Re: Silicon free polishes?
kirk....@gmail.com
wrote:
> On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:46:49 +0100, Nick Hill wrote:
> > I have used Sparkle before but cannot now find a local UK outlet. Do you
> > know of UK suppliers?
>
> I can't find any UK suppliers either. However, I did discover that AFE
> and Severn Valley Sailplanes stock Meguiars canopy polish, which got an
> honorable mention earlier in this thread. They also have Plexus canopy
> polish. Anybody know anything about this stuff?.
>
> Severn also stock Mer, just in case you can't get it from the local
> Halfords.
>
> --
> martin@ | Martin Gregorie
> gregorie. | Essex, UK
> org |
I've been using Plexus for over 10 years and love it - works great in
both dusty (no static after application) and humid climates.
After a lot of applications, it can get a bit hazy, then just using
water and a clean cloth will clean it up.
I keep a can and an old - but clean - tshirt in my car, and use it on
any glider or towplane I'm about to fly; it's amazing what most club
ship canopies look like!
Highly recommended.
Kirk
LS6-b "66"
Martin Gregorie
> Mer's lack of clear marketing is more a headscratcher.
>
Maybe they're not so unclear after all - see below.
> There are sites
> claiming Mer products are silicone free. As for the Mer website
> "silicon" content (note they say silicon not silicone). Who knows what
> they mean to say but likely most *polishes* do contain silicon dioxide
> or similar.
>
I wrote "silicone" because I assumed they'd misspelled it, given that so
many polishes contain silicones. So blame me for that.
As I said, the Mer MSDS only mentions EINECS 265-150-3 (hydro-treated
heavy naptha) and CAS 64742-48-9 (non-aromatic hydrocarbon solvents). The
risk-phrase codings translate as follows:
[-]R10 = Flammable.
[Xn] R65 = Harmful: may cause lung damage if swallowed.
[-] R66 = Repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking.
That's everything in MSDS section 3 (Composition).
> Now whether they contain one of the silicone oils is a
> different question.
>
Presumably, you would expect silicones to appear in an MSDS if they are
product ingredients, so the implication is that there are indeed no
silicones in this polish.
It could make sense to put silicon in this type of product to act as a
mild abrasive because its fairly inert and only moderately hard (7 on
Moh's scale, same as quartz, so toward the soft end of most industrial
abrasives).
Nick Hill
> On Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:46:49 +0100, Nick Hill wrote:
>
>> I have used Sparkle before but cannot now find a local UK outlet. Do you
>> know of UK suppliers?
>>
> I can't find any UK suppliers either. However, I did discover that AFE
> and Severn Valley Sailplanes stock Meguiars canopy polish, which got an
> honorable mention earlier in this thread. They also have Plexus canopy
> polish. Anybody know anything about this stuff?.
>
> Severn also stock Mer, just in case you can't get it from the local
> Halfords.
>
>
I've used Plexus and it is pretty good but some people at my club reckon
that Sparkle was better, in the old days when you could find it in the UK!
Nick
Tom
product they advertised as "Pure carnuba wax." When we opened the can,
it was soft, and they confirmed it was loaded with silicone and
polymers, but the wax was indeed 100% carnuba.
We explained our needs and some time later, they contacted us with the
news they were now making a product that fits our needs.
It is indeed 100% pure carnuba wax, with a very small amount of non-
harmful polymer to allow it to be applied by hand or machine.
You can purchase it from our web site for $22.95. www.eglider.org
I am convinced waxing your glider is extremely important to protect
the surface. We do our Duo Discus by hand twice a year.
This product may be sold by your local gliderport, and we urge you to
support your local gliderport whenever possible during these
difficult financial times.
Tom Knauff
Bob
products to buff out and remove. The gloss level is not dependent on
applying more "elbow grease" i.e., rubbing harder. Wx/Block contains
no silcone and has the highest level of UV inhibition of any wax
prodcut on the market. Carnuba-based products will create a gloss, but
contain virtually no UV inhibitors.
Bob Lacovara
Wx/Block
> Williams Soaring has turned a lot of us local pilots onto Mequiars
> Deep Crystal System Carnauba Wax. This wax is extremely easy to buff
> off, even smells nice. WxBlock in comparison is a lot more work to get
> off.
John Cochrane
coat to be put in water (boat). It was recommended to me by Dave
Nelson after he did some refinishing work. Rub on, wipe off, shiny.
John Cochrane
Darryl Ramm
wrote:
And from the MSDS (http://www.sunworld.net.au/starbrite/msds.html, I
could only find the OZ one) that also seems to contain silicone. Maybe
relaying as much that silicone worry is a non-issue if people who do
glider refinishing are happy to use it themselves as with the Star
Brite or the Mequiars wax. Still you won't see me cleaning bugs off my
glider with Pledge any time soon.
Presumably the Star Brite is really a polish not just a plain wax. But
maybe for use on gelcoat a bit if hand polish is a good thing.
Darryl
Gilbert Smith
Maybe it has other brand names, but I use Carlack (or PolyLack because
it has a sailplane on the label). Easy to use and silicone free as far
as I know.
Darryl Ramm
[snip]
> Maybe it has other brand names, but I use Carlack (or PolyLack because
> it has a sailplane on the label). Easy to use and silicone free as far
> as I know.
