Lacquer stripper now that Ferree's cold strip is discontinued

[Tubajug]

Well shoot...I had some of the cold strip, but I guess I let it sit around to long and it became a gelatinous blob.

[arpthark]

Well shoot...I had some of the cold strip, but I guess I let it sit around to long and it became a gelatinous blob.

If I sat around too long, I’d also become a gelatinous blob!

[jose the tuba player]

This 21j was overhauled and refinished at some point so I'm not sure what lacquer was used but it seems almost no progress has been made. I'll update again tomorrow. If no progress is made I'll move onto aircraft stripper.

[jose the tuba player]

Very slow progress but it's better than nothing.

[arpthark]

[prodigal]

If using CitrusStrip, you need to keep it covered while it's working, or it will dry out and then it's not fun to work with.

It's worked well on varnished boom-stick stocks and one that was dunked in a tank of BLO, but takes some time and effort to get it all off of European walnut. Brass should be easier to clean up.

I stripped the BLO off of a stock that looked like it had the figure of a telephone pole, after a week of CitrusStrip treatment, I'd call it AA or AAA walnut.

I used denatured ethanol as a solvent, but ran out. Then I remembered my jar o' West Virginnie's finest out in the barn.
Well, a sip for the stock, a sip for me, and so on....
Them basement steps sure were steep climbing up on my hands and knees.

[arpthark]

I did a few experiments with lacquer stripper on some spare parts this weekend.

Leaving Easy Off on for several hours did a good job of stripping some leftover nitrocellulose lacquer on some old Olds parts, but that black patina from my overspray was pretty annoying to get rid of. I'll have to check out that Flitz spray for cleanup.

On this King 1241 valveset, I used Easy Off which immediately dissolved 90% of the orange lacquer. The remaining 10% became very dark orange and was a booger to remove. I've heard that heat tends to do that to King lacquer, but this wasn't at disassembly points or solder joints or anything. I tried another session later where I left the spray on for several hours, which did a better job. Still a work in progress, lots of sanding and scrubbing going on, unfortunately.

I bought some Citristrip too but didn't get a chance to try it on anything.

[gocsick]

I have some of this to try. Hopefully give it a go on an Olds slide outer this weekend.

[Schlitzz]

Yep, we’re on an online tuba forum discussing strippers.

[bloke]

I have some of this to try. Hopefully give it a go on an Olds slide outer this weekend.

If you can buy it over the counter, it probably won't do much... But good luck.

[York-aholic]

I used to do a sort of redneck thing and apply the Ferree's gel to horns outside using disposable paint brushes and would put the gel in a cup. One time I used a plastic Solo cup that I had on hand. The cup dissolved pretty quickly. I ended up using Pyrex glass after that.

When I was like 18, I decided to clean the automatic transmission I was "rebuilding" in a giant ice chest my mom had at the time, and filling it up with gas. Needless to say, the ice chest didn't hold up very well, nothing grew there for decades, and I gave that 56 Ford F100 away shortly afterwards.

I still wonder how I ever survived childhood!

[arpthark]

I used to do a sort of redneck thing and apply the Ferree's gel to horns outside using disposable paint brushes and would put the gel in a cup. One time I used a plastic Solo cup that I had on hand. The cup dissolved pretty quickly. I ended up using Pyrex glass after that.

When I was like 18, I decided to clean the automatic transmission I was "rebuilding" in a giant ice chest my mom had at the time, and filling it up with gas. Needless to say, the ice chest didn't hold up very well, nothing grew there for decades, and I gave that 56 Ford F100 away shortly afterwards.

I still wonder how I ever survived childhood!

Reminds me of stories my mom would tell about my grandfather, a former Air Force mechanic and gearhead who was always restoring or tinkering with antique cars. She came home from school several times to find a transmission in the bathtub.

[arpthark]

Anyhoo, Z22 is now available again from Ferree's website, but you have to agree to a methylene chloride chemical safety disclaimer and to comply with all environmental regulations.

Methylene chloride is the stuff they removed from Aircraft Remover (to the chagrin of instrument repairpeople everywhere), so it's no surprise this cold strip works so well.

[gocsick]

BUY IT NOW - I did... THIS WON'T LAST. Ferees must be counting on no one enforcing the regulations in the current political climate. This is a huge violation according to my university chemical safety people.

