Does Super Clean Wear Out, or Weaken?

[Snake45]

My experience with the purple pond has been that a 24 hour bath will either remove 90%+ of paint, or it won't remove it at all.  Last few days I've tried to strip three new glue bomb bodies with mixed results. 

1. A gray primer almost exactly the same color as the plastic underneath. Purple Pond took off maybe 30% of it after 24 hours. 

2. A lime gold and burgundy two-tone. Purple pond took off the burgundy quite nicely, SOME but VERY LITTLE removal of the lime gold after 24 hours. (AMT lacquer, possibly? If so, that should come off in iso alcohol).

3. Some kind of metallic blue. 24 hours in purple pond removed only small, random patches of it, revealing gray primer underneath. After another 24 hours, maybe 30% of the blue is off, and about the same amount of underlying primer. Another 24-48 hours in the pond might very well get it all. 

My tub of Super Clean is about a year old, and has stripped a dozen bodies or so. Could it be getting weaker? Also, does temperature play a part? The pond is in the garage, which is currently a bit colder than "room temperature," maybe somewhere in the 40s. Would it work better if I brought it in the house? 

[bbowser]

In my experience it does weaken after a while.  I think temp plays a role as well, warmer = quicker.  I've never kept the same batch for more than a couple-three bodies.  Like you say, it either works right off or not at all.

[64SS350]

Yes, most definitely. I believe the paint mixing with the solution weakens/pollutes it.

[Oldcarfan27]

I think the type of paint and prior body prep has something to do with it as well. If the plastic was never cleaned of mould release before painting, then paint will come off easier. 

I've had old spray painted bodies with no prep or primer clean off most if not all of the paint.

However old brush painted parts barely get moved.

I've cleaned Lacquer/primer jobs, where the paint comes off in big chunks with a firm toothbrush, Scotchbrite or popsicle stick. And the crevices will curl and peel away after washing and air drying.

I also use different methods to remove different paints. I generally try Purple Power for enamels or acrylics, fresh brake fluid for Lacquer. Easy off or drain openers for tough paints. Rubbing alcohol  or glass cleaners for Gloss Cotes or water-based paints.

NEVER USE BRAKE FLUID ON RESIN PARTS!!! Use Easy Off for that.

[Deuces ll]

Maybe an ultrasonic parts tank filled with Castrol Super Clean might work to speed up the process.... Some come with temp settings....

[Snake45]

Many thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I appreciate it! 

On 1/9/2021 at 11:12 AM, Snake45 said:

2. A lime gold and burgundy two-tone. Purple pond took off the burgundy quite nicely, SOME but VERY LITTLE removal of the lime gold after 24 hours. (AMT lacquer, possibly? If so, that should come off in iso alcohol).

3. Some kind of metallic blue. 24 hours in purple pond removed only small, random patches of it, revealing gray primer underneath. After another 24 hours, maybe 30% of the blue is off, and about the same amount of underlying primer. Another 24-48 hours in the pond might very well get it all. 

Update: 

2. After 48 hours, about half the lime gold is gone, revealing a third color underneath (a light blue or turquoise), and some of that is gone, too, exposing bare white plastic. I think maybe another 24-48 hours will take care of it.

3. After 72 hours, about 90-95% of the blue metallic paint is gone, along with the gray primer underneath it. I expect another 24 hours will get the last of it. 

So it looks like there is some "life" in this tub of SC after all. I wonder if a long squirt of Easy-Off oven cleaner in the tub would rejuvenate or perk it up any? (Both SC and EO are based on lye.) 

[Mark]

It probably picks up some moisture/condensation over time too.  Between that and the contamination from paint already removed, you can't expect it to last forever.  

[Bullybeef]

I’ve stripped about a dozen rebuilders in the same batch of super clean over the past month, some were rapid, some had to “bake” a little longer, I keep it in a sealed tub under the kitchen sink, so it’s always the same temperature.

one thing I have done is to strain it with cheap coffee filters, over one of those cheapo fine mesh strainers from the dolla store, mostly so that I can find the parts easier of find the small

ones that I may have missed.

