# Actor got silicone spray on the stage - how to clean?



## JLNorthGA (Aug 17, 2014)

Unbeknownst to me, one of the actor's sprayed the soles of his shoes with silicone spray for the slipping scene in "Noises Off" - SIGH.

Now I have to clean the stage quite well before I paint it to get the wheel marks off. Any suggestions? I don't want fish-eyes, orange peels other strangeness with the paint.


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## JohnD (Aug 17, 2014)

A goto paint prep cleaner is trisodium phosphate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisodium_phosphate
A good paint store or big box building supply store should have it and it is carried by Amazon if you can't find it locally. I used to really like Spic and Span for a heavy duty floor cleaner until they had to change the formula to meet federal phosphate reduction rulings. Then for a couple of years I could still find the imported from Mexico version which was the original formula. There are also very heavy duty degreasers available to restaurants.


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## lwinters630 (Aug 18, 2014)

JLNorthGA said:


> Unbeknownst to me, one of the actor's sprayed the soles of his shoes with silicone spray for the slipping scene in "Noises Off" - SIGH.
> 
> Now I have to clean the stage quite well before I paint it to get the wheel marks off. Any suggestions? I don't want fish-eyes, orange peels other strangeness with the paint.


You can use PPG dx330 it is for removing grease, wax and silicone prior to painting automotive finishes.


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## BrianWolfe (Aug 20, 2014)

Soap and water. Simple green.


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## JLNorthGA (Aug 21, 2014)

Zep has a "Heavy Duty Citrus Degreaser" - I have given that a shot. I applied it full strength and then mopped. I then washed the entire stage floor. I repeated this.

The majority of the silicone spray is gone. I only see a little residual. I will keep washing the floor until it is gone.

We are a community theatre. The guy basically did it for the laughs in Noises Off Act III. Regretfully someone else took a spill. I am really tempted to send him a bill for the degreaser.


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## JohnD (Aug 21, 2014)

I did a google search for "remove silicone spray" and found a couple of things.
http://www.ehow.com/how_6517224_remove-silicone-spray.html
http://www.finishing.com/399/79.shtml
The ehow article is rather scary to me, "ventilated space" doesn't even begin to cover the dangers involved. 
The finishing.com article addresses the problems involved, especially the plane that needs to have the paint stripped before it can even go in to be repainted.
One thing that might help, most degreasers seem to be alkaline based, so following a mopping with them you could do an acidic mopping, rinse and repeat. The best acid mopping solution would be white vinegar. In fact, some restaurants use chemical cleaning of their griddles. The process starts with a heavy duty degreaser and a coarse fiber pad (scotchbrite), the residue is wiped off with paper towels, and is followed by a wash down with white vinegar to make the surface food safe. Some consider this process easier and cheaper than the old school grill (griddle) brick.


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