# Silicone Surface Contaminants



## Maux_Faux (Mar 28, 2012)

ok... now that i've made the "introduction" i'm ready to do some brain-pickin'!

i've been dealing with the evil silicone in my workplace for YEARS!... the establishment will not listen to reason and eliminate the use of silicone based products (RTV mainly, but there are others)... we've come up with a few cleaning processes that work for the most part... but here's the kicker... there's no way to tell if the parts are contaminated until the second primer or topcoat is applied (fisheyes)... does anyone know of a way to detect the presence of silicone on metal surfaces before coatings are applied?


----------



## Alchroma (Mar 25, 2012)

I'd try a wet rag over the surface. Should ciss/fisheye if silicone is present.

Al


----------



## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Can the establishment be convinced to use a paintible silicon in their process?


----------



## Maux_Faux (Mar 28, 2012)

CApainter said:


> Can the establishment be convinced to use a paintible silicon in their process?


i've suggested they find a suitable replacement... there doesn't seem to be one that meets the criteria for the application


----------



## wills fresh coat (Nov 17, 2011)

Maux_Faux said:


> ok... now that i've made the "introduction" i'm ready to do some brain-pickin'!
> 
> i've been dealing with the evil silicone in my workplace for YEARS!... the establishment will not listen to reason and eliminate the use of silicone based products (RTV mainly, but there are others)... we've come up with a few cleaning processes that work for the most part... but here's the kicker... there's no way to tell if the parts are contaminated until the second primer or topcoat is applied (fisheyes)... does anyone know of a way to detect the presence of silicone on metal surfaces before coatings are applied?


If its a pretty common occurrence on this job I would just go into with the mindset that I need to prime all the clear silicone with an oil based primer and not guess.....when ever I apply a latex to silicone it separates almost immediately not on the second coat


----------



## Amish Elecvtrician (Jul 3, 2011)

Do you have a Motion Industries near you?

They mainly sell bearings, but also represent Dow-Corning. Corning has a product in a spray can called OS-2 Silicone cleaner and prep. 

When i see a fisheye in the wet paint, I wipe the paint off the spot, wipe the spot with OS-2 on a rag, the paint. No delay, no more fisheye. It's that easy.


----------



## Maux_Faux (Mar 28, 2012)

Amish Elecvtrician said:


> Do you have a Motion Industries near you?
> 
> They mainly sell bearings, but also represent Dow-Corning. Corning has a product in a spray can called OS-2 Silicone cleaner and prep.
> 
> When i see a fisheye in the wet paint, I wipe the paint off the spot, wipe the spot with OS-2 on a rag, the paint. No delay, no more fisheye. It's that easy.


we actually use the Dow Corning cleaner... the problem is that in the manufacturing environment i work in, we're looking at hundreds of pieces sometimes... time and efficiency are critical as with anything... by the time we're in the spray booth with the parts prepped and ready for primer/paint, well, that's not really the time to realize that we have surface contamination... trust me, we've been down all the avenues regarding this issue... my thought was that if we could detect the silicone by some means, we could take the necessary steps to rectify the problem before the parts are hanging in the booth


----------



## Maux_Faux (Mar 28, 2012)

*Link*

i found this yesterday

http://www.finishing.com/399/79.shtml


----------



## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Follow the link for the answer to your silicon contamination problem. I hope you get a promotion for solving the problem. Good Luck!
http://www.chem.agilent.com/Library/applications/5990-7799EN.pdf They actually have different models and sizes of the FlexScan


----------



## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Two other ideas:

1. Paint the parts prior to assembly
2. Have the establishment use a color of RTV that you can notice during paint preparation.


----------

