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screen printing => Ink and Chemicals => Topic started by: Prōdigium on May 01, 2017, 07:55:55 AM

Title: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: Prōdigium on May 01, 2017, 07:55:55 AM
Curious for some feedback on this product. I was in a shop many years ago that used it and I noticed that it has a very "peculiar" smell but as I was only there to perform some service work I never used the stuff. However its branded as a "safe" alternative to the really nasty stuff normally used (Dichloromethane + Tetrachloroethylene) . However I do see that the main ingredient (1-bromopropane) is now under consideration as a known carcinogen.....not really a surprise, seems like everything causes cancer these days.

But I am curious if anyone is using and what their experience has been with it. I am also curious if you notice any ill effects on the life of your spot gun, one of the biggest complaints about spot guns is that they break so easily and honestly more often then not its the chemical eating it up or melting plastic parts.
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: Prince Art on May 01, 2017, 10:11:43 AM
Was using it several years ago, found it to be more trouble than it was worth. Now I just try not to mess things up!

My particular setup undoubtedly contributed to my situation. So, a little info on the "more trouble":
The cheaper guns a I got could not provide the needle-sharp spray that I'd experienced with a better gun in my first shop. I had no vacuum stand/evacuator. These two factors meant the shirts became quite saturated with chemical, risked bleeding into design area, took forever to dry, and only sometimes was the spot effectively removed. And yes, 1 gun died, got another one. It didn't perform much better. I finally just didn't replace chemical one it ran out.

That said, in the previous shop, with a better gun, a vac station, and much higher production, we used spiff often. But it was the old stuff that would remove paint on contact if you spilled it.
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: Doug B on May 01, 2017, 10:45:49 AM
  We use it all the time. With a vacuum and a good gun there is no problem. The only
time there is a problem with the gun is when somebody drops it.  ;D
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: Prōdigium on May 03, 2017, 12:38:20 AM
  We use it all the time. With a vacuum and a good gun there is no problem. The only
time there is a problem with the gun is when somebody drops it.  ;D

Ya, dropping the gun seams to be a common problem. You could hang it from a retractable dog leash over a work station to solve that problem. Its noted that on ALL SDS sheets your to use a air removal device to ventilate..cant think of more than a handful of shops where that is applied, sadly. But when some of them run $900 for a "fan" its easy to understand why.

I am sure all these chemicals work effectively, or they would not be sold. But my research is leading me in another entirely different direction. Apparently Europe is WAY ahead of the US when it comes to the health & safety of these types of products. I see on another thread that some problems may be incompatibility with certain fabrics or dyes, I guess a chemical designed to remove plastic inks will in some cases damage the shirt too. I personally thought the SPIF product has a terrible smell, but I am sensitive to these things...cant stand the smell of ammonia cleaners either.

Thanks all for the feedback, its this help that will allow me to give careful consideration to the things I want to make and I am 100% sure this product can be made even safer than what is currently on the market.
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: ZooCity on May 03, 2017, 01:26:40 AM
It is the only spot remover chem we've ever used. 

It works fine on most fabrics, no performance issues.

It does tend to kill guns.  Been through a few and currently servicing the highest end model albatross makes, it hung in a few years, constant feed system from 5gal. 
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: Doug B on May 03, 2017, 05:46:26 AM
Quote
[/qYa, dropping the gun seams to be a common problem. You could hang it from a retractable dog leash over a work station to solve that problem.uote]

 We do but "somebody" keeps taking it off.
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: TCT on May 03, 2017, 09:46:45 AM
Only spot remover we use....
Sometimes on a real hot day, we fill our super soakers with it and have a squirt gun fight!  ;D
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: Prōdigium on May 09, 2017, 03:30:43 AM
Only spot remover we use....
Sometimes on a real hot day, we fill our super soakers with it and have a squirt gun fight!  ;D

I of course know your joking about it....but as I research these products I continue to find incredible data that shows how amazingly hazardous they are.
Here is a hazard alert that I am sure most nobody has read from OSHA on the main chemical base of this product. If you use SPIF I would strongly encourage you to read this and implement a new policy for removal of the fumes from your work area.

https://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/1bromopropane_hazard_alert.html (https://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/1bromopropane_hazard_alert.html)
Title: Re: Anyone Using S.P.I.F II Spot Remover Fluid
Post by: CBCB on May 09, 2017, 06:16:01 AM
I got rid of our spot cleaning gun recently. Without the ventilation  it's stinky, and kinda dangerous to use. I never found it to do too good of a job.

We're still a manual shop but don't really get many opportunities to use it. *knock on wood*


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