PSA: Tried a new synthetic rope dressing on a high-rise traction job and it went sideways

I was working on a 30-story building's main hoist ropes last month and used this 'advanced formula' polymer spray instead of my usual wax-based stuff, thinking it would last longer. The ropes started squealing like a stuck pig after just two days, and the building manager called me back in a panic. Has anyone else had a synthetic dressing cause more noise than it prevents, or did I just get a bad batch?

3 comments

3 Comments

kaid4719d ago

Check the rope material spec sheet. Some newer synthetic core blends have a weird reaction to certain polymers. Saw a similar thing on a hospital elevator retrofit. The dressing basically dried into a fine powder and acted like chalk on a chalkboard. Had to strip it all off with a specialty solvent. Total pain.

faith_carter19d ago

Doubt it's that big of a deal. Sounds like a one-off problem from a weird batch of material. Most modern synthetics are pretty stable.

rodriguez.felix13d ago

Sounds like a fun surprise, @faith_carter. Nothing like a mystery powder to keep things interesting.