Swissrail Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 (edited) I've had a bottle of the original Phoenix Superstrip for years and it's fabulous stuff. Today though I had a accident; the Plasticard box I used as a bath for it had a dodgy seam and I lost most of the Superstrip down the sink. The present-day cost of it, I have discovered, is scandalous and it's not even the same formula any more. I'm NOT paying seventy quid for a litre of anything unless a it's single malt! Fortunately the Superstrip bottle tells me what's in it: Butoxyethanol, Isopropyl alcohol and Dimethyl Carbonate. I have the IPA already and I've just ordered a 500ml bottle of the butoxyethanol for £7.99. The dimethyl carbonate is imposssible to source in small quantities for some reason. I already know IPA strips paint and that the BE is a solvent used in paint manufacture so a mixture of the two, even if it is minus the dimethyl darbonate should do a pretty good job. Two questions arise therefore: Does anyone know in what proportions I should mix the IPA and BE and what was the purpose of the dimethyl carbonate in the original Phoenix formula? Third question I suppose. How can Phoenix justify the £70 a litre cost of Superstrip when the constituent chemicals are as cheap as I have discovered? Edited October 17, 2021 by Swissrail Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctransuk Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 5 minutes ago, Swissrail said: How can Phoenix justify the £70 a litre cost of Superstrip when the constituent chemicals are as cheap as I have discovered? They, like any supplier, don't have to justify anything - they produce the product, offer it at a price they think will sell, and if it does; (which it presumably does); fine! (If is doesn't, reduce the price until it does sell). End of! CJI. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 If IPA strips paint, why is it OK for us to use it to clean track/loco wheels? When I have a pint of IPA, am I drinking paint stripper? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 Isopropanol £10/L Butoxyethanol, £16/L Dimethyl Carbonate £35/L (from a lab supplier - I'm perfectly prepared to believe there are cheaper suppliers, but its slightly irrelevant to my point) So about £61 per litre before you look at the facilities to make it in, the labour to mix it, the HS&E costs of handling it in bulk, the bottles to put it in, and making a profit? Seems a bit cheap to me. Oh and I forgot - the chemical knowledge/experimentation to know what proportion to mix it. Jon 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swissrail Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 Quote Isopropanol £10/L Butoxyethanol, £16/L Dimethyl Carbonate £35/L So about £61 per litre That's three litres assuming it's mixed 1:1. When I bought my original 250ml bottle directly from Phoenix at an exhibition, the price label on it was £11.95...what I paid. When I got it home I discovered there was another label underneath it which said £5.95. I'm not therefore inclined to believe that Phoenix is a poor struggling company trying to do the right thing by making a reasonable profit. The're trying to rip the a*** out of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Vigor Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 1 hour ago, Swissrail said: I've had a bottle of the original Phoenix Superstrip for years and it's fabulous stuff. Today though I had a accident; the Plasticard box I used as a bath for it had a dodgy seam and I lost most of the Superstrip down the sink. The present-day cost of it, I have discovered, is scandalous and it's not even the same formula any more. I'm NOT paying seventy quid for a litre of anything unless a it's single malt! Fortunately the Superstrip bottle tells me what's in it: Butoxyethanol, Isopropyl alcohol and Dimethyl Carbonate. I have the IPA already and I've just ordered a 500ml bottle of the butoxyethanol for £7.99. The dimethyl carbonate is imposssible to source in small quantities for some reason. I already know IPA strips paint and that the BE is a solvent used in paint manufacture so a mixture of the two, even if it is minus the dimethyl darbonate should do a pretty good job. Two questions arise therefore: Does anyone know in what proportions I should mix the IPA and BE and what was the purpose of the dimethyl carbonate in the original Phoenix formula? Third question I suppose. How can Phoenix justify the £70 a litre cost of Superstrip when the constituent chemicals are as cheap as I have discovered? Be careful mixing chemicals. We don't want to hear what happened next on News at Ten! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swissrail Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 (edited) Thank you for your concern but both isopropanol and butoxyethanol are alcohols and can therefore be mixed without issue. Edited October 17, 2021 by Swissrail 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AY Mod Posted October 17, 2021 Moderators Share Posted October 17, 2021 36 minutes ago, Swissrail said: The're trying to rip the a*** out of it. Fine, you go and make your own but don't insult an established business with premises, staff, overheads and needs to properly detail product safety data and ingredients. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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