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Lexan/plexi protective sticky paper removal

71 posts in this topic

Posted

Ok, had to try:

Acetone - DO NOT USE

post-53-0-83871000-1426019871_thumb.jpg

Naphtha - no crazing or discoloration

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Decalin - no crazing or discoloration

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Lacquer Thinner - no crazing, softening and major discoloration

post-53-0-22034200-1426019806_thumb.jpg

Mineral Spirits - no crazing or discoloration

post-53-0-66821700-1426019780_thumb.jpg

Paint Thinner - no crazing or discoloration

post-53-0-65051300-1426019695_thumb.jpg

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Posted

But do they remove paper Doug?

EDMO

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Posted

Don't know Ed, was mostly concerned how the solvents would affect the acrylic sheet.

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Posted

Doug,

You are the man! Thanks for all of the testing! I will try to do the same with the paper. I was surprised that so many of those didn't harm the plexi! I made the mistake of using acetone on plexi before, I also dropped a rag with MEK on the new, custom molded windshield of my open cockpit biplane...I got to buy a new new windshield after that mistake! Not even one flight before I destroyed it! Damn the luck!

I've had one large door window soaking in water and soap for 3 days, with a coating of goo gone each night. I am getting large, complete pieces of glue and paper just by slowly pulling the paper up. However, it will only go so far then tear. It tears because you reach a dry spot, that is hard.

I'm trying the chems tomorrow, because this sucks!!!

This is one of those things that the Internet has a million remedies for and not one damn thing works! My favorite one so far is eucalyptus oil! I don't even know where to find that! Maybe on the Koala bear food isle? Ha!

Thanks for all of the help guys...something is going to work, or at least work better!

Ron

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Posted

Even if the eucalyptus oil worked the cost would be prohibitive. Starwest Botanicals sell it, purchased some a couple of years ago.

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Posted

Paul, did your pet Koala like it :)

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Posted

Yep, drank it all and haven't seen him since.

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Posted

Ha! Ha!

Ok, I tried lacquer thinner and mineral spirits and they created no big help.

The secret is getting the stuff moist again...soapy water is working best, chemicals evaporate to quickly and don't saturate down to the glue.

I'll try the other ones later.

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Posted

Ron, why not try the cooking oil covered with Saran Wrap trick. Will definitely soften the backing and might help breakdown the adhesive better than plain soap and water. Won't hurt acrylic, if I had a piece with backing I'd give it a go. I'd try both peanut butter and mayonaisse too, something about the oils seem to remove sticky stuff pretty well. I know it gets gum out of carpet lol.

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Posted

Giving up the fight!

Here is the list of things that didn't work for me:

Hairdryer

Vegetable oil and Saran Wrap

Mineral Oil

Lacquer Thinner

Goo Gone

Ronsons lighter fluid

Zep Heavy Duty Citrus Cleaner

Soap and water

The combination of soap and water, goo gone, and Ronsons works but is very time consuming!

I would continue trying, but out of the piece I did get clean, three small ones, only the two small triangular windows turned out unscratched and looking good/new. The third piece started showing small scratches. Plus the wife came home and found plexiglass covered in vegetable oil and Saran wrap, laying in her cookie sheets on every flat surface in the kitchen and she freaked! I don't know why, she never does any work in there anyway! Ha! Actually my pot belly shows proof to the contrary...

So, I'm off to buy new stuff, and I already feel better!

Thanks for all of the ideas, sorry I didn't get to try them all.

If anyone needs some blacked out windows for a Magnum...I'll make you a good deal :)

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Posted (edited)

Ron,

since you have to buy new anyway, consider a dark tint for the skylight - you will like it when the sun gets hot.

Even a light tint is better than clear.

NOTE: some tints may not be available in Lexan, although the light bronze is.

The Skylight isn't usually crack-prone, so dark bronze or green Plexi should be OK there.

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

You read my mind Ed! I just priced it out and man is it expensive. About $400 for 2 sheets of clear and one sheet of tinted!

You could get by with one and a half sheets of clear, but I thought I would leave a little for a mess up...

You can bend it in a break! I'm glad you guys told me that!

Thanks,

Ron

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Posted (edited)

Ron,

Is it all Lexan (Polycarbonate)? Reminding you that you cant bend Plexi (Acrylic) cold.

..Sounds a little pricey! What thickness?

What color tint?

