What is stripping

<p>Stripping is the act of removing a certain product&sol;residue&sol;film from a surface&comma; often with the purpose of re-applying a new product&period; Stripping can be done chemically or mechanically and is a common step when re-applying a new form of protection&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Why the need for stripping<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>When you apply a sealant to a surface&comma; the sealant will not deteriorate completely over time&period; Residue will stay behind&period; Before you can re-apply a new form of protection&comma; it is important to strip the surface from all residue of old layers of protection&period; The old layer might contain contamination and will be a fragile foundation for the new product&period; Stripping the old layers completely and give the new product a perfectly clean surface to bond with&period; Not all products are removed with the same ease or via the same method&period; Certain coatings are so difficult to remove that heavy polishing or even wetsanding is required&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Different ways of stripping<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Stripping can be done in 2 different ways&period; Depending on the product or the type of residue&comma; the approach of stripping differs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3>Chemically<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Chemical stripping is done by applying a certain chemical&comma; that will break down the product and remove the bond it has with the surface underneath&period; Different examples of chemical stripping are&colon; IPA&comma; traffic film remover and paint thinner&period; These products are capable of removing certain products or residue by simply coming into contact with it&period; There is usually very little need to rub it in&comma; or apply pressure&sol;friction to the chemical&period; The removal is often done by either rinsing it off or wiping it off&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3>Mechanically<&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p>Mechanical stripping can be seen as the use of friction and abrasion to remove a very controlled layer from the surface&period; If the residue is softer then the original surface underneath&comma; the abrasive action will remove the residue without affecting the original surface underneath very much&period; The term &&num;8220&semi;mechanical&&num;8221&semi; refers to the moving action that uses friction and&sol;or abrasion to directly interact with the material that needs to be removed&period; Examples of mechanical stripping are&colon; claying&comma; polishing&comma; wetsanding and denibbling&period; Not all forms of mechanical stripping are always required&period; And some methods should only be used when another method has been done before&period; For example&comma; you should not polish or wetsand if you haven&&num;8217&semi;t clayed the surface first&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Chemical stripping can help to make mechanical stripping easier&period; In some cases it is easier and safer to only strip by chemicals&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;