Tack cloth

Last updated
A tack cloth made of gauze impregnated with a tacky material Tack cloth.jpg
A tack cloth made of gauze impregnated with a tacky material

Tack cloth (tack rag; tac cloth) is a specialized type of wiping cloth that is treated with a tacky material. It is designed to remove loose particles of dust, dirt and lint that would contaminate a surface that is to be painted, coated, laminated, photo-etched, or otherwise finished.

Contents

Design

Tack

The tack component is typically a kind of resinous material, often a petroleum derivative. The resin system may be solvent-based, water-based, or (more commonly in North America) a hot-melt. Different tack treatment materials, formulations and systems present different advantages or disadvantages. Concerns with different tack treatments may be seen in the tendencies of some to dry out or to leave residues from free oils or evaporating solvents, or with liabilities due to content of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), or in health risk from volatile organic components (VOCs), and in materials that can chemically interfere with paints, etc. Common misnomers for tack treatments are varnish, lacquer, beeswax or other references that do not describe the actual materials in modern commercial tack cloths. Adjuncts may be incorporated into the tack treatments, such as anti-static additives, fire retardants, dyes or other performance-enhancing materials.

Overall tack performance is actually a combination of independent qualities such as adhesion, cohesion, wet tack (quick-stick) and other well-defined adhesive related properties. Each of these can be manipulated to optimize performance in different types of applications and conditions. Tack cloth must be changed frequently when working with softer woods as the dust from the sanded wood tends to clog the cloth fibers quickly, reducing performance.

Cloth

The cloth component is most commonly a cotton gauze textile, but the grade and quality can vary greatly. Typical gauze specifications are in weaves of 29 (commodity) to 44 or more (commercial/professional) yarns per square inch, with the cloth weights, wiping properties and overall cost varying accordingly. Gauze may be bleached and scoured (as for medical gauze) or unbleached quality that contains more contaminants. A standard size of the cotton gauze varieties is 18 in. × 36 in. in North America (other standards are found in other countries, such as 50 cm × 80 cm).[ citation needed ] Other textiles used in tack cloths are made from continuous filament (non-fibrous) synthetic yarns to eliminate linting or from various non-woven fabrics that can reduce cost. The textile type, style, grade, quality and size are the greatest factors in tack cloth cost, and these variables can differ greatly among tack cloth brands and product designs.[ citation needed ]

Innovations

In recent decades researchers have developed lint-free tack cloths, made from continuous filament (non-fibrous) synthetic yarns and finished edges. Similar to electronics cleanroom wipers, this design is commonly required for paint process in automotive assembly plants. Another innovation has been modification of common tack cloths that are normally electrically resistive to perform at antistatic levels, defined by independent standards organizations (like ASTM, IEEE, MIL-SPEC, etc.).

More recent developments have been made in tack treatments that are water-soluble, allowing them to be washed from hands, tools or a surface to reduce the incidence of tack transfer from accumulated resins or to wash the tack from the cloths. They can be recycled like utility wipes. Water-soluble tack also improves antistatic performance, and offers potential for improved compatibility with water-based paints.[ citation needed ]

A new type of tack cloth has been developed at the Y-12 National Security Complex, a nuclear weapons plant. Its purpose was to clean up microscopic beryllium particles that posed a health hazard. The inventor, Ron Simandl, also found he could use the cloths to dry-buff the alloy wheels on his car. [1] The stubborn brake and road dirt came right off and left the wheels clean and bright. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

Paint Pigment applied over a surface that dries as a solid film

Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture to objects. Paint can be made or purchased in many colors—and in many different types, such as watercolor or synthetic. Paint is typically stored, sold, and applied as a liquid, but most types dry into a solid. Most paints are either oil-based or water-based and each have distinct characteristics. For one, it is illegal in most municipalities to discard oil-based paint down household drains or sewers. Clean up solvents are also different for water-based paint than they are for oil-based paint. Water-based paints and oil-based paints will cure differently based on the outside ambient temperature of the object being painted Usually the object being painted must be over 10 °C (50 °F), although some manufacturers of external paints/primers claim they can be applied when temperatures are as low as 2 °C (35 °F).

Textile Material produced by twining, weaving, felting, knotting, or otherwise processing [[natural or synthetic fibers]]

A textile is a flexible material made by creating an interlocking network of yarns or threads, which are produced by spinning raw fibres into long and twisted lengths. Textiles are then formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, tatting, felting, bonding, or braiding these yarns together.

Yarn Long continuous length of interlocked fibers

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, or ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or other lubricants to withstand the stresses involved in sewing. Embroidery threads are yarns specifically designed for needlework.

Fiberglass, or fibreglass is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet, or woven into glass cloth. The plastic matrix may be a thermoset polymer matrix—most often based on thermosetting polymers such as epoxy, polyester resin, or vinyl ester resin—or a thermoplastic.

Varnish Transparent hard protective finish or film

Varnish is a clear transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not a stain. It usually has a yellowish shade from the manufacturing process and materials used, but it also may be pigmented as desired, and is sold commercially in various shades.

Cellulose acetate Chemical compound refers to any acetate ester of cellulose, usually cellulose diacetate.

Cellulose acetate refers to any acetate ester of cellulose, usually cellulose diacetate. It was first prepared in 1865. A bioplastic, cellulose acetate is used as a film base in photography, as a component in some coatings, and as a frame material for eyeglasses; it is also used as a synthetic fiber in the manufacture of cigarette filters and playing cards. In photographic film, cellulose acetate film replaced nitrate film in the 1950s, being far less flammable and cheaper to produce.

