The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Tack Rags?

Hello, What are you guys using for tack rags?

tack rags is what I use for tack rags, when doing wood work ... available at any general paint store

for auto body work, I blow off the surface with the air gun, then use a good grease/wax remover, before sanding and before priming or painting

Bill

on the issues of grease/wax remover, does acetone make a good one?

I was wondering if anyone had any sort of special way of making their own and how that is?

NO! Much too caustic. Plain old mineral spirits works OK. Whatever you use make sure to wipe it off before it dries.

and wipe in one direction only Jake, don't rub the dirt back in!!

Michael - tacks are usually a mix of thinner and varnish I believe, on cheesecloth, but they're so cheap, why bother?

Bill

I would think Acetone would peel your primer right off ..good blowin off of parts an a good clean with mineral spirits would be best ..or a Wax & Grease remover from your local FLAPS

On the acetone I was using it on the bare metal as a cleaning prior to priming, Would that be OK?

V-6 ,
on bare metal ACETONE it is a great cleaner ..
it avoporates in seconds ..an works great ..but for final prep a grease an wax remover is always a good choice before ya tack it down an shoot primer or color ..just remeber CLEAN is 100% of any paint job

Dear Michael;

Laquer thinner is okay prior to priming and already there (in stock).

Wax/grease remover is for painted/primed surfaces (as stated) prior to sanding etc.

Then a 'tach rag' is used, just prior to 'shooting' etc.

You can get them from the automotive Paint Store.

Good luck.

It dries too quick. The key is to keep it wet until you wipe it off. If it dries before you get it wiped off the wax is still on the metal. In no way shape or form is acetone good for pre-paint wax & grease removal.

FYI, back in the day when dirt was young & I earned my living with a paint gun, tack rags were cheese cloth impregnated with bees wax. Can't say what's in them these days.

Tiny, the ones I use (I get them at the local farm store in the paint dept.) are just that, cheesecloth with beeswax. Super cheap. I got a box of 25 for under $5.

if they used beeswax on tack cloths you couldn't get'em cheap!! and beeswax isn't 'tacky', makes a good releaser to keep drill bits from sticking in aluminum, it's a ..... wax

the sticky on commercial tack cloths is rosin [resin], which I think they dissolve in alcohol to apply, then the alcohol evaporates

Bill

Commercial Tack rags usually work better if left out to dry over night.

But when it comes to grease and wax remover I prefer DuPont Final Klean 3901S™ it is a fast-dry surface cleaner formulated to speed final surface preparation prior to painting. DuPont Final Klean 3901S™ works well in removing sanding sludge, dust, fingerprints, and small amounts of grease and oil.

It dries slower than lacquer thinner but fast than mineral spirits.

generally, when you are sanding a finish either scuffing it, or actually sanding the old paint off, you are removing any wax or grease in the process. Where you have to be careful is just before you apply any coating. Greasy finger prints, are the major problem. So before you apply any coating whether it be primer or paint, you need to get rid of the finger prints.

Frank

It's not as bad as it sounds Bill. As I said I don't know if they still use beeswax but look at it this way. What is in wax that makes paint fisheye? Silicone. What is "fisheye eliminator" that you put in paint when you get fisheyes so that the paint will stick to them? Silicone (at least used to be back in the day). When used correctly and in proper amounts, materials that would normally be taboo can be benificial. Look at chlorene in drinking water, botulin (sp?) toxin to get rid of wrinkes, phosphoric acid in soft drinks, etc..

The proper way to use a tack rag is to completely unfold it and kneed it several times to warm it up and increase the tack. You then lightly wad it up and LIGHTLY rub the surface to be painted, refolding it as necessary. It wouldn't surprise me if they're using resin these days, it's probably cheaper and may do a better job.

Thanks for the info all... I was not aware they made such a thing for the auto body. When I was in high school (long ago) I was told to make one with wet paint on it so that you ended up with a sticky rag. I was not sure how that stacked up.

it is a bad idea to sand greese off if a panel is really dirty i always clean it really good firstbefor i even do body work sanding just moves it around and pushes it into the paint fisheye city

Maybe I am not correctly understanding some of the posts above, but, I do not think it would be good idea to use any silicone-based (or silicone-impregnated) product anywhere near a surface that was being prepared to be painted.

You're right. Thanks for pointing out that I didn't make myself clear. I wasn't refering to silicone being in bees wax. I don't know if bees wax has silicone in it or not. I was refering to auto polishes and waxes. However the fix for fisheyes was (still is???) silicone (fisheye eliminator) added to the paint. It is far better to clean the surface to be painted than to use fisheye eliminator since it leaves a somewhat orangepeal finish when it is used.

Tiny,

Thanks for the information about fish-eye eliminator. I wonder (as you do) if all brands still contain silicone.

I try to keep anything silicone-based off my vehicles. This is tough to do, especially with rubber/seal/vinyl/leather treatments. I've heard that silicone is used in most paint/rubber/vinyl treatments and can ruin a room for future paint spraying (once the room has been contaminated, you can't get rid of the contamination, I'm told).

Tim

my boss used to say w-d 40 could cause fish eyes if sprayed 2 days ago 3 miles away