I just purchased an ESEE-4 and I plan on removing the powder coating. I've removed coatings in the past quite easily with paint stripper, but this time I plan to use the blade for food prep and I don't want my blade exposed to all those toxins. Is there a way to remove the coating without chemicals? Perhaps a dremel or sandpaper? Thanks in advance.
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Question about removing powder coating
- Thread starter EOM
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- Apr 17, 2007
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- 181
You can definitely take it off with sandpaper, but it will be quite a bit of work I think based on how well this stuff holds up.
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2010
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- 335
I'm not sure about powder coat, but I've had excellent luck with Acetone for removing coatings, just be prepared to use a bit of elbow grease.
As for chemical contamination, i doubt its as much of an issue as you think. A lot of the solvents you would be interested in are gonna evaporate quickly, that takes care of some of the nastiness right there. Dish-washing is an excellent choice, or just a thorough hand washing.
Keep in mind that you consume a lot of toxins without even thinking about it. Things you eat are often covered in pesticide for example. Also, many toxins can/are absorbed through your skin. If you touch things then put your fingers in your mouth, chew pens/pencils, just about anything, you are exposing yourself. Plastics are made with toxic chemicals called plasticizers, these leach out over time, another avenue of exposure. Also steel does not hold hold on to chemicals like a sponge.
A good washing by hand would be all i'd bother with, and you would probably end up with a knife that's cleaner than a lot of what goes in your mouth on a daily basis anyway.
Hope that helps,
Adam
As for chemical contamination, i doubt its as much of an issue as you think. A lot of the solvents you would be interested in are gonna evaporate quickly, that takes care of some of the nastiness right there. Dish-washing is an excellent choice, or just a thorough hand washing.
Keep in mind that you consume a lot of toxins without even thinking about it. Things you eat are often covered in pesticide for example. Also, many toxins can/are absorbed through your skin. If you touch things then put your fingers in your mouth, chew pens/pencils, just about anything, you are exposing yourself. Plastics are made with toxic chemicals called plasticizers, these leach out over time, another avenue of exposure. Also steel does not hold hold on to chemicals like a sponge.
A good washing by hand would be all i'd bother with, and you would probably end up with a knife that's cleaner than a lot of what goes in your mouth on a daily basis anyway.
Hope that helps,
Adam
If your a "germophobe" carbon steel is a poor choice for food prep. Most kitchens have done away with it completely with the exception of woks. Remember its reactive to acids, so don't use cleaners that have acidic bases (like commercial food grade sanitizers)
If you must use your 4 to prep food I can't see trace amounts of paint thinner sticking to the blade and being harmful. I imagine the process of opening the bottle would expose you to far higher levels of airborne solvents within a fraction of a second.
Best of luck.
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- Feb 23, 2010
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- 4,355
yep BAD choice of steel.. if you're really that concerned about chemicals don't go outside, or drink tap water, or for that matter eat any food in which you did not raise yourself...
they make an 'orange stripper' that is more eco friendly..
start sanding, but after you're done with your food prep what do you intend to wash your knife with?
Ha I'm not THAT much of a germophobe. Food prep isn't the primary reason I'm getting this knife, I want carbon steel for toughness, edge holding, and ease of sharpening. You're not going to convince me to get stainless steel. I have a Benchmade Rant in 440C that chipped before I got halfway through batoning a log.
yep BAD choice of steel.. if you're really that concerned about chemicals don't go outside, or drink tap water, or for that matter eat any food in which you did not raise yourself...
they make an 'orange stripper' that is more eco friendly..
start sanding, but after you're done with your food prep what do you intend to wash your knife with?
Usually dish soap and water does fine for me. If I got the knife really dirty before using it for food prep, I sanitize it with alcohol.
You'll be fine just soaking the blade in acetone for maybe a few hours.. after that the coating can be rubbed off with some elbow grease..
Acetone will evaporate away and you can just rinse the blade away with soap or alcohol..
If it helps, acetone is the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory..
From wiki
"Acetone has been studied extensively and is generally recognized to have low acute and chronic toxicity if ingested and/or inhaled.
Acetone is not currently regarded as a carcinogen, a mutagenic chemical or a concern for chronic neurotoxicity effects.
Acetone can be found as an ingredient in a variety of consumer products ranging from cosmetics to processed and unprocessed foods. Acetone has been rated as a GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) substance when present in beverages, baked goods, desserts, and preserves at concentrations ranging from 5 to 8 mg/L. Additionally, a joint U.S-European study found that acetones "health hazards are slight."
An extensive study was also conducted on "reasonably anticipated childrens exposures to acetone" from commonly found items such as the solvent in nail tip remover, nail polish remover, spray paint and spot remover. The conclusion was that acetone exposure from a childs environment and from consumer products is unlikely to pose significant health risks.
It was determined that 90 percent of acetone found in children was naturally produced in their bodies. The rest came primarily from natural food sources, such as onions, grapes, cauliflower, tomatoes, milk, cheese, beans and peas, as well as from mothers milk.
Acetone is believed to exhibit only slight toxicity in normal use, and there is no strong evidence of chronic health effects if basic precautions are followed.
Acetone will evaporate away and you can just rinse the blade away with soap or alcohol..
If it helps, acetone is the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory..
From wiki
"Acetone has been studied extensively and is generally recognized to have low acute and chronic toxicity if ingested and/or inhaled.
Acetone is not currently regarded as a carcinogen, a mutagenic chemical or a concern for chronic neurotoxicity effects.
Acetone can be found as an ingredient in a variety of consumer products ranging from cosmetics to processed and unprocessed foods. Acetone has been rated as a GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) substance when present in beverages, baked goods, desserts, and preserves at concentrations ranging from 5 to 8 mg/L. Additionally, a joint U.S-European study found that acetones "health hazards are slight."
An extensive study was also conducted on "reasonably anticipated childrens exposures to acetone" from commonly found items such as the solvent in nail tip remover, nail polish remover, spray paint and spot remover. The conclusion was that acetone exposure from a childs environment and from consumer products is unlikely to pose significant health risks.
It was determined that 90 percent of acetone found in children was naturally produced in their bodies. The rest came primarily from natural food sources, such as onions, grapes, cauliflower, tomatoes, milk, cheese, beans and peas, as well as from mothers milk.
Acetone is believed to exhibit only slight toxicity in normal use, and there is no strong evidence of chronic health effects if basic precautions are followed.
I not trying to convince anyone to go stainless, clearly were all carbon fans considering its an ESEE sub forum but that doesn't change the fact its a poor choice for kitchen use.
For future reference 440c is not considered a high end stainless. I suggest you stick around the forums and learn a little more.
That was my whole point - I'm upgrading to an ESEE because I don't want 440C or any other stainless for an outdoor blade. Even high end stainless steels will likely chip during chopping or batoning. As I said before, food prep isn't my primary use for my ESEE.
I've been reading this forum and others for a long time. Don't assume I don't know about steels just because I'm asking about ESEE's blade coating.
I'm referring to high end stainless steels like S90V or ZDP-189, they have extremely high hardness and wear resistance but are quite brittle (well, much more so than carbon steel), so they wouldn't be suited to outdoor blades which need to be able to chop and baton.