There is a difference between taking the shine off and removing the finish altogether.

The Matte finish on the St. Croix's will literally wipe away leaving bare graphite.

Andy Dear

The finishes on most all of the St. Croix matt, satin and including the new glossy types, are not solvent resistant to any great extent. Ethanol and Methanol will work to dull and even to remove them. They’ll come off with Acetone or MEK with little or no effort, which is great if you want to strip the blank, but not a good idea for clean up. Most all of the Croix finishes will hold up pretty well to isopropyl (don’t rub too much), and very well to rubbing alcohol though. In contrast, the most of the Loomis finishes are very solvent resistant, Acetone and MEK included. I’m guessing they’re using a thermosetting type of coating like an epoxy. The trade-off there is you’re often reduced to sanding if you want to remove the finish.

Anyway, bottom line is use isopropyl or less for the clean up on the Croix. If in doubt, do a rub test with a Q-tip in a discreet area and look for any sign of color coming up.

Tom is correct about the Blue painters tape. There are actually three versions, and all are designed with safe release in mind…hence the higher cost. The 2070 is rated for safe removal up to 7 days, 2090 up to 14, and 2080 for up to 60 days….even in the sun. Another really good tape if you can find it is the Scotch 233+, which is a green colored Auto refinishing masking tape. 233+ has a very conformable backing, resists adhesive transfer very well, and comes in 3mm narrow rolls which is a really nice thin size for mounting guide feet, if you like to use tape.

markG




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2006 12:45AM by Mark Gibson.

If the rods are that sensitive (Matte finish on the St. Croix's) Why not just clean them with a little liquid soap and water, rinse off with clean water and dry with a cotton towel?
Good Wraps Bob

Tape can be removed with WD-40, but be sure to clean it off with soap and water prior to doing any thing else with the blank.

Bob,

Uncured epoxies aren't very soluble in water, even with soap, so while that might help a little in wiping up, alcohols will work much better as a clean-up solvent for the uncured material. I'll have to check, but epoxies should be more soluble in isopropyl (IPA, rubbing alcohol.. etc) than in Methanol or Ethanol because it’s a less polar solvent. So in that case it's a win-win, since IPA is easier on the finish and it dissolves and cleans up the uncured epoxies better than the other alcohols as well.

mark