Well Polylack seems to claim no silicon and Carlack does contains
silicone at least that is clearly warned on the AFE Online web site.
So if that is what you are worried about which one of the two you use
seems to be pretty significant. So back to the argument of is really
an issue or not?...
Darryl
Robert Gaines
>>as I know.
>
>
to degree that there will be no problems with any product used on a
surface.
There are so many contaminants floating around that a repair shop must
go through a careful cleaning of the damaged area before any work is
started.
So, I doubt that it makes any difference as to the brand/type of polish
used.
Your opinion may vary.
Jump in.
Bob
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Martin Gregorie
> On Sep 27, 1:56 pm, Gilbert Smith <nos...@nospam.com> wrote: [snip]
>> Maybe it has other brand names, but I use Carlack (or PolyLack because
>> it has a sailplane on the label). Easy to use and silicone free as far
>> as I know.
>
I use Mer 'Ultimate Car Polish', a UK product, on my airframe. Its MSDS
shows it to be non hazardous and doesn't list silicone, *but* their FAQ
says that their polish contains silicone and that all polishes contain it.
I also use Sparkle on my canopy. Its a US product and was apparently
developed during WW2 to clean B-29 canopies. I haven't found an MSDS but
they say the product contains only water, a mixture of glycols and a
purple tint.
Darryl Ramm
wrote:
Sparkle is easy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Butoxyethanol (Oh what's a little
infertility to guarantee a clean canopy?)
Mer's lack of clear marketing is more a headscratcher. There are sites
claiming Mer products are silicone free. As for the Mer website
"silicon" content (note they say silicon not silicone). Who knows what
they mean to say but likely most *polishes* do contain silicon dioxide
or similar. Now whether they contain one of the silicone oils is a
different question. I let the original poster's obvious mistake on
"silicon" vs. "silicone" go by without comment but now we have a
manufacter's web site with some ambiguity.
Darryl
Berry
Robert Gaines <remove_to_r...@tds.net> wrote:
Been in a number of glider repair shops. Usually see empty New Finish
bottles lying around...
Nick Hill
>
> I also use Sparkle on my canopy. Its a US product and was apparently
> developed during WW2 to clean B-29 canopies. I haven't found an MSDS but
> they say the product contains only water, a mixture of glycols and a
> purple tint.
>
>
I have used Sparkle before but cannot now find a local UK outlet. Do you
know of UK suppliers?
Nick Hill
Dave Nadler
> Been in a number of glider repair shops...
It was your partner's fault, ehhh ?
Lars Peder Hansen
(the "S" in LS)
He clearly stated that it does not matter at all if polish used on glider
surfaces contain silicone. The reason: exactly what Bob also notes, no
professional repairs can be done unless the surface is ground way beyond the
depth to which silicone can penetrate.
I guess he should know. I have since then used silicone based polishes on my
gliders, and I have also had them repaired (dont ask..) without any
complaints from the shops
Happy (silicone assisted) soaring,
Lars Peder
DG-600 EE, Denmark
"Robert Gaines" <remove_to_r...@tds.net> wrote in message
news:7ia87eF...@mid.individual.net...
Papa3
wrote:
> Many years ago I attended at talk on gelcoat maintenance by Mr. Schneider
> (the "S" in LS)
>
> He clearly stated that it does not matter at all if polish used on glider
> surfaces contain silicone. The reason: exactly what Bob also notes, no
> professional repairs can be done unless the surface is ground way beyond the
> depth to which silicone can penetrate.
> I guess he should know. I have since then used silicone based polishes on my
> gliders, and I have also had them repaired (dont ask..) without any
> complaints from the shops
>
> Happy (silicone assisted) soaring,
> Lars Peder
> DG-600 EE, Denmark
>
>
> news:7ia87eF...@mid.individual.net...
>
>
>
> > Easy to use and silicone free as far
> >>>as I know.
>
> >> I would bet that repair shops clean, clean and grind all old areas back
> > to degree that there will be no problems with any product used on a
> > surface.
> > There are so many contaminants floating around that a repair shop must
> > go through a careful cleaning of the damaged area before any work is
> > started.
> > So, I doubt that it makes any difference as to the brand/type of polish
> > used.
> > Your opinion may vary.
> > Jump in.
>
> - Show quoted text -
I'm by no means an expert (just a guy who does an ocaisional minor
cosmetic repair or refinish now and again), but my mentors taught me
to start every project with copious amounts of 3M Prep Solvent (or
equivalent) to remove wax, oil, grease, etc. This usually meant two
passes using new (clean) paper towels for each pass. Never had any
problems with gelcoat adhesion...
P3
Berry
<1c39030d-b41d-4ae0...@o21g2000vbl.googlegroups.com>,
Dave Nadler <d...@nadler.com> wrote:
Never my own glider (yet) thankfully. A wonder considering how often I
land out!
Martin Gregorie
> I have used Sparkle before but cannot now find a local UK outlet. Do you
> know of UK suppliers?
>
I can't find any UK suppliers either. However, I did discover that AFE
and Severn Valley Sailplanes stock Meguiars canopy polish, which got an
honorable mention earlier in this thread. They also have Plexus canopy
polish. Anybody know anything about this stuff?.
Severn also stock Mer, just in case you can't get it from the local
Halfords.