# Sticky Stage - getting rid of Coca Cola



## sotonfan (Mar 30, 2019)

We recently changed to an oil-based paint for our stage. It's much tougher than the old latex paint, but it's also much more slippery. Last week we had a Chinese acrobat show on stage, and they asked to mop the stage with coca cola to allow them more grip. That old trick worked fine for the night - but now we're having difficulty getting the coke back off the floor. We are wet-mopping with our regular floor cleaner. Should we be using something else instead?
Any suggestions would be gratefully received!
Andrew


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## DrewE (Mar 30, 2019)

I suspect a deck brush and liberal amounts of (preferably hot or warm) water might do the trick. Follow up with the mop, of course, to pick up the solution of goop.


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## What Rigger? (Mar 30, 2019)

Anybody know if Goof Off or surf wax remover would work and not damage the paint?


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## Amiers (Mar 30, 2019)

The real question is why didn’t you lay down marley. 

A coke mop on a painted surface is rough. 

Vinegar diluted and elbow grease. And lots of fans. 

Then a standard French mop and prolly back and forth til ya get it all off.


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## EdSavoie (Mar 30, 2019)

If coking the stage presents you with the problem of removing it, rather than the problem of needing to apply more of it, I think it's the stage you need to look at more than the coke...


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## macsound (Apr 1, 2019)

EdSavoie said:


> If coking the stage presents you with the problem of removing it, rather than the problem of needing to apply more of it, I think it's the stage you need to look at more than the coke...


Agreed.
I've worked at many places that would coke the stage. Sometimes it was under a groundcloth, sometimes for areas that had a high amount of dancing, once to make sure a car had traction when needing to stop etc.
In every case, like one spritz of simple green for an entire stage was enough to clean up the sugar. Unless you added a 2 liter instead of a can.


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## Van (Apr 2, 2019)

What Rigger? said:


> Anybody know if Goof Off or surf wax remover would work and not damage the paint?


NO, NO, NO, NO! 

Goof Off is the worst thing in the world. <Sorry, I HATE Goof Off. I've had WAY too many projects be ruined by a well meaning person armed with a bottle.>

Mop with Water, Warm water. Change out the water often. Also, when coking the stage use 16oz:3gallons or one bottle to one mop bucket.


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## underlingsmprop (Apr 2, 2019)

Simple green! Stuff works wonders.


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## JonCarter (Apr 2, 2019)

TSP.


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## Van (Apr 3, 2019)

JonCarter said:


> TSP.


Great cleaner. Requires rinsing. Will, in most cases, open the pores of any surface by etching it which is why it's so good fro cleaning walls before repainting.


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## LLDeen (Apr 3, 2019)

We did not use marley as the tour did not request it and it would've been an extra cost for the promoter of the show. We also let the tour do the mopping themselves. They used 2-3 cans of Coke mixed with 2 bottles of water. 

After mopping several times with our normal hot water and floor cleaning solution, it would still be sticky at certain times. I had mopped on a Wednesday, and by Friday it was sticky again, but Saturday it wasn't sticky, and there was no mopping in between. So Monday we tried a different approach. Hot water mixed with a bit of Dirtex. 

The Coca Cola sticky solution is no more and our stage is once again smooth.


Thanks all for your suggestions!


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## Amiers (Apr 3, 2019)

Wow you let them do it. Man you got some faith. 

Now that you have all this info. Stand your ground next time and say Marley or no coke unless they want to pay a weeks worth of mopping fees. Which would be like a weeks worth of Marley rentals. 

Your stage your rules.


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## What Rigger? (Apr 3, 2019)

Van said:


> NO, NO, NO, NO!
> 
> Goof Off is the worst thing in the world. <Sorry, I HATE Goof Off. I've had WAY too many projects be ruined by a well meaning person armed with a bottle.>
> 
> Mop with Water, Warm water. Change out the water often. Also, when coking the stage use 16oz:3gallons or one bottle to one mop bucket.


Thank you, Van, for stopping me before I (metaphorically) kill again.


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## Lasermike (Apr 10, 2019)

In situations like this, I think just mopping will dilute and move around the offending goo but won't really get rid of all of it. I'd mop it fairly wet (not so wet as to damage the deck) and immediately run a wet/dry vac over the wet deck to pick up the now dissolved sugar or rent a Rug Doctor. Be prepared to pull up an absolutely disgusting quantity of sludge.

I work in a dry baking mix plant with a fair amount of airborne dust, most of it containing sugar and encapsulated shortening. While a simple mopping will make the floor look better, nothing beats sucking the water up before it gets a chance to dry.


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