What to use to strip King Lacquer at home????

[Tundratubast]

I'm a small shop and now have a couple of KIng bones in for overhauls. What is the recommended method and materials to strip old KING lacquers.

[Dan Schultz]

Aircraft Stripper is still available. However... it won't touch the old King 'Eastlake Orange' lacquer. EZ-Off Oven Clean (the real stuff... NOT Dollar Store, etc. brands) does a nice job as long as the horn hasn't been exposed to soldering temperatures. Squirt it on in a well ventilated area... wait ten minutes or so... and hose it off.

[Dan Schultz]

FWIW, the EPA news release:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-ba ... kXBzDW57Oo

Looks like stores have 180 days after 3/15/2019 to deplete their stocks. I haven't had any problem buying Aircraft Stripper from my normal sources.

Keep an eye on body supply houses to see what they are selling to take off automotive finishes. If methylene chloride does indeed go away... I'm sure there will be some sort of new formulation. This stuff is just too important to the autobody industry to stay dead for long.

[Tundratubast]

Thanks everyone, I'm glad spring is coming to move the project outdoors.

[Tanker_5455]

By the way, is there something I should pay attention to when working with that kind of stuff under a warm climate with salty seaside air? The thing is that my wife and I are planning to buy one of these villas in Greece and move there on a semi-permanent basis, and that sort of lacquer is something I encounter a lot when working on instruments or furniture. However, so far, I've only been working with it under a cold-ish continental climate.

[Dan Schultz]

I visited O'Reily Auto Parts and AutoZone today. Both have been caught up in the hype and have pulled Aircraft Stripper from their shelves. The ban isn't actually official but apparently marketing doesn't want to get stuck with something they might not be able so sell.

EDIT .... I picked up a gallon of Kwik-Strip at Walmart thinking I might be wasting almost $40. I figured if it worked at all it wouldn't work as quickly as Aircraft Stripper. I brushed a liberal coating on a helicon that's in the shop and left for a little over an hour while I dropped off a bell at Greyhound. Once back to the shop I power washed the horn and the very heavy lacquer came right off. Kwik-Strip works on lacquer but just takes longer.

The good news is.... while I was out I stopped at Advance Auto Parts and they still had Aircraft Stripper so I scored two gallons and three quarts. Hopefully... I'll have enough to keep me going until a suitable replacement for the 'good stuff' hits the market.

[Tundratubast]

Wade & Dan,

This old "King Orange" lacquer must be what is on the original (no slide lock, compression/friction fit bell to slide) King Liberty trombone. Aged enough that it looks to be a dark bronze to copper finish. Maybe I'll just clean it and leave it alone. It's a nice even patina on the "lacquer". I'll just polish up the nickel finish.

Thanks, David