Testing Organic Solvents Against Cured Silicone Caulk

 

Toluene, Xylene, Ethanol, Methanol, Hexane, Benzene, Ketone, and Dimethyl Sulfoxide are a short list of organic solvents.  Organic solvents contain both carbon and oxygen and other elements sometimes such as sulfur.  They have different strengths and are used for different purposes.  They also will soften cured silicone caulk to different degrees.  We need to find out which works best.  That will be the one we will want to use to create a compound based on different superabrasive powders such as a silica, or aluminum oxide, or another.  To do this I developed a very simple grassroots test for my IGSA  members.  The followers of this blog.

First I created my own "test strips" of cured silicone caulk.  By laying down swaths of silicone flattened out on a sheet of plexiglass.  Each about three inches wide by six inches long.  Le them cure.  Then peal them off the plexi.  Next I filled six cups with six different solvents in question.  After I dipped a piece of cured silicone in each cup.  Then left them all to hang out together for a half hour.  Same time, same silicone, different solvents.  I removed them, dried them, and dug into them using my thumb nail.  Or something else.  If you just got a manicure done you might want to use something else.

Most of the solvents that I tested didn't make "much" of a difference.  But one did.  It was a product called Safe Strip by EcoLink.  The chief chemical used is N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone CAS No 872-50-4.  Another chemical name is Dipropylene Glycol Dimethyl Ether.  I am putting this out there because if I were to develop a product based on this chemical for the WCR I would have to include the MSDS anyhow.  So it really doesn't matter.  The point I am making here is that finding the correct solvent to use for a product/compound is only a first step.  The most important one is locating the correct superabrasive powders to blend with the solvent.  On the open market we have an absolute zoo of these.  I call it the particle zoo.  But I am NOT talking about the subatomic particle zoo.

Another reason that I don't care about mentioning Safe Strip is because it does have some health concerns.  If you look up the SDS you will be able to read about them.  Also there are other solvents out there that are very strong solvents.  My focus is on the testing of these different ingredients and products.  If you do the tests you will be able to figure things out on your own.  Or you can send me an email and tell me what you are working on.  I can then help you figure out what to use, how to efficiently and safely do the job, how to sell it, and especially how to price it.

If for example someone has sealed the brickwork of the building with a waterproofing siloxane spray (similar to cured silicone caulk), you will be facing a restoration job.  Because a metal scraper will not work.  Especially if there are hard water spots underneath.  You might also have an etched glass surface hidden underneath the siloxane overspray from the previous use of hydrofluoric acid.  The acid having been used to remove hard water spots.  Also the glass might be scratch sensitive (defective).  The real answer then to finding the correct answer to restoring the glass will absolutely lye in using several different inspection techniques.  Further once the building has been restored correctly you will need to use the right glass sealant to cut the time down to a fraction of the first time if any hard water spots are expected to return.  This of course must be added to the price.

Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

The Absolute Best Silicone Caulk Buster !!!

Once a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chain polymer has crosslinked to itself (cured), there are very few liquid chemicals that will melt it off glass.  Short of those that have extreme health hazards.  In other words, once caulk has cured and bonded to itself and the glass, there are no products you can just wipe it off with.  But we can develop a very powerful, solvent based superabrasive loaded compound, that will very easily rub it off by hand with a soft terry towel.  Safely.  Here is a picture of  the solvent that I use.  It makes a great suspension with most any superabrasive powder.  The powder that you chose is really the key however.

Key because it must not do any harm to any factory applied thin film metal coating if it were used just in water.  Also it must not do any harm to defective glass that is scratch sensitive.  An extreme word of caution however is you should never use this solvent or any type of superabrasive provided on any type of plastic surface.  That includes acrylic, polycarbonate, or solar film.

Once blended it can be kept in a small 4 ounce open mouth jar.  Preferably made of glass.  Then if the superabrasive powder falls out of suspension it can be blended again with a coffee stirrer.  When it is ready to use a 20 ounce syringe works great.  Just soap and squeegee the window.  Then wet it with pure water.  Any silicone residue will remove the water.  Then you just put a small amount on a terry and rub the silicone off.  Soap and squeegee then wet with water again.  If the Silicone Buster has worked the water will sheet and not bead.  The solvent is water miscible so is easy to remove with soapy water.  It is not an oily chemical.

