How Does Pledge Lemon Spray Affect Wood Finish?

[Jay Chan]

I am in the process of finishing up a "refinishing" dinning table. I am trying to wait for a coat of poly to become fully cured before I sand it one more time and apply the last thich coat of poly on it (and then wait another month to rub polish it). Someone comes along sprayed a coat of pledge lemon spray on it. I am under the impression that Pledge comes with sillicon and is going to create a "fish eye" problem when I put on another coat of poly.

My questions are:

- Is this true that Pledge comes with sillicon and is going to become a problem with another coat of poly finish?

- How should I remove it? Of course, I have already tried using household cleaner. But I am afraid that this may not be enough.

Please help! Thanks.

Jay Chan

[Nova]

The MSDS for Lemon Pledge shows:

Ingredient Name: DIMETHYL POLYSILOXANE (MONOMER: DIMETHYL SILOXANE), SILICONE FLUID, DOW CORNING 200, POLYMETHYLSILOXANE *98-1*

[Stoutman]

Because all of your wood pores are sealed at this point you should be ok. Wipe the table (silicone oil is oil soluble, not water soluble) with a rag dampened with mineral spirits. This will dissolve any of the pledge silicone oil residue. Repeat this process 2-3 times. You should be fine! (This will NOT effect your poly you already have on the table that is cured).

[B A R R Y]

It's silicon_e_, not sand, or the stuff they make memory chips from.

You don't. Seal it in with a coat of dewaxed shellac, sold in good paint stores as Zinnser Seal Coat, and apply the poly over it. Zinnser clear shellac in spray cans is also dewaxed.

Normal Zinnser brush-on clear and orange shellac is NOT dewaxed, so it's not suitable under polyurethane.

Shellac dries fast and is a bit different to use than a typical polyurethane varnish. Try it on the underside of the table or scrap wood to get the hang of it, or spring for the spray cans. If you do brush it on, you can clean the brush with SLX Denatured Alcohol, or let it harden and soak it in alcohol before the next use. Most disposable foam brushes are also suitable for applying seal coat.

Apply a coat of shellac, let dry a few hours, then apply the first coat of poly. After the poly dries for a day or two, _lightly_ scuff it with 400 grit sand paper and a sanding block, remove the dust with a tack rag, and apply the finish coat.

I

[Larry Blanchard]

Divorce her :-).

--=20 It's turtles, all the way down

[Jay Chan]

Thanks for the good tip. I will try removing the silicone using mineral spirits as soon as I get back home.

Jay Chan

[Jay Chan]

I will try using mineral spirits to dissolve the Pledge first. If this is not good enough, I will spray a coat of dewaxed shellac over the surface. Thanks for the suggestion.

Jay Chan

[Jay Chan]

Somehow, I cannot find this info in the can, nor in the product-feature page in their web site. Thanks for finding this info for me.

Jay Chan

[Jay Chan]

She was trying to be helpful. But I have trashed the spray can just to be in the safe side.

Jay Chan

[Stoutman]

And of course do this in a well ventilated area.

[sweet sawdust]

[B A R R Y]

Deft is most famous for brushing lacquer. Lacquer is redissolved by solvent. Varnishes, including polyurethane varnishes, go through a chemical reaction when they cure and are not able to be redissolved by their original solvent.

Could the product that original Pledge was removing actually have been Deft lacquer and not a polyurethane varnish at all, hence the confusion and problems?

[sweet sawdust]

[Jay Chan]

And that is the thing. The cold weather outside forces me to keep the window closed. And I can use mineral spirits to clean the table for only one time in this evening. I will do this again two more times when the weather becomes nicer. Anyway, I can see that the mineral spirits is able to remove most if not all the Pledge even after only one cleaning. Thanks for the good tip.

Jay Chan

[B A R R Y]

Good thing you tested it.

Imagine the marriages you saved!

Thanks for the story.