# Tack cloths, good or bad?



## ponch37300

I've always used tack clothes to wipe things down before finishing but have read that some have had problems with them affecting the finish. I'm finishing some cabinets with minwax oil stain and poly finish. When done sanding any problems with wiping down with tack cloths? I'm fnishing these in the basement so not sure I want to blow down with air and have a ton of dust floating around before finishing.


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## mdntrdr

I use a micro fiber cloth along with compressed air. 

You could probably forgo the air in your situation. :smile:


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## ponch37300

mdntrdr said:


> I use a micro fiber cloth along with compressed air.
> 
> You could probably forgo the air in your situation. :smile:


Do the box stores sell micro fiber cloth? What is the difference between micro fiber and tack cloth? In my searching I saw micro fiber but hadn't heard of that before.


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## mdntrdr

Micro cloths have no sticky residue and can be found almost everywhere. Walmart... :smile:


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## Tony B

I blow down with my air compressor and dry wipe with a soft cotton cloth. At worst, I will use a cloth soaked in lacquer thinner to pick up the final dust - That is on a new wood surface. If I need a wipe down between coats, I will use a rag dampened in mineral spirits.

I use lacquer almost exclusively and it will react with the residue from the tack cloth. 

If you are using poly, just dampen a clean cotton cloth in a solution of poly and mineral spirits. It will be tacky enough to pick up the dust from new wood.

Keep in mind that poly and other long drying time products have a bigger problem with dust in the air landing on the wet surface then they do with the initial cleaning. Keeping a relatively dust free shop is not that hard to do. The best choice is to find a very dust free area (maybe inside the house) to let the parts cure in but that is not always possible.


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## HowardAcheson

Tack cloths are one of the best ways to spread contaminates onto surfaces. Some of the treatment applied to store bought tack cloths can be contaminates themselves.

The best process for removing dust is to first vacuum the surface with your shop vac using a soft upholstery brush. Follow this with a wiping with a clean cloth lightly dampened with mineral spirits. Now you're ready to apply your finish. 

I know some feel otherwise but every finisher I worked with would avoid using compressed air or any blower to remove sanding dust if finishing was going to be done in the same room. The last thing you want to do is to stir up the dust into the air in the finishing area. Your objective should be to minimize or eliminate airborne dust. The two biggest sources of dust on a finished surface is dust in the air and dust on the finisher's clothing.


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## Fred Hargis

They are bad....no real reason to use them. (IMHO, of course)


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## Steve Neul

I let a Star Finishing Products rep talk me into using a tack cloth one time and I thought I was going to have to strip the finish on the project I was working on and start over. It left a sticky residue here and there to fix so I never used them again. Ever since then I just use a clean dry cloth and compressed air. Works for me.


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## ponch37300

Thanks for all the advice.

Silly me didn't realise what microfiber was. I have a bag of microfiber clothes I can use.


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## Steve Neul

ponch37300 said:


> Thanks for all the advice.
> 
> Silly me didn't realise what microfiber was. I have a bag of microfiber clothes I can use.


Be sure to watch for snaps and buttons.


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## cabinetman

The sticky type tack cloths can leave a residue, especially if they are pressed down to the subject surface. A dry tack cloth *like this*, will leave no residue and are reusable.

Maintaining a dust free area where you will be applying a finish can be difficult. Much dust is lighter than air. If you use compressed air to clean, use it somewhere else...completely away from the finishing area. Vacuuming can present a problem, as they all exhaust air, and not only will it stir the air, but can contain debris in the exhaust.

A clean lint free "T" shirt type cloth and just damp with a solvent (lacquer thinner, acetone, mineral spirits, VM&P Naptha, denatured alcohol, or water), can be used as a tack cloth. NOTE: Mineral spirits being petroleum based should be used with oil base products. Damp with water can be used with waterbased products. Care should be taken not to smear the debris around on the surface leaving it there.








 







.


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## burkhome

cabinetman said:


> The sticky type tack cloths can leave a residue, especially if they are pressed down to the subject surface. A dry tack cloth *like this*, will leave no residue and are reusable.
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> Maintaining a dust free area where you will be applying a finish can be difficult. Much dust is lighter than air. If you use compressed air to clean, use it somewhere else...completely away from the finishing area. Vacuuming can present a problem, as they all exhaust air, and not only will it stir the air, but can contain debris in the exhaust.
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> A clean lint free "T" shirt type cloth and just damp with a solvent (lacquer thinner, acetone, mineral spirits, VM&P Naptha, denatured alcohol, or water), can be used as a tack cloth. NOTE: Mineral spirits being petroleum based should be used with oil base products. Damp with water can be used with waterbased products. Care should be taken not to smear the debris around on the surface leaving it there.
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 Just to reenforce what you are saying about mineral spirits...I run a hardware store and periodically have to deal with various finish problems with assorted paint companies. Recently we had a problem with a poly finish on cabinets. Turns out that the customer cleaned the dust off with mineral spirits before applying solvent based poly...apparently a no no.


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## Fred Hargis

burkhome said:


> Recently we had a problem with a poly finish on cabinets. Turns out that the customer cleaned the dust off with mineral spirits before applying solvent based poly...apparently a no no.


Maybe you mistyped, but MS is what you use before applying solvent based varnish. If somone had a problem with that, something else was at fault. I know a lot of folks keep varnish around far too long after the can is first opened, and then expect it to be fine ("well, I cleaned the skinned over surface off"). That, or some other circumstance, had to be the cause of any problem.


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## AnselmFraser

We blow down with compressed air and then take the piece immediately to the dust free finishing room , if you don`t have this then its once again time to take over another room in the house ! You can use all types of tack cloths but if you use the above method there is no chance of an adverse chemical reaction at a later date .
I hope this helps .
Anselm .


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## HowardAcheson

>>>> Maybe you mistyped, but MS is what you use before applying solvent based varnish. If somone had a problem with that, something else was at fault.

Right Fred, mineral spirits should never cause a contamination problem. It will not damage any finish that has fully dried. And, it completely evaporates so there is no residue left on the surface.


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## burkhome

HowardAcheson said:


> >>>> Maybe you mistyped, but MS is what you use before applying solvent based varnish. If somone had a problem with that, something else was at fault.
> 
> Right Fred, mineral spirits should never cause a contamination problem. It will not damage any finish that has fully dried. And, it completely evaporates so there is no residue left on the surface.


 I have used mineral spirits many times to remove dust before poly with no problems but the paint company says it should not be done.


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