Microfiber synthetic (combination of blended materials) fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers

Microfiber is synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers. A strand of silk is about one denier and about a fifth of the diameter of a human hair.

Fibre-reinforced plastic is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass, carbon, aramid, or basalt. Rarely, other fibres such as paper, wood, or asbestos have been used. The polymer is usually an epoxy, vinyl ester, or polyester thermosetting plastic, though phenol formaldehyde resins are still in use.

Metallic fiber Thread wholly or partly made from metal

Metallic fibers are manufactured fibers composed of metal, metallic alloys, plastic-coated metal, metal-coated plastic, or a core completely covered by metal.

Nonwoven fabric

Nonwoven fabric is a fabric-like material made from staple fibre (short) and long fibres, bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment. The term is used in the textile manufacturing industry to denote fabrics, such as felt, which are neither woven nor knitted. Some non-woven materials lack sufficient strength unless densified or reinforced by a backing. In recent years, non-wovens have become an alternative to polyurethane foam.

The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fibre from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns yarn into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.

2-(2-Ethoxyethoxy)ethanol Chemical compound

2-(2-Ethoxyethoxy)ethanol, also known under many trade names, is the organic compound with the formula CH3CH2OCH2CH2OCH2CH2OH. It is a colorless liquid. It is a popular solvent for commercial applications. It is produced by the ethoxylation of ethanol.

Units of textile measurement Systems for measuring textiles

Textile fibers, threads, yarns and fabrics are measured in a multiplicity of units.

Finishing (textiles) Any process performed after dyeing the yarn or fabric to improve the look, performance, or "hand" (feel) of the finished textile or clothing

In textile manufacturing, finishing refers to the processes that convert the woven or knitted cloth into a usable material and more specifically to any process performed after dyeing the yarn or fabric to improve the look, performance, or "hand" (feel) of the finish textile or clothing. The precise meaning depends on context.

Dissolving pulp, also called dissolving cellulose, is bleached wood pulp or cotton linters that has a high cellulose content. It has special properties including a high level of brightness and uniform molecular-weight distribution. This pulp is manufactured for uses that require a high chemical purity, and particularly low hemicellulose content, since the chemically similar hemicellulose can interfere with subsequent processes. Dissolving pulp is so named because it is not made into paper, but dissolved either in a solvent or by derivatization into a homogeneous solution, which makes it completely chemically accessible and removes any remaining fibrous structure. Once dissolved, it can be spun into textile fibers, or chemically reacted to produce derivatized celluloses, such cellulose triacetate, a plastic-like material formed into fibers or films, or cellulose ethers such as methyl cellulose, used as a thickener.

Conservation and restoration of ceramic objects

Conservation and restoration of ceramic objects is a process dedicated to the preservation and protection of objects of historical and personal value made from ceramic. Typically this activity of conservation-restoration is undertaken by a conservator-restorer, especially when dealing with an object of cultural heritage. Ceramics are created from a production of coatings of inorganic, nonmetallic materials using heating and cooling to create a glaze. Typically the coatings are permanent and sustainable for utilitarian and decorative purposes. The cleaning, handling, storage, and in general treatment of ceramics is consistent with that of glass because they are made of similar oxygen-rich components, such as silicates. In conservation ceramics are broken down into three groups: unfired clay, earthenware or terracotta, and stoneware and porcelain.

Wet process engineering is one of the major streams in textile engineering which refers to the engineering of textile chemical processes and associated applied science. The other three streams in textile engineering are yarn engineering, fabric engineering, and apparel engineering. The processes of this stream are involved or carried out in an aqueous stage. Hence, it is called a wet process which usually covers pre-treatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing.

Lint (material) Accumulation of clothing fibres etc.

Lint is the common name for visible accumulations of textile fibers and other materials, usually found on and around clothing. Certain materials used in the manufacture of clothing, such as cotton, linen, and wool, contain numerous, very short fibers bundled together. During the course of normal wear, these fibers may either detach or be jostled out of the weave of which they are part. This is the reason that heavily used articles like shirts and towels become thin over time, and why these particles collect in the lint screen of a clothes dryer.

Conservation and restoration of shipwreck artifacts

The conservation and restoration of shipwreck artifacts is the process of caring for cultural heritage that has been part of a shipwreck. Oftentimes these cultural artifacts have been underwater for a great length of time. Without conservation, most artifacts would perish and important historical data would be lost. In archaeological terms, it is usually the responsibility of an archaeologist and conservator to ensure that material recovered from a shipwreck is properly cared for. The conservation phase is often time-consuming and expensive, which is one of the most important considerations when planning and implementing any action involving the recovery of artifacts from a shipwreck.

Conservation and restoration of paintings

The conservation and restoration of paintings is carried out by professional painting conservators. Paintings cover a wide range of various mediums, materials, and their supports. Painting types include fine art to decorative and functional objects spanning from acrylics, frescoes, and oil paint on various surfaces, egg tempera on panels and canvas, lacquer painting, water color and more. Knowing the materials of any given painting and its support allows for the proper restoration and conservation practices. All components of a painting will react to its environment differently, and impact the artwork as a whole. These material components along with collections care will determine the longevity of a painting. The first steps to conservation and restoration is preventive conservation followed by active restoration with the artist's intent in mind.

References

  1. Duncan Mansfield (2 March 2007). "Nuclear weapons plant yields powerful dust cloth". The Tuscaloosa News . Associated Press.
  2. US 8337626,R. F. Simandl&S. M. Holenbeck,"Method for removal of beryllium contamination from an article",published 2012-12-25, assigned to Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, LLC
  3. D. Mansfield (2007-03-02). "Nuclear Lab Develops Powerful Dust Rag". Phys.org.