I do have a smaller container that I use for smaller parts like engines and the like.

the rubber seals help keep the odour down and so far the wifey has not complained ??

[Snake45]

23 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Many thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I appreciate it! 

Update: 

2. After 48 hours, about half the lime gold is gone, revealing a third color underneath (a light blue or turquoise), and some of that is gone, too, exposing bare white plastic. I think maybe another 24-48 hours will take care of it.

3. After 72 hours, about 90-95% of the blue metallic paint is gone, along with the gray primer underneath it. I expect another 24 hours will get the last of it. 

So it looks like there is some "life" in this tub of SC after all. I wonder if a long squirt of Easy-Off oven cleaner in the tub would rejuvenate or perk it up any? (Both SC and EO are based on lye.) 

Update: 

2. After 72 hours, all the lime gold is gone, and about 40-50% of the underlying blue is also gone. Another 24 hours or so should take that off. 

3. After 96 hours, 99% of the blue metallic and its underlying primer are gone, leaving just a few spots in tight spots to be scraped or sanded out, which shouldn't be a problem. 

I've put #1 back in the pond for its second 24 hours to remove its gray primer. 

[thatz4u]

Snake, I have "recharged " my purple pond by adding a little LA Awesome cleaner, it worked on some of the more difficult paint removals....my $.02

[Snake45]

Interesting, thanks! 

[hedotwo]

On 1/10/2021 at 3:44 AM, Deuces ll said:

Maybe an ultrasonic parts tank filled with Castrol Super Clean might work to speed up the process.... Some come with temp settings....

I've learned to be careful when using my ultrasonic to remove stubborn paint from bodies.  The majority of "bubbles" seem most intense in the middle of the tank, which makes positioning important.  If you leave the body upside down, with the roof, hood or trunk in the middle facing down, for too many timer cycles it appears to start attacking the surface of the plastic.  Maybe it was the plastic of the bodies I was removing the paint from, but I've seen it on more than a couple.  When I do use the ultrasonic now I check the plastic thoroughly after each timer cycle. 

Your mileage may vary.

Rich

[Reegs]

I have a jug of the stuff that's Lord knows how many years old.

It ain't purple no more.

Did the job the last time I used it though, sometime last year. Don't remember if it was enamel or lacquer I removed.

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Reegs

[espo]

I have had some of the same problems as others with older batches of Super Clean, but only when I hadn't changed it for a time. What I was doing was strip a couple of bodies and leave the Super Clean in the Tupperware container between uses. What I found was that the removed paint residue would build up on the bottom of the container I was using and  the fluids effectiveness  would diminish. I started running the fluid thru a small hand held strainer as I returned the Super Clean to it's container. The debris that was left behind was then thrown out. My belief is that the old Super Clean combined with what was in the original container and kept sealed seemed to end the problem for me. I have a container of Super Clean that I have been reusing in this way for at least four years or more. I don't know if that is considered a good life time, but I'm pleased with it for my use.     

[Skip]

On 1/10/2021 at 1:44 AM, Deuces ll said:

Maybe an ultrasonic parts tank filled with Castrol Super Clean might work to speed up the process.... Some come with temp settings....

Bingo!  I have had excellent results using my Ultrasonic Cleaner and Castrol Super Clean.  Temp is adjustable on mine so I adjust to just barely warm then dunk the body or parts into the Purple Pond, switch on the ultrasonic and allow it to work.   My experience is with a fresh batch of Super Clean that you will have a stripped body in about half the time for really nasty paints.  For enamels, lacquers and acrylic lacquers that have been sprayed in a reasonable coating thickness, primer + topcoat,  I’ve had the paint dissolved off the body in as little as two hours.  Average time I’d say would be 4 - 6 +/- hours.  So yes the ultrasonic agitation does help the Super Clean do it’s work.  This is also at the low to mid-range settings on the ultrasonic agitation.  

