Organic coatings may be removed from their substrates by treating the coated substrate with a gelled organic solvent.  For example, paint may be stripped from metal, wood, etc. by the process of contacting the paint with a gelled composition formed from turpentine or other organic solvent in combination with a suitable gellant for the solvent, e.g., a polyamide resin.  The coating dissolves into the gel and/or the solvent from the gel is able to diffuse between the coating and the underlying substrate, thereby dissolving and/or loosening the coating so that the process of removing the gel also removes some or all of the coating.  Multiple applications of gelled organic solvent may be needed to completely remove the coating.  A gel is particularly advantageous when the coated surface is vertically positioned because the gel will resist running down the coated surface, and accordingly the gel will retain contact with the surface for as long as desired.

A.                 Background

Chemical paint strippers are typically either gels or low-viscosity solvents.  Low-viscosity solvents are deficient for several reasons.  For instance, they are often volatile, which means that their use can cause environmental damage as well as cause inconvenience to the person who is applying the solvent.  In addition, when low-viscosity solvents are applied to a vertical surface, the solvent runs down the surface.  It is difficult to keep enough of the low-viscosity solvent at the upper regions of a vertical surface to achieve the desired goal.  Also, as the low-viscosity solvent runs down a vertical surface, it may and typically does dissolve some of the paint, thereby causing paint/solvent to soak into the ground, unless precautions are taken to capture the run-off.

As for gels, the currently available gels are typically stringy and heterogeneous.  This consistency makes them very difficult to apply to a surface.  The person applying the gel finds that the gel adheres, in part, to the surface and in part to the brush used to apply the gel.  As the brush applies the gel, the gel tends to pull away from the surface back onto the brush.  To reduce this problem, the person applying the gel may try to use a lot of gel, so that an unnecessarily thick coating is placed on the surface.

As environmental concerns increase, there is a need to utilize chemistries that can be safely and easily coated to vertical and exposed surfaces.  The present invention provides a shear thinnable gel that can be easily applied to and then removed from a coated surface.

B.                 Gels

The gelled paint/coating removers as disclosed herein contain gellant, solvent that is gelled by the gellant, and optional ingredients.  The gel is preferably not stringy and is easily applied to a coated surface.  Suitable gellants, solvents and optional ingredients, as well as methods to manufacture the gels, are described below.

1.                  Gellants and solvents

The following are ex...