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Re: [TCML] Polyurethane Finish Questions (update)
Thanks for all the useful responses. I opted for mineral spirits and a clean shop cloth, which removed most of the dirt. However, several water stains refused to come out. This secondary (4" x 24", 28AWG) was on the floor of my garage during Katrina. It has been in storage ever since. It was in a plastic bag, which I thought was waterproof. I was mistaken. The water stains looked like s###. (Me, looking disgruntled).
I wiped the thing again thoroughly with mineral spirits, gave it a fresh coat of oil-based clear gloss polyurethane, and went to the neighbor's for a long coffee break. Went I got home, I mounted said secondary on my new SGTC pedestal, and excited it with two 9/60 NSTs and a sucker gap. Sparks were disappointing, but it worked. I replaced the little 4" drainpipe toroid with a monstrous 9" x 30" donut, and streamers went to 36" or so. It needs finer tuning, and "k" needs tweaking. Even so, I salvaged a neat-looking secondary, and got first light on my new coil. Not a bad night's work! Cool--I'm tired of Katrina taking things from me.
(Me, now looking gruntled),
Greg
--- On Tue, 4/21/09, BunnyKiller <bunnikillr@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: BunnyKiller <bunnikillr@xxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [TCML] Polyurethane Finish Questions
> To: "Tesla Coil Mailing List" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 9:30 PM
> Hey Greg...
>
> for cleaning purposes, stick with a soft cloth and a mild
> soap. any type
> of "solvent based" fluid will eventually dry out
> the finish and create a
> dull sheen, or worse, remove the coating..
>
> its really not the dielectric quality( i consider
> dielectric factor more
> apt to capacitor usage) of the coating you need but more
> the insulative
> factor, protective layer, and visual
> "prettyness"... if metallic
> particles are infused in the coating, it may increase the
> potental of
> secondary arcing...
>
> Scot D
>
>
> G Hunter wrote:
>
> >What's the safest way to clean a secondary coil
> coated with oil based polyurethane? I have paint thinner
> and also denatured alcohol on-hand. Should I buy turpentine
> or mineral spirits? I don't want to ruin the glossy
> finish. I just want to clean off dust, dirt, and
> fingerprints.
> >
> >I've also recently read that polyurethane oil
> finishes may contain metallic drying agents, including zinc.
> Metals in the varnish? Seriously? Why doesn't this ruin
> the dielectric qualities of the cured poly?
> >
> >Cheers,
> >
> >Greg
> >
> >
> >
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> >
>
>
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