Premium Stripper - Tips and Troubleshooting:

The first step is always to test the product in another application other than your project. The purpose of doing this is to get over your natural reaction that something might be wrong with the product. This will aid in determining what is really happening and why.

If, after testing as described and reviewing the information on this page, you do not have an answer and do not know what to do - contact us for assistance as something is certainly different than you think.

Before emailing for assistance - do the following tests so you can give us the results in the your email. If you contact us before doing the testing and reviewing the information, there will be delays in assisting you because we must still ask you for these test results. We cannot be of assistance by guessing.

(It is important to do all 3 tests)

1. Apply a small amount to a piece of flat, clean glass per the label directions. The glass gives you a clear view of what the product looks like when dry. With sealers or coatings, this will show you the degree of toughness and adhesion. With cleaners and other products, this will show you the what it looks like when dry.

2. Apply a small amount to an uninstalled piece of the same surfacing per the label directions. The uninstalled piece of the same surfacing takes away anything that occurred during and after installation.

3. Apply a small amount per the label directions to a different type of surfacing with a similar absorption. This takes the surfacing itself out of the equation to show if there is something unusual about that particular batch of surfacing.

Now that you see what the product does and how it looks - let's examine the job conditions and determine what is different. The conclusion to be verified is that something has occurred during the installation, or in the time span after installation, to interfere with performance. You do not want to do anything else (reapply product, strip, etc.) that will complicate identifying the issues.

Tips: Considerations for cleaning up the residue of stripper and sealer:

• The idea is to let the stripper do all the work, then pick up and dispose of the residue as easy as possible before it dries.
• You do not want to use "synthetic" towels if that means they are plastic. Plastic will melt from the stripper.
• Paper towels and super strong paper wipes are fine so long as they do not leave fiber behind that makes it more difficult for you in final cleaning.
• Rags without color in them are best.
• Whatever is used, do not try to wash out the residue and reuse. This will contaminate the water. Disposable is better.
• You can let rags dry out so that you no longer have any solvent in them. Then you are disposing of the hard solids only.
• For large areas, you can use a "wet/dry" vacuum. However, the stripper may ruin any rubber or plastic parts. Therefore, choose one that is affordable and considered "disposable".

Troubleshooting: Here are the things to look for:

• Seems too thick when pouring, taking too long to work? There might be some separation of solids from liquid. Solids could even be at the top as they are lighter than the liquid. After capping tightly, try shaking it vigorously a few times.

• The surface is getting softer (rubbery?) but the sealer is still there.
  Taking a long time and too many applications?
  This is usually a thick and tough layer of sealer that is softening (being broken down) but will take multiple applications of stripper. You might also need to put the stripper on thicker! If too thin, it dries faster and reduces working time of the active ingredients. The higher the build up of sealer and the tougher the sealer, the more stripper is required to react and break it down.

• White stains or residue after using "Premium Stripper"? "Premium Stripper" does not leave stains or residue that can't be wiped off, as you will see from the tests above. First, note and try the instructions on the label about lacquer thinner . If that doesn't do it, the stains are probably from another source. See "Problem Solving" for "efflorescence", "mineral deposits", "grout additives" for tests for these kinds of stains. If the stains are now below a sealer, you will need to remove the sealer to get at the staining material.

• Dark stains that were there before stripping, remain after stripping with Premium Stripper. This means the surface has more than a staining material in the texture. It has actually changed color at those locations.
  • If the surface is marble, limestone, or concrete you can actually eat away the stained area with either Aldon Grout Residue Remover or Aldon Grout Restoration , but proceed with caution.
  • If the surface is of some other material, the only thing to try is abrasion with sandpapers or sanding sponges of various grits.
  • Gloss can be restored with one of the appropriate sealers.

• Looks fine after using "Premium Stripper", but after using lacquer thinner for final clean up there is a white hazy look?
  Lacquer thinner would not leave any appearance change unless:
  • The lacquer thinner is contaminated. This is not likely, but let some dry on a piece of glass or other dense surface not connected to the project.
  • Most likely is that there is still a residue of broken down sealer particles after wipe up. Use the lacquer thinner again and heavier to remove any remaining residue.

• Some of the old sealer will not remove despite numerous and correct applications of Premium Stripper? Try to find out if something has been used in the past that is not a normal "floor sealer". Whatever it is could take a different approach. We have heard of things like silicone caulking being used as a sealer, so good information can save you a lot of work. If the mystery material is not addressed in Problem Solving, email our tech. department for assistance.

• "Paint" does not break down? We do not know of a paint that Premium Stripper will not break down, but nothing is impossible. What is more likely is that it is not really paint, but something else like gypsum, cement, grout type drippings, etc. that requires an acidic formula to react. See "Grout Residue Remover" if that is the case.

• Premium Stripper has changed the color of the surface material ? The stripper does not take away or change a surfaces "natural" color. However, a color change might be because a color tint had been used on the flooring in the past. This is another good reason to patch test every step of a project.

  For instance, the natural color of Saltillo Mexican tile is yellow/orange. Sometimes they are tinted with a colorant to be "whitewashed", "brown", "green", etc. These colorants can be removed by the stripper along with the sealer. Check with a tile store for that color tile tint.

If this does not answer your situation - something is very different and unusual. You should be able to discover why by looking for the issue in  "Problem Solving"