I am sort of leery of cranking the ultrasonic agitation up to the highest settings after watching a video where they placed a piece of jewelry in a aluminum foil packet and cranked the power up to max.  The ultrasonic cavitation on the foil ate through the foil and exposed the piece in the foil.  The foil was eaten from outside in, demonstrating the ability cavitation to destroy a surface exposed to excessive amounts of cavitation; acts like tiny hammers picking away at the surface.  This backs up what I remember from college classes in Mechanical Engineering regarding erosive cavitation damage leading to the failure of metal surfaces.  I would expect to see similar erosive damage to a styrene surface with excessive amounts of ultrasonic cavitation.  Guess you would have to experiment with spruce or a scrap body to see what it will take to turn the body to scrap.  Come to think of it if it worked might be a great way to weather styrene in a more natural way...

Edited January 17, 2021 by Skip

[Snake45]

Update: 

#2: After 7 days in the pond, all the paint--burgundy, lime gold, and turquoise--is gone. Down to bare plastic. 

I've had a fourth body in for about 4 days now, about 70% of that paint is gone. It'll all come off eventually, I believe. 

[Bills72sj]

My 1st batch of Super clean lasted at least 5 years and did about a dozen bodies. I kept it in a sealed plastic 5 qt ice cream container. The handle was handy. I once left a body in it for 5 months. No harm whatsoever. I also concur with straining it from time to time to extend its life. Warmth does help. It is a chemical reaction after all. I recently had one paint job fight back. 2 weeks in Super clean, nothing. A week in fresh brake fluid loosened it. Another few days in Super Clean and it was back to bare plastic. An old toothbrush really helps scrubbing in the rinse off proceedure. If I was impatient, I would consider an ultrasonic cleaner.

[1930fordpickup]

I have done what David (ESPO) has aid. Filter out the paint chunk's and poured it back in the bucket. Same stuff for 3 or 4 years now. I have stripped more than a few glue bombs and a lot of parts in the bucket. 

There is Purple Power and super clean along with Zep brand degreaser in the bucket. It is a 3 gallon bucket with a Gama Seal on it.  It is a screw on lid with an o-ring seal on it. (I picked up the Lid at Meijer but they also are sold from Duluth Trading)

Snake the fastest a body ever stripped for me was about 3 hours in the bucket. That was a warm day 90 degrees plus that day and I did not have an air conditioning at the time.  When I want to strip something I bring the bucket out of the basement for a couple of days to warm it up. 

[Deuces ll]

4 hours ago, Skip said:

Bingo!  I have had excellent results using my Ultrasonic Cleaner and Castrol Super Clean.  Temp is adjustable on mine so I adjust to just barely warm then dunk the body or parts into the Purple Pond, switch on the ultrasonic and allow it to work.   My experience is with a fresh batch of Super Clean that you will have a stripped body in about half the time for really nasty paints.  For enamels, lacquers and acrylic lacquers that have been sprayed in a reasonable coating thickness, primer + topcoat,  I’ve had the paint dissolved off the body in as little as two hours.  Average time I’d say would be 4 - 6 +/- hours.  So yes the ultrasonic agitation does help the Super Clean do it’s work.  This is also at the low to mid-range settings on the ultrasonic agitation.  

I am sort of leery of cranking the ultrasonic agitation up to the highest settings after watching a video where they placed a piece of jewelry in a aluminum foil packet and cranked the power up to max.  The ultrasonic cavitation on the foil ate through the foil and exposed the piece in the foil.  The foil was eaten from outside in, demonstrating the ability cavitation to destroy a surface exposed to excessive amounts of cavitation; acts like tiny hammers picking away at the surface.  This backs up what I remember from college classes in Mechanical Engineering regarding erosive cavitation damage leading to the failure of metal surfaces.  I would expect to see similar erosive damage to a styrene surface with excessive amounts of ultrasonic cavitation.  Guess you would have to experiment with spruce or a scrap body to see what it will take to turn the body to scrap.  Come to think of it if it worked might be a great way to weather styrene in a more natural way...

??