---------- > 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
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