Strongest Solvent

David Fermani

David Fermani

Forza Auto Salon
What are some of your experiences with strong solvents? The strongest stuff I've used is virgin laquer thinner. I'm looking for something that can remove heavy overspray from paint instead of clay, sandpaper, buffing or eraser pads.
 
I wish we had a list of different solvents describing what they can remove like concrete, road paint, latex, urethane, epoxy, etc...
 
acetone removed superglue that was dried on black ford paint. Don't ask me how it got there lol. It didnt seem to damage the paint either, of course I resealed/waxed it.
 
I have done a little research on lacquer thinner in the past. It is made up differently from company to company. Usually it contains from 4 to 7 ingrediants in different ratios. Some of the common ones are Toluene, Methanol, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol, Heptane, Acetone, and the list can go on. It is a very strong solvent.



David, true it would be nice to have a list of solvents different cleaning abilities.



Personally i have 6 solvents that i use.

Varsol=mineral spirits for tar removal and general degreasing.

A carpet safe solvent for oil and tar etc, different from company to company.

Wax silicone remover, like Prepsol.

Lacquer Thinner for touch up paint removal and maybe fresh overspray.

Methyl Hydrate=Methanol for tree sap removal.

Isopropyl sometimes for wax on trim removal.



I have used Malco's Terminator? i think thats the name, as a carpet and paint cleaner, worked very well. Dryed tar would wipe right off, though it soften paint pretty quickly. Active ingrediant was Xylene, which is becoming known as toxic. I don't use it anymore.

It might be in some lacquer thinners also.
 
The strongest product I own is a can of enamel reducer. This stuff cuts through grease and paint transfers better than anything I've ever used. I've had people come to me after scraping the side of their car while backing out of their garage with much paint transfer on the fenders and doors. I can usually remove it all in under 10 seconds with enamel reducer and a cloth.
 
Lacquer thinner is the strongest stuff I've ever tried. When I removed ten year old vilnyl graphics from my racecar, lacquer thinner was the only stuff that would touch the adhesive. Clay did not do the job, nor did the Mr Clean pads (which scuff like crazy). Keeps my paint guns clean too. I think the next step stronger is paint remover or sandpaper!



I have never tried enamel reducer as a solvent.
 
I used some crazy chems, but the strongest I've used on cars, or at least the strongest smelling is: KAR-PREP by KARDOL. I used this to wipe down before polishing, leaves surface ultra clean.
 
I use a couple different body solvents and tar removers, the strongest one I have I just purchased last week and while giving some stubborn bug guts a quick wipe on the side mirrors, I proceeded to remove all of the gloss from the mirror and spent 2 hours masking and painting them. A little to strong for normal usage, but I did a minivan this morning with some heavy tar sling up the rear 1/4s and a wipe with the solvent followed by some APC made easy work of what could have been a chore. It is called Solve-all by ProKem.
 
imageautodetail said:
I use a couple different body solvents and tar removers, the strongest one I have I just purchased last week and while giving some stubborn bug guts a quick wipe on the side mirrors, I proceeded to remove all of the gloss from the mirror and spent 2 hours masking and painting them. A little to strong for normal usage, but I did a minivan this morning with some heavy tar sling up the rear 1/4s and a wipe with the solvent followed by some APC made easy work of what could have been a chore. It is called Solve-all by ProKem.
Click to expand...



It also does a great job on wheel weight residue, I see alot of Bimmers with the weights off the outside of the rim but the adhiesive is left behind
 
I've talked to a few paint reps and for the detailing industry they have a hard time recommending solvents in general. Most are blends of hot solvents that can do damage to clear coats. These solvents are used to prep the car for re-spray. Not for detailing.



About the only thing they would agree on is OMS for most basic cleaning work. Products like PPG tare and grease, 3m adhesive remover, prepsol etc are specifically designed to make a panel ready for respray not for detail work. Products to avoid for detail work are thinks like MEK, tolulene, xylene, 111,acetone etc.



I generally use Iso, and OMS. I find that does most of the work for me. David as for Overspray removal I used OMS to remove the high solid catalyzed polyurethane on that black silverado truck. I posted that thread a few weeks ago.



I know the above statements are not popular with the detailing guru's here, but i will stick to trusting paint manufactures about what is safe and what is not.
 
Grouse - thanks for your input. I recently inspected several vehicles that had heavy overspray on them from a contractor painting the track at a local school. I tried aggresive clay, laquer thinner, acetone & Goof Off and it didn't touch it. A local detailer came out to inspect & price out the jobs and he used something (he wouldn't tell me) that literally wiped it right out in 1 stroke? I didn't hurt the finish either? It was almost as easy & effortless as wiping spray paint off with thinner.
 
The key is not to try and find out what product removes it, but find out what product was sprayed. Get an MSDS sheet from the contractor. That will tell you what you need. Often as in my case 5 min with OMS and the over spray popped out. (kudo's to ron ketchum for that tip)
 
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