Lexan/plexi protective sticky paper removal

[RDavidson 183]

Fellas,

I have all of the original Plexiglass pieces with protective sticky paper on them.

Does anyone have a good way to get that 20 year old paper off?

I haven't tried anything yet.

Thanks,

Ron

[EDMO 1078]

Ron,

If you don't find another way - Spruce sells some stuff for removing paper. I haven't tried it.

EDMO

[RDavidson 183]

Ed,

A buddy of mine used the Aircraft Spruce stuff and told me it didn't do much.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Ron

[dholly 718]

No alcohol! Acrylic sheet is affected, in varying degrees, by benzene, toluene, carbon tetrachloride, ethyl and methyl alcohol, lacquer thinners, ethers, ketones and esters. Do Not Use: Window cleaning sprays, kitchen cleansers, gasoline, benzene or carbon tetrachloride.

One acrylic sheet manufacturer says:

If the adhesive has hardened, moistening the paper with aliphatic naphtha, hexane, or kerosene will help soften it. Never use a knife or scraper to remove masking.

Personally, I would try low heat from wifey's hair dryer first. Once you get the edge lifted, keeping the heat on the contact area usually works good. Otherwise, soaking the paper with any light oil (cooking oil and even mayonnaise) and covering with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry might work. Downside is it will be much harder to peel in one piece. What about a citrus based cleaner? I also read Goo-Gone works good.

Or getting more aggressive, I've read mineral spirits and turpentine works without damaging the plexi. Some say acetone (and, yes, I know that is not recommended based on compatibility charts), but seems to work without crazing if you don't let set on the sheet long (less than 10mins).

From PracticalMachinist forums: [EDIT] Warning: Please disregard the following quote. DO NOT use Acetone (see post #26 in this thread)

Acetone in a spray bottle will work better than you could possibly imagine.

I had a ton (probably literally) of old acrylic that the paper was so stuck to that it peeled off like a tamper-proof sticker.

Spray bottle full of acetone, get a little edge lifted up... spray the acetone and the glue instantly releases 100%, comes off as if there was no glue at all and leaves no residue. You just have to occasionally keep spraying as you peel the backing off to keep a "wet edge" where the paper meets the plastic as you peel it off.

Don't let the acetone sit on the acrylic too long, but I never had any problems with staining.

Plexiglass-Chemical-Resistance-Properties.pdf

Edited 10 Mar 2015 by dholly

[EDMO 1078]

I wonder if anyone has tried soaking it in just plain water - like in a bathtub - I think I have some that is older than 25 years....maybe 35? Or with some liquid detergent?

EDMO

Edited 5 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[Av8r_Sed 82]

I tried heat, Goo Gone and mineral spirits.  None made it easy.  In the end, my stubborn determination got it off, but I probably would have been better served buying a new piece.

[EDMO 1078]

a 4x8 Lexan is between $80 and $100 - probably more aggravation than that in trying to clean old stuff, and you can still end up with scraps.

EDMO

[1avidflyer 1983]

Last sheet of lexan I got was from Seeley Plastics. They have a office/warehouse in Duluth Mn. It was .060 x 4' x 8' and it was $50. I picked it up so there was no shipping charge. Check the plastic suppliers online before you pay Aircraft Spruce's price. Spruce wants twice what I paid, and shipping would probably have been $30 or more. Jim Chuk

[EDMO 1078]

I was thinking about the cost of the .108 or .118 Lexan we got for the Cub at about $90 locally.

EDMO

[RDavidson 183]

Thanks guys!

Thanks for all the info Doug!

I will try it all on the flat pieces that can be replaced. The turttledeck is shaped, bent 90 degrees on the edges, so maybe I will figure out the best way before I get to it.

Thanks,

Ron

Edited 6 Mar 2015 by Ron

[High Country 69]

I also had the original 20+ yr old piece of lexan and tried everything I could come up with because I was to stubborn to just buy a new sheet. In the end it was not worth it and I wound up with several scratches on my windshield and I'm already planning to change it. Should have just got a new sheet FWIW just my .02

 

good luck  

[EDMO 1078]

There is a micro-polish kit you can buy to take scratches out of Plexiglas, but is probably cheaper and easier to just replace the thin stuff we use.

For those overpriced factory "certified" parts, the kit may be cheaper.

EDMO

Edited 6 Mar 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[1avidflyer 1983]

I also had the original 20+ yr old piece of lexan and tried everything I could come up with because I was to stubborn to just buy a new sheet. In the end it was not worth it and I wound up with several scratches on my windshield and I'm already planning to change it. Should have just got a new sheet FWIW just my .02

 

good luck

Well at least now you have a pattern that fits and if you just clamp it over the new sheet and drill the holes and mark it to cut out, it will be a quick job to change. ) Jim Chuk

[wypaul 448]

I have a product that may do the job (available at any hardware or big box lumber store) but I want to try it first.  Making that happen this morning.  Spent hours pealing the paper from the polycarbonate in the kit also.

[dholly 718]

One liquid on the chemical resistance chart I linked that Might be interesting to try is Decalin. Maybe you have some laying around if you or someone you know uses Avgas in a Rotax. Actually, I would be very interested seeing if Naptha works too. When I was trying to remove all of the years of old, dried packing tape residue on my Avid+ kit (old Airdale taped parts to the fuselage for shipping transport), it was by far the most effective. If you have some Coleman stove fuel (what I used), that is basically Naptha with a rust inhibitor added.

