Methods of reducing the adhesion of a maskant

A method of reducing adhesion between a maskant and a substrate from an initial adhesion to render the maskant removable by mechanically applied force, wherein the maskant comprises a plural component reactive coating and is adhered to a surface of the substrate, the method comprising:

• applying a composition to the maskant to penetrate the maskant with the composition, wherein the composition comprises a solvent, the solvent including:
• one or both of benzyl alcohol and triethanolamine,
• an ester alcohol, and
• water,
• wherein the composition excludes toluene, xylene, methylethyl ketone, acetone, and methylene chloride, and
• swelling the penetrated maskant with the composition or hydrogen bonding the composition to the penetrated maskant thereby reducing the initial adhesion of the maskant to a subsequent adhesion of between 60% and 0.1% of the initial adhesion while substantially maintaining physical integrity of the penetrated maskant such that the penetrated maskant retains an adhesion force sufficient to remain adhered to the substrate, wherein the penetrated maskant has an initial tensile strength before application of the composition and a subsequent tensile strength after application of the composition, wherein the subsequent tensile strength is at least 15% of the initial tensile strength;
• and
• further processing the substrate to which the penetrated maskant is adhered.