Silicone Contamination
by Alan Noel
Professional Wood Finisher
When first starting out in the finishing business, from time to time
I would encounter a problem when spraying on my first coats
of lacquer sealers on furniture I was refinishing. The sealer would
start to crawl forming little round craters in small areas of the surface,
but seemingly not over the entire surface. As time went on this problem
would become worse and I needed to know what was going on here.
I was tired of re-stripping the finish to start over, only to have the same
problem, so I went to my friends body shop to see if he could help
me. He knew exactly what was going on... silicone contamination.
With a little, research I also learned that most liquid furniture polishes
also have added silicones in order for that "wet look" to last even longer.
These silicone products were invading our environment to the point that I would have to "add" silicone to my finishes. By doing this, I was able to have my finishes flow out,
which eliminated these "fish eyes."
Here are 7 tips to help with this problem:
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Unfortunately, this problem usually only raises its ugly head when the refinishing process starts.
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Silicones cannot be removed from the surface, only moved around.
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A silicone additive must be used in all refinishing processes (except staining) to eliminate the problem.
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If this problem shows up, don't waste time trying to fix it, just strip it and start over.
-
Another plan of attack is to use a seal coat of dewaxed shellac (we use
Bull's Eye Seal Coat
over the surface before moving on.
-
If the problem still persists after a coat of shellac I will (hate to say this) start over by restripping, sanding, staining and then start with VERY light coats of shellac to "seal" in the silicone. If all is good then proceed with your finishing schedule.
-
Go to a local woodworking/body shop for advice and a source of silicone additives, or the internet.
Visit Highland Woodworking's
Wood Finishing Supplies Department
Alan can be reached directly via email c/o Alan Noel Furniture Refinishing at
anoelfurniturere@bellsouth.net
.
Visiting Atlanta? Attend one of Alan's upcoming highly informative Highland Woodworking wood
finishing seminars:
March 30, 2016
French Polish Workshop
April 16, 2016
Finishing 101
April 30, 2016
Spray Finishing
