Custom and Miscellaneous Formulations

Product Highlight:  International DR Stripper

Product Type:  Industrial Cleaner, Rust Remover and Paint Stripper

Customer: Remanufacturer of Diesel Engines and Associated Components

Objective: Effectively Remove Extreme Coatings of Carbon Build-Up and Rust

Description: The customer remanufactures diesel engines and associated components, including turbo fan blades composed of aluminum. The fan blades return to the customer with extremely heavy and stubborn coatings of carbon build-up on all surfaces. Long ago, the customer attempted to implement a shot peening operation to remove the carbon, but the very fine blades were, in most cases, irreparably damaged. Next, the customer attempted to implement a highly alkaline, uninhibited cleaner, but was unaware that this type of chemistry damages aluminum. So, after searching for a solution, they chose a vendor who began supplying them with an inhibited, mildly alkaline cleaner that required a 50% solution concentration and a cycle time between 30 and 45 minutes—depending on the build-up on the parts—in order to be effective. Some of the material was removed, but not enough, requiring the subsequent operation, a power spray washer, to pick up where the immersion cleaner left off. This was a solution, but it proved temporary, as scrap levels did not decrease, and the bath loaded up so quickly that it required frequent change-outs, leading to increased costs.

The customer contacted ICC for guidance. International DR Stripper was developed specifically for this type of operation and has a long history of success, so a sample was shipped to the customer for on-site testing.

Conclusion: The customer performed a long-term test in their operations and was very pleased with the results. DR Stripper is an inhibited, mildly alkaline cleaner and rust remover that is non-toxic, non-corrosive and compatible with aluminum and other sensitive metals. It effectively loosens and removes carbon, paint, grease, varnish and heavy soils from the surfaces of aluminum, cast iron and carbon steel components.

For this particular operation, a solution concentration of 25% was recommended due to the heavy coatings of carbon scale on the turbo fan blades. The components were immersed for 15 minutes (a cycle time reduction of 75%) which effectively broke the bonds between soils and metal due to the powerful combination of specially selected penetrating, emulsifying and suspending agents formulated into DR Stripper. What was not removed in the immersion application was easily removed in the subsequent power spray washer.

Since its first day of implementation, International DR Stripper has contributed to a 40% reduction in scrap and a reduction of almost 50% in chemical consumption and chemical costs.