The idea in using it from a syringe is you can control how much product and time you put into removing the silicone.  Which will save you a lot of money and maximize profit.  Remember process and profit go together.

Henry

henrygrover222@gmail.com

Creating a Product for Coated Window Surfaces

The very first thing that MUST be considered is excatly what surface you are working on.  The reason for this is so either you or I can purchased a brand new sample of this window.  Once we have it we can test any product on it to see if that product is safe.  It cannot and must not do any harm to the surface.

Then we need to source which product(s) we need to test and test them on the sample plate/window.  Once we have discovered which ones are safe you can go to the job site and do a hand test of a 4 by 4 inch surface.  This is very simple.  Just soap and squeegee the window.  Make sure it is free of all dirt.  Then by hand rub your product on the surface.  A 4 by 4 inch area.  You should have the approval of the owner/manager beforehand.  Soap and squeegee then examine the results.  Look for scratching in the bright sun.  Also check to see if any of the coating was removed.  There are different ways to do this.

Building a product involves finding the best superabrasive powder(s).  Then locating the right carrier fluid.  Which might be based on a powerful organic solvent.  This will depend on exactly what you are removing.  You might just be dealing with a mar damaged surface.  Or light scratches.  But you might be dealing with paint or cured concrete.  Depending on all of these factors and more we might need to "build a product".  Or not.  

Since we are working mostly on thin film metal coatings like titanium dioxide, a typical metal polish like Flitz could work.  Or even a brass polish like Top Brite.  Sourcing the right product might take some time.  But once found you will have it to use again.

Just remember NOT to ever use a razor on a coated surface no matter what it is.  Remember the factory applied coatings usually cannot be restored.  They cannot be stripped off and reapplied.  Whereas as field applied coatings usually can.

But this is why I should work along with you regarding anything that needs more than a good scrub and squeegee.  Just send me an email with any questions.

Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

Coatings Can Make You Really Big Money

There are two basic types of coatings used on window glass; factory applied and field applied.  They both need maintenance.  Although only one can be reapplied if it is damaged.  That of course would be the field applied coating such as Nanovations NG1010.  Which is a field applied hydrophobic sealant.  There are many other field applied coatings or sealants.  They began as hydrophobic sealants.  But have become rather diversified over the last fifty years.  The factory applied coatings have also become rather diversified too.  There are antireflective, low emmisivity (low e), heat resistant, solar/electric, hydrophylic/low maintenance, mar resistant, and many others.  These can be found on any side of insulating double pained glazing.  Here is a link to a company in Japan that specializes in some rather fascinating field applied coatings.

Sketch Co.

We are going to have to be on the look out for coatings as we perform our work.  Much of the tech talk on our social media has focused on why some glass is very prone to scratches.  Which is a VERY important concern.  Because making a mistake here could create a lawsuit that could take your company away.  The IWCA several years ago spent a heap of money on figuring this out.  The scientific research was fascinating.  But the problem remains.  This problem is even more intense regarding glass coatings.  Because these absolutely cannot be scraped.  Ever!  So when they become laden with concrete sealant overspray, paint, concrete splatter, or something else; we must first be able to quickly recognize that there is a coating; and then know how to work with it.  To do that we must have products to work with. Which brings us to the study of superabrasives in the 100 micron range with a mohs hardness of 5 and less. 

To cap this we must be able to identify any coatings that are present (whether factory or field applied), and know how to maintain them, and with what.  We are maintainig a microscopically thin film measured in angstrom units, NOT a glass surface that can be ground off with a silicon carbide paper and polished with a high grade cerium oxide slurry at 3,000 rpms.  This takes window cleaning to a whole new level.  One I am sure that most of us will not want to move to.  But there are hidden opportunities here for all of us to consider.

If you do know how to maintain, restore, and preserve coatings;...you will stand above your competition.  You will be able to charge more for your labor.  Also you will have the knowledge to actually apply the field coatings correctly when possibly no other window cleaning company in your area does.  This will win you the contract and help you to keep it.  Tell me I am wrong about this.  It will give you a new income stream as well.  Everything I just said speaks opportunity!

