How to remove stain from Simonis 860

[JimS]

When I went to bed last night the table was fine. I knew I'd be playing this am so I din't cover it. At 11 this morning I turned on the light and there was a big stain along one rail.

It's about 3 diamonds long and 1 diamond wide... oval shaped, dark outline where something was spilled... or something. My wife was the only person around and she would tell me if she had spilled something. Maybe the cat or the neighbors cat could have got in but there's no cat smell and it was dry to the touch at 11 am this morning.

Bottom line I have no idea what happended or what the stain is from and I won't be finding out.

Question is what to do about it. What do I clean the Siminois with. Is there a safe stain remover? Maybe something used for dry cleaning?

UPDATE: Stain is gone. It took about10 scrubbings with a micro fibre towel soaked with brake fluid followed by a rinseing with a towel and hot water but it worked.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was pretty freaked. Still no clue as to what happened.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[poolcuemaster]

I have worked on fine autos all my life and brake cleaner in spray can will remove just about anything from white cloth interiors to white leather in Caddy, Mercedes and Rolls Royces and I mean any color not just white. You can get it at wallyworld or Napa, carquest,most of the brands are naptha which is dry cleaning fluid. Try a small spot first though so you don't want to cuss me and good luck,I have removed black grease off of many sunvisors.--Leonard

 

[mmwtdh]

Gotta' agree with the brake cleaner. I owned a repair shop years ago and we were always getting grease spots on seats and carpet. The brake clean worked magic.


Later I owned a retail store and someone had tracked some grease or tar onto the carpet. I told one of my delivery guys (or as I sarcastically refer to them "my brain surgeons") to get some brake cleaner at the auto parts store and clean the spot.

An hour later he said, "I knew that stuff wouldn't work!"

You know how hard it is to get brake fluid out of carpet?........

 

[AzDave]

> Question is what to do about it. What do I clean the Siminois with. Is there a safe stain remover? Maybe something used for dry cleaning? <

Dampen stain with warm water and vacuum lightly. Then poor *table salt* over entire stain. Allow salt to wick all moisture out of cloth by leaving until dry.

 

[Ant812]

i think brake cleaner will clean just about anything, BUT, i also think it will do more harm a than good. i cant imagine it wouldnt weaken the cloth. i use it on my dirt bikes for cleaning and i know from experience that i have to keep it away from rubber seals as it breaks them down. i would try the method in the above post, or just try water on a rag, or just live with it.

 

[PROG8R]

You might want to look into the car care center and ggrab a can of TUFF STUFF or BLUE CORAL fine auto Dry cleaner and test it on a spot first. I would think that even though Brake cleaner might work it may also damage the fibers in Simonis and make them very weak or even rot them out. I have used carpet spot cleaner before and it isn't quite as strong as BRAKE CLEANER, and it dry rotted the fibers.

 

[RBLilly]

You might want to look into the car care center and ggrab a can of TUFF STUFF or BLUE CORAL fine auto Dry cleaner and test it on a spot first. I would think that even though Brake cleaner might work it may also damage the fibers in Simonis and make them very weak or even rot them out. I have used carpet spot cleaner before and it isn't quite as strong as BRAKE CLEANER, and it dry rotted the fibers.

Try these first, they may work for you, and they are good products.

The side effects of the brake cleaner may be that it damages the rubber of the rails, or perhaps loosens the glue between the rain and wood. I wouldn't use such a harsh chemical.

The best way would be to contact a professional automotive restorer and let them do it with steam. Then no chemicals would be involved and the steam is not likely to hurt the rubber.

That is my call on it.

 

[Bugz]

Gotta' agree with the brake cleaner. I owned a repair shop years ago and we were always getting grease spots on seats and carpet. The brake clean worked magic.


Later I owned a retail store and someone had tracked some grease or tar onto the carpet. I told one of my delivery guys (or as I sarcastically refer to them "my brain surgeons") to get some brake cleaner at the auto parts store and clean the spot.

An hour later he said, "I knew that stuff wouldn't work!"

You know how hard it is to get brake fluid out of carpet?........

LMAO, wow. Even though it was your carpet, you had to laugh at that.

 

[JimS]

I never would have thought of brake cleaner. I tried Xenit, a Stoner product that cleans about anything but it didn't work. I tried it first on a swatch of Siminois and it didn't appear to stain it but it has. So now I have the original and another. I suppose it will play about the same but it sure ruined the looks of the pool room. I just can't believe this. I go to work and come home and my freaking Simonis is ruined. Unreal!

I've used brake fluid many times for many things and have 3 or 4 cans of it in the garage. I'll try it tonight.. spray on a rag and then wipe the cloth so the spary doesn't go onto the rubber cushions.

Other ideas? Thanks much guys!!

 

[Ant812]

if you are going to go that route, i might also suggest contact cleaner, its very close to brale cleaner but less abbrassive. you can get it at any motorcycle shop.

