Re: Bakelite question

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2010/4/19 11:01:52

HH56, I think that's going to be a tricky undertaking. Bakelite is a rather primitive plastic and is the reaction product of the condensation of phenol(s) and formaldehydes(s). By the use of subsitituted phenols and formaldehydes a rather large range of Bakelites can result with a rather large range of physical and chemical properties. Generally they are soluble in alkalis and don't have good organic solvent resistance and these two classes of compounds are common ingredients in paint strippers. I wish I had an answer, but don't - hopefully you've got some sacrificial parts to experiment with. If not, many of today's plastic household light switch cover plates are made of one of the Bakelite formulations and you could consider experimenting with them. I'd think any of the ester solvents (methyl, ethyl, butyl acetates, common components of lacquer thinner) would be very detrimental to the Bakelite; too bad, they're good paint solvents.