Is Your Finish Fully Cured?
When applying Clean Armor, ensuring a full cure is essential for achieving the desired durability and appearance. We are including a chart that indicates potential reasons why you may be experiencing curing issues. This Blog will walk you through each possible reason, and provide solutions. Additionally, you can watch our troubleshooting video (located on our YouTube channel).
Tacky Surface
Insufficient Film Build
Try scratching the surface with your fingernail. If it is wet, tacky, or is scratching (a chalky line appears), there is not enough material down to achieve a proper cure.
Solution: Apply at least 1 wet mil (measured with a Wet Mil Gauge) of product per coat. You can either wipe the uncured finish off (using 99% Isopropyl Alcohol) and start again, or apply a thicker coat of Clean Armor over the uncured finish and then cure again.
Surface Was Not Fully Sealed
If you applied at least 1 mil down, but the product is still not curing, it may be absorbing into your substrate. This leaves a thinner coat above the grain, resulting in an under cured finish. *A wet mil gauge may be used to measure the film weight.
Solution 1: If the wood is porous, skip the "self leveling" step when applying your sealer. Immediately cure the sealer after applying to allow less time for the product to soak into the substrate - you can sand the sealer flat prior to applying the top coat.
Solution 2: If already soaked into the wood, apply a thicker coat (1-5 mils) of the product and cure it. Applying a heavier coat of Clean Armor increases the opportunity to seal the substrate.
Insufficient Curing Light
Clean Armor products cure at a UVA LED wavelength range of 365-405 nm, with the sweet spot being 385nm. We highly recommend CUVO Curing Lights, as they were designed specifically to cure Clean Armor products.
Solution 1: If using sunlight to cure, be sure to cure on a day where the UV index is high. Cloudy days may still cure Clean Armor, but it will take longer.
Solution 2: If using an alternative curing light, review the manufacturing specs and compare them to the specs for CUVO Curing Lights. If insufficient, an alternative light may be needed. The most popular light that we offer is the CUVO H24 light.
Curing Light: Too Far Away
If held too far away from the surface, this could prolong the curing process/reduce the substrate light exposure.
Solution: CUVO H24 Handheld Lights should be held 12-24 inches away from the substrate. CUVO H36 Handheld Lights should be held 12-24 inches away from the surface, though many customer have had success using the H36 30-36 inches away. The CUVO Model 100 UVA Bar Light should be hung/held 3-6 feet away from the surface. *The bar light features a dimming knob that can be turned down, should you want to hang the light closer.
Substrate Not Fully Dry
Clean Armor is incompatible with water. If the surface was not fully dry before applying the Clean Armor, sealing and curing issues might have occurred.
Solution 1: Allow enough time for the surface to fully dry before application.
Solution 2: Prep the surface with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) instead of another cleaning agent.
Solution 3: If dye/pigment/stain was added to the liquid Clean Armor, it must be dye based. Liquid Clean Armor is incompatible with oil and water based stains. If using those, they should be applied directly to the substrate and fully dried before applying Clean Armor over them. This incompatibility could lead to an uncured finish.
Solution 4: If mixing a dye based stain with liquid Clean Armor, add up to 10%. Test the ratio out on small amounts of Clean Armor before dyeing a large amount. A darker or higher concentration of pigment/dye may block UVA light, so testing is necessary.
Wet Surface
Excessive Film Build
Clean Armor products should be applied between 1 and 5 wet mils per coat. If more than 5 wet mils are applied, the material may not cure.
Solution: Wipe the Clean Armor off/back with 99% IPA and reapply ensure the product is between 1 and 5 mils before curing. Use a wet mil gauge to properly measure this. *To learn how to use this, view our tutorial video.
Surface Was Not Fully Sealed
Refer to the previous information in section "Tacky Surface: Surface Was Not Fully Sealed".
Insufficient Curing Light
Refer to the previous information in section "Tacky Surface: Insufficient Curing Light".
Curing Light: Too Far Away
Refer to the previous information in section "Tacky Surface: Curing Light: Too Far Away".
Substrate Not Fully Dry
Refer to the previous information in section "Tacky Surface: Substrate Not Fully Dry".
Wrinkled Surface
Excessive Film Build
Refer to the previous information in section "Wet Surface: Excessive Film Build".
If there is more than 1-5 wet mils of liquid product above the grain, the product may wrinkle during the curing process.
You will need to sand the cured product back and reapply your Clean Armor at 1-5 mils, then cure it.
Curing Light: Too Intense
If 1-5 wet mils of product was applied, but your Clean Armor is still wrinkling during the cure process, the curing light may be too intense. Bubbles may also appear if the light is too intense.
Solution: Clean Armor products cure at a UVA LED wavelength range of 365-405 nm, with the sweet spot being 385nm. We highly recommend CUVO Curing Lights, as they were designed specifically to cure Clean Armor products. Contact us for additional information regarding wattage/output of CUVO Lights: Support Form.
You will need to sand the cured product back and reapply your Clean Armor, then cure it from a light within the correct specs.
Curing Light: Too Close
If your curing light is within the correct range of specs, but you are still experiencing wrinkling, your light may be too close to the surface. This results in too much light being focused on a small area, and may also cause bubbles.
Solution: CUVO H24 Handheld Lights should be held 12-24 inches away from the substrate. CUVO H36 Handheld Lights should be held 12-24 inches away from the surface, though many customer have had success using the H36 30-36 inches away. The CUVO Model 100 UVA Bar Light should be hung/held 3-6 feet away from the surface. *The bar light features a dimming knob that can be turned down, should you want to hang the light closer.
You will need to sand the cured product back and reapply your Clean Armor, then cure it from distances as listed above.
Bubbles Present
Curing Light: Too Intense
Refer to information from section "Wrinkled Surface: Curing Light: Too Intense".
Curing Light: Too Close
Refer to information from section "Wrinkled Surface: Curing Light: Too Close".
CONCLUSION
The above information/tips should assist you in curing your Clean Armor products. Let us know if we can answer any other questions for you! Fill out our support form or email us at info@blucuresc.com for additional inquiries.
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