 

[CreeDo]

You might wanna move this into the table mechanic forum too. I dunno if the mechanics read this forum or not but I'm sure they'll have some good ideas for you.

 

[cardsfan]

I have worked on fine autos all my life and brake cleaner in spray can will remove just about anything from white cloth interiors to white leather in Caddy, Mercedes and Rolls Royces and I mean any color not just white. You can get it at wallyworld or Napa, carquest,most of the brands are naptha which is dry cleaning fluid. Try a small spot first though so you don't want to cuss me and good luck,I have removed black grease off of many sunvisors.--Leonard

By the way, lighter fluid is 100% Naptha, just in case NAPA is closed, you can run into your local liquor store or walgreens and pick up a bottle as well. Good luck on the stain,

Mike

 

[Ron Cook]

Cleaning pool cloth

Question is what to do about it. What do I clean the Siminois with. Is there a safe stain remover? Maybe something used for dry cleaning?

Do you want something that will really works? Over the years I have had (2) billiard rooms and I have cleaned many stains, Coke, Snapple, beer, etc. from the cloth and the best thing that I have found is HOT WATER. You can actually soak the cloth especially where the stain is, and then to even out the color on the table dampen the whole table with a clean wet towel until the cloth is dark green in color. Not only will the stain come out but all of the white dots on your pool table from the cue ball will come out to some degree. You will be amazed at how much dirt you will find in your bucket of water and on your rag. Within 30 minuets the cloth should be dry.

Before you dampen the whole table I would vacuum it first but try to keep the vacuum away from the slate's joints so you do not shuck up the joint compound and get a lump under your cloth. Using any chemicals first may not allow water to work. I would use the hot water first. If grease was on the cloth the brake cleaner idea sounds good, but I would follow up with hot water.

I just cleaned my table in my home 2 weeks ago the same way and the cloth looks new again. One item, when wool gets wet it smells, but after a day the smell goes away. The good thing about hot water is that it tightens up your cloth again a little.

Let me know how it turns out?

 

[rackem]

Careful

I never would have thought of brake cleaner. I tried Xenit, a Stoner product that cleans about anything but it didn't work. I tried it first on a swatch of Siminois and it didn't appear to stain it but it has. So now I have the original and another. I suppose it will play about the same but it sure ruined the looks of the pool room. I just can't believe this. I go to work and come home and my freaking Simonis is ruined. Unreal!

I've used brake fluid many times for many things and have 3 or 4 cans of it in the garage. I'll try it tonight.. spray on a rag and then wipe the cloth so the spary doesn't go onto the rubber cushions.

Other ideas? Thanks much guys!!

Careful they said Cleaner not Fluid

 

[JoeW]

I have used Spot Shots (Home Depot) more than once and when followed by hot water (as noted above). It worked for me. Sometimes I have needed a couple of applications and have needed to brush the Spot Shots in and let set for a bit.

 

[JimS]

The brake cleaner worked. I scrubbed the cloth with a micro fibre towel soaked with brake cleaner about 15 times and then rinsed each time with a towel soaked in hot water. When done wiped the table with the hot water towel. I've been doing the hot water towel treatment about once every couple months ever since I got my first table.

No clue what caused the stain but it's gone! Thanks all for the help.

 

[CaptiveBred]

It's about 3 diamonds long... My wife was the only person around and she would tell me if she had spilled something.

That sounds like me I was as quiet as possible


Next time pretend to be asleep and see what/who the ol lady is doing when she thinks you are sleeping lol

 

[poolcuemaster]

Don't try to clean eyeballs with brakecleaner, last year I was on my cell phone with my wife and picked up the can in other hand and sprayed off the rear brake shoes while talking. I had can turned around and sprayed full force from six inches into right eye and swept over left eye, dropped cell and hand walked the wall to water hose. It burned like liquid fire for 30 minutes and hurt in corners of eyelids for three days.--Leonard

 

[JimS]

Don't try to clean eyeballs with brakecleaner, last year I was on my cell phone with my wife and picked up the can in other hand and sprayed off the rear brake shoes while talking. I had can turned around and sprayed full force from six inches into right eye and swept over left eye, dropped cell and hand walked the wall to water hose. It burned like liquid fire for 30 minutes and hurt in corners of eyelids for three days.--Leonard

AND.... brake cleaner seems to exit the spray can faster/under more pressure than many other sprays and I'm surprised every time I use it but I have learned to hold it at arms length to avoid spalsh into the eyes. It comes out with a strong stream!

If using on a pool table don't spray it directly onto the table as you want to avoid getting any on the cushions. They say it will make the rubber deterioate. Spray onto a rag (watching for splash!) and then wipe/scrub.

 

[poolcuemaster]

Oh Yea it sprays great and is as good a wasp and hornet spray as you can get with the tube attached it will pinpoint at least 20 ft. Brake wheel cylinder boots and a lot of other rubber parts on brake systems are not affected at all by brake cleaner.--Leonard