[RDavidson 183]

@Doug,

I hear you on the original tape thing! All of my parts had masking tape petrified to them.

@Paul,

Let me know how your mystery product works!

Thanks,

Ron

[Guest]

It's a bitch to get that crap off.

 

I'd proto any windows with the old paper covered crap and not worry about scratching it, then go buy brand new plastic covered lexan or plexi and make exact clean copies of the protos you scratched up while figuring everything out.

 

Chris

[wypaul 448]

Well the mystery product was vinyl flooring remover and it did not work. Just didn't want anyone buying it before I found out if it would work. I tried WD-40 also, which was of no value. Chis has the best answer, that's what I did with the windscreen after fighting with the doors.

[RDavidson 183]

Ok...I went to Home Depot to buy Goo Gone @ about $5 a small spray bottle. I love the stuff, it saved my truck after my wife drove it down a freshly tared road! However, I knew it would work very slowly on this paper and it would take a lot of it.

So, I saw some Zep Heavy Duty Citrus Cleaner @ $10 for a gallon with a spray bottle too! I poured about half of the gallon in the bath tub and added an inch of water. I threw two pieces of plexi in and after about 5 minutes the paper was saturated and peeled off, but it left the sticky layer behind. I have checked it every hour for the last 4 hours and each time some is coming off, but not enough to say that this is a winner.

I'm going to leave them soaking overnight, if they are sticky free in the morning I will keep at it, but if they are still covered I will look for other options.

The Magnum came with three of the pieces having creases in them...the doors, and the turtle deck. It would be nice to have them like that, but I guess I could always use angle aluminum to connect two pieces of plexi. Oh well...I'll let you know what happens in the morning.

Thanks,

Ron

Edited 7 Mar 2015 by Ron

[High Country 69]

Ron you can cold bend lexan to make new pieces without having to connect them with aluminum. this stuff bends real easily and nicely if you don't have access to a break some carefully positioned straight edges clamped into position and you can bend it by hand. experiment with the bad stuff first you shouldn't have any trouble with it. good luck with your bath keep us posted

Edited 7 Mar 2015 by High Country

[RDavidson 183]

High Country,

Is that how they got the straight bends in them originally?

I just assumed they heated them somehow.

Well, I have a couple of pieces completely clean...it took forever! The Zep didn't do anything but make the house smell like oranges. The thing that worked the best was soap and warm water. That got the brown paper to peel off leaving behind the clear sticky stuff. Goo gone got the sticky stuff re moisturizer and Ronsons lighter fluid then made it release with some thumbnail scrapping! I guess I'll be cleaning one piece a day for a week or so, or until I give up and buy new stuff!

The good thing about the lighter fluid is that you can just light a match when you get sick of messing with the paper!

By the way Maguires Plastic X cleans the polycarbonate up really good! No scratches!

I wish I had a one step fix, but unfortunately just a lot of elbow grease!

[dholly 718]

Ron - did you try Kerosene, Naptha or Acetone?

[RDavidson 183]

Doug,

I haven't, but I will! I'm nervous about the acetone, but the other two I'm not as worried. I'm just to the point that I've spent as much on cleaning products as a sheet of polycarbonate would cost!

I'll let you know how they work for me...

Thanks,

Ron

[Guest]

Oh you are talking about the blown plexi windows that come with the Magnum! Whole different story. Those are very expensive and you have to try and save them. I think everclear 190 proof alcohol might be your best bet. I don't think it will hurt the plexi and in time will weaken the paper covering. i do not envy your position. Those windows would be VERY expensive to replace. I would not use acetone.

 

Chris

[dholly 718]

I completely agree about concern with Acetone, try everything on scrap first! However, after reading the one fellow on PracticaMachinist's repeated experience, I am curious as it does appear to fall into the 'limited resistance' or 'not recommended for continuous use' vs. 'causes immediate crazing' manufacturer warning category. I have an old skylight I no longer need, maybe I will try some of these limited resistance solvents.

On the same note, I would be very careful using any alcohol as most also fall into the 'not recommended for continuous use' category. The exceptions being 50% Butyl, Ethyl or Methyl Alcohol and 40-100% Isopropol Alcohol. In addition to duration of contact, ambient temp also seems to factor in. It really doesn't help when different manufacturers list different warnings!

Here are chemical compatibility chart from other acrylic sheet manufacturers if anyone cares to compare:

Plexiglas: http://www.plexiglas.com/export/sites/plexiglas/.content/medias/downloads/resins-docs/plexiglas-ACRYLIC-RESISN-Chemical-Resistance.pdf

Tap Plastics: https://www.tapplastics.com/uploads/pdf/acrylite_chem_resist.pdf

Plastics Intl: http://www.plasticsintl.com/plastics_chemical_resistence_chart.html

Plaskolite: http://www.plaskolite.com/Fabrication/Acrylic/Chemical-Resistance

Acuity Brands: http://www.acuitybrandslighting.com/library/ll/documents/otherdocuments/acrylic-polycarbonate-compatibility.pdf

Nuaire: https://www.nuaire.com/protected/bulletins-general//laminar-airflow-products/GTB0090%20Care%20%26%20Use%20of%20Acrylic.pdf

ePlastics: http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Plastics_Library/Chemical-Resistance-of-Plexiglass-Acrylic