Silicone...Is it really that bad?

[TBIRD Phil]

Im sure this topic has been discussed a million times but here it goes. Everyone treats silicone like its going to melt your guitar into a puddle of goo. But like most people say it makes it so a refinish is next to impossible. So my question is, how many of us really refinish a guitar? I don't think I'd ever get any one of my guitars a new finish and wonder how many people actually do.

[TED STEVENSON]

It definitely won't melt your guitar or really harm it but professional builders like to keep that stuff out of the shop because the contamination can be widespread and cause all sorts of problems.

[Rosewood]

The stuff is just hard to remove and nobody now days wants to use anti-fisheye (silicon) in the paint because then you have to use it in every coat. I know I've had my share of headaches with it.

[syxxstring]

I thought this is why products like Wax And Grease Remover were sold at body shop supply stores.

[brent]

in this day and age of relics, why refinish?

[Rosewood]

Originally Posted by syxxstring

I thought this is why products like Wax And Grease Remover were sold at body shop supply stores.

The problem with that wax and grease remover is your suppose to keep it really wet so the contaminates float to the surface and that is not a good idea on wood. Still though when I'm doing finish work I wash it down with naphtha, ammonia, and denatured alcohol before stripping and several times after stripping and occasionally still see some fisheyes.

[syxxstring]

Thats not the way I was trained to use HOK's wax and grease remover, KC20 is a wipe on and wipe off with a clean rag product.
I was assuming we were talking about it on a finished instrument. Not sure why you would silicone the bare wood.

[Rosewood]

Originally Posted by syxxstring

Thats not the way I was trained to use HOK's wax and grease remover, KC20 is a wipe on and wipe off with a clean rag product.
I was assuming we were talking about it on a finished instrument. Not sure why you would silicone the bare wood.

You don't silicone bare wood, but it gets into the wood anyway, through cracks, screw holes and through some finishes. You just can't clean enough when it comes to silicone. Once you see fisheyes it is a big waste of time before you get things back to normal. Adding silicone to the finish makes it flow over the silicone contaminate but you're better off cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. If silicone was added to the old finish it in every coat which means it's probably in the wood also. As far as using wax and grease remover some of those products leave a film behind after cleaning which is why some use a water based/alcohol cleaner after a oil base wax and grease remover. Because of the amount labor involved it's just better to assume there's silicone contamination.

[syxxstring]

Well there are different Wax And Grease removers for pre and post sanding as far as film goes, but solvents are also a good choice. I very rarely do anything that I don't prime. This is more my style:

[Rosewood]

Originally Posted by syxxstring

Well there are different Wax And Grease removers for pre and post sanding as far as film goes, but solvents are also a good choice. I very rarely do anything that I don't prime. This is more my style:

I like that blue with the pickup covers and rings painted. No binding showing makes that body look smaller. I did a black 335 years ago with no binding.

[walterw]

"Silicone...Is it really that bad?"
maybe.

[Boris Bubbanov]

Hmmm.

"Chlamydia...Is it really that bad?"

One of those things; the more you know about it, the more you wish everyone would work harder to stop it from getting everywhere.

[Don A]

It's horrible stuff! Keep it away from all your gear, not just guitars, but your amps and cases as well.

[John Coloccia]

Silicone products are strictly not allowed in my workshop. When I have a job to do (for instance, I just hooked up a new cyclone dust collector), and it needs silicone, the tube come in, I do the job, and the tube goes right in the trash and out the door.

If you get a drop of silicone anywhere on the product, it'll somehow get all over the shop. It's not impossible to work with/remove but it is very time consuming and could be expensive depending what you contaminate with it.

It's just easier to keep it out of the shop, that's all. Then I don't have to worry about it.

[syxxstring]

System One makes a good water based wax that I've used a bit. They aren't a bad polishing system either.
Coast Airbrush sells it.