is not that the product is too dangerous. It is that people were using it without proper knowledge of the hazards associated with it. I don't want to get into any arguments, but if the directions had been followed - these incidents would not have happened. People ignore directions for many reasons, ranging from "thinking they know better" to peer pressure, to the boss telling them to do it. It happens, and it will happen. My father and grandfather taught me at home, to be very careful with chemicals because "they can kill you." Home training is a good start, as well is the continuing education we receive at work about new products introduced into our workplace.
One serious issue in our society today is that ALL products with any hazard carry the "Most dire of dire" warnings. People use a can of brake cleaner, and see it says DANGER but they abuse it and breathe the fumes and get away with it. The can of paint stripper has no more serious of a warning, but the hazard is more severe. The constant bombardment with DIRE DANGER warnings on products with only moderate hazards has lead to a significant level of complacency. In the industrial world, the SDS sheets and hazard warning labels are a lot more detailed and are much more informative, but are above the head of average consumers.
There are several reasons that original MC paint stripper served an important purpose. The main reason was lead paint abatement. I can see that several commenters here have limited or no experience with this. The danger of lead paint is in creating forms which can be inhaled or ingested or absorbed. The safest form of lead paint is when it is in a solid form. The worst is when it is in a dust form.
Many of the antiques we work on are painted with lead-based paints which have been painted over with many layers of other paints. The years and heat have made it very difficult to break down the paint and remove it.
Every time you apply and remove paint remover, you are exposing yourself to the paint remover and to the lead paint which is coming off. Any product which requires additional interaction, such as applying Saran wrap, scrubbing with a brush, or multiple additional applications is exposing the user to lead and stripper at each step.
When these "new generation" strippers work, they work slowly and require more applications. The stripper and the removed paint never dries (or takes many days), leaving a lead paint gel, which is difficult to contain and prevent from spreading. When MC based stripper and removed paint is allwowed to dry, it returns to a solid, hard state which will not spread lead paint around.
Furthermore, MC based strippers work without intervention. You apply the product and then later, it easily brushes off. Each time you interact with it, there is a hazard. By being effective, you use less applications and spend less time actually interacting with the paint and stripper.
Some coatings are simply not removed by the next generation strippers. This leaves only one option - mechanical removal. This is where the severe lead paint dust hazard becomes an issue; or in the case of the pressure washer, containing and disposing of the lead based paint shreds and chips is a nightmare.
So, again my original post was aimed at finding an alternative which will not increase the lead paint hazard associated with our antiques restoration hobby - no more and no less.
