Dykem Layout Fluid Issue

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Soot n' Cinders
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Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2012 5:24 pm
Location: Marietta, Georgia

Dykem Layout Fluid Issue

Post by Soot n' Cinders »

So I've suddenly run into an interesting issue with my Dykem Steel Blue... I've started work laying out lines on some galvanized steel sheet metal for a water tank but my Dykem must be reacting with the zinc or something. When I put it on the sheet metal, it starts blue but turns almost entirely clear over about a minute. It doesnt do this on another piece of plain hot rolled steel I have so this leads me to believe the fluid hasn't gone bad but for some reason it cant be used on galvanized steel. Anybody else run into this and any suggestions on how to work around this?
-Tristan

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-2.5" scale Class A 20 Ton Shay

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Russ Hanscom
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Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: Farmington, NM

Re: Dykem Layout Fluid Issue

Post by Russ Hanscom »

I just tested a piece of galvanized sheet metal that I have, and no fading of the Dykem.

Just wild guess, but any chance there is a strange clear coat on your material? How about cleaning a small area and testing there.
choprboy
Posts: 322
Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 11:23 pm

Re: Dykem Layout Fluid Issue

Post by choprboy »

Interesting... Is the entire thing clear, or has the blue bunched up, like the surface had been waxed?

Looking around, there are a couple reasons that could cause it... but they seem highly unlikely. The blue in Dykem is methyl blue, a pH indicator. It will turn yellow under strong acid conditions (<1.0)... but that is like straight undiluted sulfuric battery acid. Methyl blue also photo degrades in the presence of zinc... but again the speed seems unlikely. You aren't standing under a 10kW UV light while your doing this are you... ;)

I marked/cut up a bunch of galvanized sheet for air ducts years ago, I don't recall any issues.
Soot n' Cinders
Posts: 983
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2012 5:24 pm
Location: Marietta, Georgia

Re: Dykem Layout Fluid Issue

Post by Soot n' Cinders »

I’m not sure what’s causing it but I have a work around at least. I cleaned the sheet with some acetone first and after the acetone drying, it still went clear. So I scuffed with some 100grit sand paper and cleaned again, same results. Finally sanded the hell out of it and probably went through the zinc on my test piece, but it finally stuck that time.
But in the meantime, I tried one of those window paint pens just to see what would happen and I found it to be a fairly decent layout fluid for what I’m doing. Definitely not a replacement for Dykem blue but for laying out sheer cuts it’s good enough
-Tristan

Projects
-2.5" scale Class A 20 Ton Shay

Steam Siphon: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/leavitt ... tive-works
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rudd
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Location: savannah ga.

Re: Dykem Layout Fluid Issue

Post by rudd »

Fat sharpies work great.
John Hasler
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Re: Dykem Layout Fluid Issue

Post by John Hasler »

choprboy wrote: Mon Nov 12, 2018 8:47 pm Interesting... Is the entire thing clear, or has the blue bunched up, like the surface had been waxed?

Looking around, there are a couple reasons that could cause it... but they seem highly unlikely. The blue in Dykem is methyl blue, a pH indicator. It will turn yellow under strong acid conditions (<1.0)... but that is like straight undiluted sulfuric battery acid. Methyl blue also photo degrades in the presence of zinc... but again the speed seems unlikely. You aren't standing under a 10kW UV light while your doing this are you... ;)

I marked/cut up a bunch of galvanized sheet for air ducts years ago, I don't recall any issues.
Do you mean methylene blue? It bleaches quickly under visible light in the presence of zinc and iron oxides according to the literature.
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