Keep coming back as we move ahead.  Coatings are driving the float glass manufacturing industry.  And they will drive ours too.  So let us NOT ignore them.  Because they have the potential to make you gobs of money.

Henry

henrygrover222@gmail.com

Never Restore Glass Without Sealing

 Many restoration jobs have been performed without sealing as a final finish.  This causes the next deposit of hard water spots to weld to the windows.  It does not matter if the windows were cleared with an acid or a cerium oxide or some other superabrasive based product.

The opposite of this is also true.  If you do seal with NG1010 from Nanovations USA then the windows will be dramatically easier to clear or restore the next time around!  If the job belongs to you then you have control.  But if you are coming in blind then you have no idea what was done before.  You might even discover going through the job that certain windows are an absolute bear to clear, while others are not.  And there was no way to predict this.  The reasons could be varied.

The use of a glass etchant based product like hydrofluoric acid will make it most difficult to clear the windows the next time around.  Whereas not so much if a polishing compound like cerium oxide were used.  It could also be that only certain windows were sealed but not all.  Or it could be that a quality sealant was not used.  NG1010 has been tested by some very professional restoration experts.  It has shown the very best results.

Henry Grover Jr.

 

 

Using a Cerium Based Compound from a Syringe

These micrographs show how cerium particles tend to form "clumps" or agglomerates

Particle Distribution Curve

Notice how the tail reveals the amount of oversized particles

Five Micron Particles of Cerium Oxide

Pure white high quality cerium oxide

A cerium oxide agglomerate particle

Cerium oxide is the go to product for quickly polishing glass surfaces.  It can be used up tp 3,000 rpms and more to clear a square foot in thirty seconds or less.  When used correctly on a flat pad it will not leave swirls of "micro-scratches".  Providing the hard water spots do not have large mineral based particles.  Technique is still critical to the end result.  

The first step is using the best cerium.  Things like particle size, purity, agglomerates, particle distribution curve (PDC), quality consistency, and more must be considered. But once this has been sourced it must be determined exactly what medium the cerium powder should be used in.  Some people will just open a pail of dry cerium, wet the edge of a pad, and rip into the glass with the spinning pad turned on edge.  When this technique is used even the best product will create very bad micro-scratches that sometimes are visible only in the bright sun at just the right angle.  The polishing pad must be used totally flat.  Another technique that has been used involves mixing a slurry of cerium and water.  Let it set for a week.  Then mix and dip the pad.  Next polish your clean window to remove the hard water spots.  The problem with this method is lack of control over the splatter.  Especially if you end up very close to the plate you have just cleared.  Using a random oscillator at about 10,000 opms and a square flat felt pad completely eliminates the splatter.

Another answer involves using a cerium compound.  This is a thick well blended long lasting suspension of cerium.  The suspension is tested with a centrifuge.  I build my own scientific apparatus.  Compounds come in and are applied with a syringe.  Or it can be blended and kept in a small plastic open mouth jar.  From here it can be sucked up into a 20 gram syringe on the job.  To use I just clean the window.  Then I wet the window with clean soapy water.  Next I apply several drops of the cerium compound to the bottom of my polishing pad.  Next I apply directly to the wet window and polish.  This process allows you to control the amount of cerium used to reduce cost.  It also makes the use of the product very easy and far less messy.  Further you can calculate exactly how much time is necessary to clear a square foot.

What I personally like about compounding is you can add other super-abrasives to the cerium or silica or diamond or whatever.  Diamond has always intrigued me.  But I won't go into that here.  Just let me say one thing.  Blending diamond and cerium super-abrasives in the polishing industry is becoming a relatively common practice.  Because the results have proven to be rather favorable for different reasons.

Using a random oscillator and a hard felt pad to polish a test plate with a compound

No Mess!

Applying a thick compound from a drip bottle

If you are interested in learning more about any products I am working on just send me an email.  Or a text.

Henry 

6034989474

henrygrover222@gmail.com