Mistroma
Well-Known Member
I thought it would be a good idea to refresh the painted border on the side windows as the original coating was getting a bit thin. I do keep them shaded when possible but they are bonded acrylic and Greek sun is strong. I got the relevant activator, primer and paint then decided to buy better quality masking tape. Big mistake. I used some of the normal stuff to hold down sheeting nearby and it was fine. The better tape left huge gobs of glue all over the windows and GRP. Turns out the Greek translation says suitable up to 100C. Sounds good for strong sunshine but actually means it has very strong adhesive.
I tried some acetone on the GRP and it caused the glue to move around a bit and form larger gummy lumps. Not good. It did eventually work on one area when cool enough to let it wet out for a bit. Obviously no good for the acrylic windows so rummaged around and found some White Spirit. It might be OK better than acetone on GRP as it won't flash off but don't want to use it on acrylic yet. I was trying to think of suitable alternatives. A thinnish oil might work, especially one that's largely comprised of fatty acids. Abandoned the deck locker search and dug out some olive oil from the galley. Oh joy, it did seem to work at bit. I wiped it on with a paper towel and left it for 30 minutes. Obviously not going to flash off unless it gets hot enough to cook chips. Returned with another oil soaked paper towel and was able to remove all of the sticky gum from the windows. Quick clean with detergent and a rinse to get the window nice and clean. The new border looks very good and I just need to do the other side now. I managed to get expensive "Blue" masking tape and will do some testing with acrylic off-cuts before starting that job.
Cleaning off the gummy mess probably took twice as long as masking, sanding, prepping and painting. At least it did come off.
I tried some acetone on the GRP and it caused the glue to move around a bit and form larger gummy lumps. Not good. It did eventually work on one area when cool enough to let it wet out for a bit. Obviously no good for the acrylic windows so rummaged around and found some White Spirit. It might be OK better than acetone on GRP as it won't flash off but don't want to use it on acrylic yet. I was trying to think of suitable alternatives. A thinnish oil might work, especially one that's largely comprised of fatty acids. Abandoned the deck locker search and dug out some olive oil from the galley. Oh joy, it did seem to work at bit. I wiped it on with a paper towel and left it for 30 minutes. Obviously not going to flash off unless it gets hot enough to cook chips. Returned with another oil soaked paper towel and was able to remove all of the sticky gum from the windows. Quick clean with detergent and a rinse to get the window nice and clean. The new border looks very good and I just need to do the other side now. I managed to get expensive "Blue" masking tape and will do some testing with acrylic off-cuts before starting that job.
Cleaning off the gummy mess probably took twice as long as masking, sanding, prepping and painting.
At least it did come off.
