Ok after quite a headache from the fumes I am almost done stripping the interior of my Caravel. I went through my garage and tried a bunch of different solvents in the "spirit" (pun intended) of having more info for people who may want to tackle this in the future. Here are some Observations:
Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover (
http://www.jasco-help.com ) - Softens and loosens the vinyl quite well (see my prior post) It also will take off the remaining film of adhesive, but not that easily.
Klean-Strip (
www.kleanstrip.com/ ) - KS-3 Premium Stripper seems to remove the vinyl almost as well, or as well as the Jasco but is better at taking off the residue on the aluminum than the Jasco. It still takes a bit of time and I sort of scrub the residue with the paintbrush to get it loose. You can then wipe off some of it with a paper towel -but you end up with a residue that is like you just peeled off the worlds largest price sticker. This sticky goop however wipes right off with mineral spirits, although you have to use a lot of spirits and a lot of paper towels to get it all off. You are then left with shiny brand new looking aluminum.
Klean-Strip adhesive remover-This stuff behaves so much like the above KC-3 Premium Stripper that I think they have only changed the label. On second thought the KC-3 may be a little faster on the vinyl, but they are the same on the adhesive. Then again maybe not. Maybe I was just getting delirious from the fumes. They look the same and smell the same and have the same consistency, heck they even taste the sa...... ok kidding on the last one.
Citristrip, (
www.citristrip.com/ ) - which a lot of people use to remove the clear-coat on the outside of their Airstreams really doesn't do anything with regards to removing the vinyl or the adhesive residue. It does however give you a nice citrus scent to cover up all the other toxic smells emanating from stacks of soggy Klean-strip and Jasco soaked paper towels. This lets you stay in the trailer long enough to get a REALLY bad headache.
Lacquer Thinner, - too volatile to sink into the vinyl enough, but it will take off the adhesive. It isn't much faster than the other strippers and because of the high evaporation you end up using more to do the same job - and the fumes are much more intense
Denatured Alcohol - Adds to the bouquet of toxic fumes, but doesn't remove the vinyl or the adhesive.
Goof Off- Behaves very much like Lacquer thinner, smells a little different. Toluene based perhaps?
Savogran Stripeez (
www.savogran.com ) This stuff doesn't go through the vinyl well at all, (see prior post) It will eventually I guess, if you could get it on thick enough and leave it on long enough, but in practice it is really useless for the vinyl. However I tried it on the adhesive residue and it actually takes it off a little faster than the Klean-Strip, but it leaves much less, almost no gummy residue after you wipe it off. Very little mineral spirits and towels are needed to get it totally clean
There are other products out there like Bix etc. that I didn't try.
The best combo/procedure that is working for me now is:
1) Paint on the Jasco (or Kleanstrip KC-3)
2) Wait 15-20 min then pull back the vinyl.
3) Brush on Stripeez
4) Wait 5 min then go back over scrubbing in circles with the Stripeez laden paintbrush. You can see the "weave" pattern left by the removed vinyl in the adhesive residue. I just scrub until I cant see the pattern anymore.
5) Wipe off the globs of adhesive soaked stripeez and you will be down to fairly clean aluminum
6) Give it a final wipe with mineral spirits to get anything left.
This all takes a while and is a pain. For the Caravel I think it will end up taking 15-18 hours by the time I'm done....you should also add any time laying unconscious before your wife comes out to revive you and suggests opening a window.
I got all the vinyl off with about 1.25-1.5 gallons of stripper and the adhesive remover should be about gallon or a little under. I may be off a little because I kept experimenting with quarts of this and that.
The Caravel is about 14 feet inside and remember the end cap thingies are fiberglass, which the Jasco will break down if you get a thick enough glob on it and leave it on long enough. I imagine the other strippers will do the same.
59Toaster: I have used the Stripeez for latex removal on furniture and it comes right off... No idea about the Zolatone though -that stuff is tough
This job is very messy and my Caravel is empty right now so its not so bad. if there was an interior inside it would take a lot of effort to mask it safely. If I had an Ambassador or Soveriegn, I think I would learn to love vinyl.
-Andrew