stripper comparison

[gutlo]

----------
> From: Greg Newell <gnewell@ameritech.net>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: stripper comparison
> Date: Sunday, December 31, 2000 2:21 AM
> 
> Arthur,
>     I am going to copy the post I made to both Pianotech and Master Piano
Tech.
> I hope you cna take this in the spirit with which it was written. If you
have
> any questions or comments I will giv you my full contact info. I don't
expect
> to recieve a quart of your product since my post is not terribly
flattering.
> None the less, here it is;
>     Greg newell
>     Greg's Piano Forté
>     12970 Harlon Ave.
>     Lakewood, Ohio 44107
>     216-226-3791
>     216-496-3522 (mobil)
>     Here then is the text of the message I sent to the above mentioned
lists.
> 
> O.K. folks for those of you who got the wrong idea from the subject
> line, your in the wrong forum. :~) Now, I must respond to the latest
> post from Arthur Grudko from Starhawk Labs. I'm not sure what exactly he
> is testing or how but I have what I think is much better than what the
> ones he is testing here. I must however admit that there is some vapor
> to contend with though not too bad.
>     I was somewhat skeptical when I read Mr. Grudko's post mainly
> because of the cost of a "good" stripper compound so I tried my own
> little test. I have for refinishing in my shop a customers 20's vintage
> A.B. Chase grand with an old varnish seemingly not too dissimilar to
> what Mr. Grudko describes. I just went to grab the music desk glide
> track and some of "my choice" chemical  and stripped it to bare wood in
> 5 , count them 5, minutes! Now I'm sure my testing wasn't nearly as
> scientific as the lauded Mr. Grudko but ..... 5 MINUTES!
>     Please do not misunderstand the nature of this post. I in no way
> intend to "dis" Mr. Grudko in any way. I mentioned the name of the
> product I found at Home Depot several weeks ago and I believe it must
> have went ignored. For those of you who may be interested the brand is
> Klean Strip and the product is called Klean Kutter Remover. It claims to
> work (and seems to) on varnish, lacquer and shellac on all types of
> wood. What I've seen it do is to literally dissolve the old finish in a
> very short time and leave a very clean surface. I've just used an old
> paint brush to continually apply the water like consistency chemical and
> let the chemical drip back into a basin and before long the finish is
> dripping off of the wood dissolved in the stripper.
>     I'm no rocket scientist as the saying goes, but I would rather spend
> a shorter amount of time at a much lower price than the alternative
> suggested by Mr. Grudko. The last project I did I stripped the entire
> lid of an average sized grand in about 20 minutes. Cool Stuff!!!
> 
> Greg Newell
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> gutlo wrote:
> 
> > > Date: Saturday, December 30, 2000 12:48 PM
> > >
> > > Arthur,
> > >
> > > You mentioned you would post the results of the comparisons you were
> > > going to make between different finish strippers.  If you posted them
to
> > > the list, I missed it. Have you finished your experiment?  Is the
> > > verdict in?
> > >
> > > John Voigt
> > >
> > > Yes, John and List, the verdict is in.
> >
> > I tested Woodfinisher's Pride, Savogran NMP-based stripper, Citristrip,
and
> > Dyna 2.
> >
> > The winner, by any measure, by a huge margin is Dyna 2.
> >
> > WP, Savogran, and Citripstrip are all gels.  They are prone to dripping
and
> > sagging on vertical surfaces, must be re-applied (sometimes 3 times) to
be
> > effective, and even then don't strip down to the bare wood.  They have
a
> > pronounced odor (especially Citristrip) and take around 1 hour for each
> > application to work.
> >
> > Dyna 2 is a heavy paste.  No matter how much you pile on, it will not
drip
> > or sag.  It has extremely low odor because its NMP penetrates down into
the
> > coating, not evaporating into the air.  It forms a skin as it works,
and
> > one hour later, it peels off like a banana skin, revealing the bare
wood.
> >
> > Its green color acts like an inidicator-when it starts to turn dark
brown,
> > it's time to test scrape with a spatula.
> >
> > These tests were performed on an 1876 Knabe with the original varnish
> > finish-very thick and very hard.
> >
> > The savings in labor and material with Dyna 2 are significant.  The
virtual
> > absence of odor is important, as most of us work in small shops where
> > ventilation in the cold weather can be a problem.
> >
> > Dyna 2 has been available in commercial quantities sold directly to big
> > industrial users.  The company has graciously allowed StarHawk Labs to
be a
> > sort of beta tester.  They have shipped me 6, 1/2 pint containers with
tech
> > data sheets to give to interested parties on the list.  If the feedback
is
> > good, StarHawk will become a distributor.
> >
> > Dyna 2 will cost $48/gallon.  Citristrip sells in New York for $21/half
> > gallon.  This makes Dyna 2 an incredible bargain, at only $6/gallon
more,
> > for far greater performance and efficiency.
> >
> > The first 6 respondents to this posting will received, free of charge,
the
> > half pint.  I only ask that you post your opinions, good or bad.  Email
> > your snailmail address.
> >
> > Arthur Grudko
> > StarHawk Labs, Manufacturer of PianoLac, the Waterborne That Works
> 
> --
> Greg Newell
> Greg's Piano Forté
> mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
> 
> Greg,

Quite the opposite-your post is most welcome, as it expresses the likely
objections of many potential customers.

You won't be getting a quart, but you will be receiving a 1/2 pint (as are
all the other respondents).  Use it as per instructions, and if you have
any concern for health and profitability, I'm sure you'll agree that Dyna 2
is the best thing to hit piano stripping since the invention of the spatula
(huh?).

Arthur Grudko