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted (edited)

I would check online, and with any local commercial window and door installer. I was just on Amazon, and found a .060 4' x 8' sheet for 103 + 15 shipping. How much do you really need? Unless your plane is bigger than a regular Avid, a half sheet does the windshield. The other half should do the windows easy. Jim Chuk

PS, I suppose if you are doing the bottom of the doors and the turtle deck, you need a second sheet. You can use the old stuff for a pattern, install it with clekos so it comes off, then clamp it onto the new stuff, cut drill it and install. Hard to mess it up then.

Edited by Jim Chuk

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Posted

That seems really expensive Ron. I bought a 4'x8' sheet of .060" clear Makrolon polycarbonate from a local supplier for $60+tax yesterday. Of interest, they told me that the thinnest sheets of either polycarbonate or acrylic that come with 'baked-in' tinting was .125", twice as thick obviously. While it might have worked for a skylight, it was way heavier than necessary. Doubt you could finesse it on the door frames without a bunch of luck. I also learned about a few issues to be aware of if contemplating a D.I.Y. film tint on plastics, will start a new thread for that.

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Posted (edited)

Maybe the Magnum has thicker plastic than the smaller ones.

Kitfox used .118 for windsheilds on one model (Speedster?) and it cracked more, so they went back to .090.

If you read, I think AC43-13 (again), the cold bend radius for .090 Plastic,(Plexi - not lexan), is just about the radius of the windshield of our birds - If the Magnum is wider, then thicker plastic could be used. And, he has 1700 GW.

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

Doug,

Hmmmm...the stuff on the doors and everything is .125, actually just a little under that. That is why it costs more.

Maybe I should go thinner?

Ron

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Posted

Still nosey - What color did you get? Light or Dark?

What does your manual call for on thickness? I have a manual, but easier to ask.

EDMO

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Posted

I can't imagine why you would need more than .060 for the windows and maybe also the turtle deck. It comes in .090 thickness, I would think that should be enough for the windshield, but I've been wrong before. I do know that the .060 I used on the Avid windshield wants to start to buckle in a bit at 100 MPH. I might do a two part windshield on the Avid rebuild. .060 on top, and .090 for the front of the windshield. I have a full sheet of each. Jim Chuk

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Posted

My books say that thicker Plexi is better at keeping sound out - If you can handle the weight.

EDMO

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Posted

Ok, I'm sorry, I should have clarified a few things. This is on the Magnum.

The windshield is one piece and it is very moulded to fit. It is also covered with a plastic that I hope will be easier to peel off. So I'm not changing it.

Everything else polycarbonate is measuring .115" thickness. It is a HF micrometer I'm using so it is probably off a little, but it is closer to 1/8" than 1/16"

I just looked through the inventory list and it says the skylight is .125" but does not say anything about thicknesses of the others. I still need to look through the directions.

I can see the skylight and turtledeck being .125" because it is the structure, but the rest could be thinner...I think?

Let me know what you guys think.

Ron

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Posted

Ed,

I didn't buy it yet...the place I called only had light gray. However, I found a place closer to me and I'm going to go see them on Monday and look at the different products.

I'll let you know which one I think looks best.

Ron

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Posted (edited)

I have some small windows from a factory certified plane, and they are about 1/4" thick.

We used .118 on the J3 and Ercoupe windows and sunroof.

I don't think I would go thinner than 1/8" on the doors either - Your Magnum can handle the weight.

Grey would be better than clear, but I was thinking dark green or dark bronze would look good on your yellow bird.

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

I would wonder why you want heavy lexan if/where it's not needed. Unless your doors are a lot bigger than on a regular Avid, why do they need to be thicker than .060? I can see if they are a bubble door that just fastens around the perimeter of the door frame, but if it attaches in the center, what is the span that way? Maybe 14" if my memory is right. I've never slipped hard enough to have the window bow in, don't know if it's possible. I'm sure one would want a bit thicker window if it was moveable or hinged out, but they don't do that on a regular Avid. I know the .060 lexan windshield starts to bow in at 95-100 MPH, so I'm going to go up one thickness for that from now on. Ron, looking at your avatar picture, the windshield on your plane looks just like a regular Avid. Can you post a picture showing how it is different? Thanks, Jim Chuk

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Posted

Food for thought:  The Kitfox IV molded windshield from LP Aeroplastics fits the C and Mark IV Avid windshield frames just as well, if not better, than it fits the Kitfox IV.

 

For clarity, longevity, resistance to fuel you can't beat them.

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