The disclaimer you have to sign goes:

"Methylene Chloride is subject to EPA regulations and continued use requires compliance with the Workplace Chemical Protection Program (WCPP). By purchasing and acknowledging this warning you understand it is soley your responsibility to comply with all Federal and State regulations. You also acknowledge and understand that Ferree's Tools does not certify, guarantee or ensure compliance with any regulatory requirement and is not responsible for improper use of this product. You agree to use this product in accordance with all applicable safety guidelines, labeling, and regulatory requirements including proper training, exposure controls and documentation."

Here is the university industrial hygienist's response...
___________________________

The critical point is that the WCPP is not an alternative to the prohibition. It is the exposure-control regime that applies only to the conditions of use that EPA has allowed to continue. The regulation says that §751.109's WCPP applies to specified conditions of use, including laboratory use, solvent welding, certain manufacturing uses, and coating removal from safety-critical aircraft/spacecraft components. COMMERCIAL PAINT/LACQUER STRIPPING IS NOT ON THAT LIST.

For distribution, the rule is unusually explicit. Since January 28, 2026, methylene chloride ≥0.1% can be distributed only for the enumerated permitted purposes. EPA even prescribes downstream-notification language saying essentially exactly that, followed by the list of permitted uses. So this sentence from the retailer:

“Methylene Chloride is subject to EPA regulations and continued use requires compliance with the Workplace Chemical Protection Program (WCPP).”

is incomplete in a materially important way. A more accurate version would be:

"Continued industrial/commercial use is prohibited unless the use is one of EPA's specifically permitted conditions of use; permitted workplace uses are then subject to the WCPP as applicable."

Signing an acknowledgment that you will obey the regulations cannot convert an otherwise prohibited condition of use into a permitted one.

There is also an important seller-side issue. The retailer cannot simply shift all regulatory responsibility downstream by contract. Under §751.107, the prohibition expressly covers distribution in commerce for prohibited uses; §751.111 separately imposes downstream-notification requirements on manufacturers/processors/distributors. So “buyer assumes responsibility” isn't a statutory safe harbor for the distributor. That doesn't necessarily mean selling the product itself is illegal. There are legitimate buyers for methylene chloride. For example, a distributor could sell it into an aerospace operation for the specified aircraft coating-removal use, or into an industrial laboratory, assuming all applicable requirements are met. So the product does not have to disappear from commerce entirely. But that's very different from:

“I'm a professional musical-instrument repairer; I promise to comply with the WCPP; therefore I may use Z22 to strip lacquer from trumpets.”

I can't find a basis in the current rule for that application. EPA currently describes the rule as prohibiting almost all industrial and commercial uses, including paint and coating removers, while allowing particular uses to continue under the WCPP. The only unusual refinishing exception is the one you remembered: wooden furniture/decorative/architectural objects of artistic, cultural, or historic significance, temporarily through May 8, 2029. US EPA
And the November 2025 amendment doesn't rescue this. EPA extended WCPP deadlines for non-federal laboratories; it did not reopen general commercial stripping.

So my reading of the situation is:
Ferree's may legally stock methylene-chloride Z22 because methylene chloride isn't universally banned. But a generic “I agree to follow the WCPP” checkbox does not appear sufficient to authorize its sale/use for musical-instrument lacquer stripping. If they are actually accepting orders from instrument repairers specifically for that purpose in September 2026, rather than restricting sales to EPA-permitted conditions of use, I don't see the regulatory pathway that makes that compliant. The obvious next thing to inspect would be the current Z22 SDS. Section 1(c)/15 should, under §751.111, contain EPA's mandatory downstream language enumerating the permitted uses. That would tell us very quickly whether Ferree's/vendor is operating under the new rule correctly or whether someone has interpreted “WCPP compliant” rather creatively.

[gocsick]

add on...

I just had a follow on conversation ..

According to the EPA all COMMERCIAL USE is banned (Except for a few exemptions in aerospace/laboratory use). However, the rules say you can't sell it to consumers... but there is no rule preventing consumers from having the product. So if you as an individual happen to have a bottle of Z21.. that is OK.. the blame falls on the person who sold it to you. If you as a business use it.. then you are opening yourself to regulatory issues. So don't buy it on a business card or have it shipped to a business address.

[jose the tuba player]

I ordered 3 bottles of the restock, now I feel like I should have bought more.

[Sousaswag]

I bought two.

It’s only for one tuba, and I probably won’t use all of it, but yeah. I bought some.

[gocsick]

Well mine actually showed up... So a win!