Foam backed vinyl-sticky mess

[JSYmartini]

So I've got these 2 fairly pointless wardrobes in my fwd cabin (8" wide & 3' deep )

But since the boat will be my home for the foreseeable as of the end of the month, I'll need all the storage I can get!

The insides of the wardrobe were covered in foam backed vinyl, not on removable panels, glued straight onto the plywood structure. Inevitably one side of one wardrobe, the vinyl has peeled off leaving patches of rotten foam and the whole side covered in tacky glue.

Any tried and tested methods for removing the offending gunk? Bearing in mind access is a bit limited.
Wood scraper then acetone perhaps? I'm not too bothered what it ends up looking like, I just need to put clothes in there without them getting covered in carp.

Thanks muchly

 

[nimbusgb]

An age old problem!

Steel wool, leather gloves and tons of elbow grease is one solution.

 

[JSYmartini]

I was hoping for something more along the lines of "spray this stuff on and leave for 10 mins, then wipe off"!!

 

[l'escargot]

Hawke House recommend a "face off disk" on an electric drill for large areas or an Auto Glym solvent for smaller areas - click on "Glue Remover" on the left hand menu on this page http://www.hawkehouse.co.uk/default.asp

 

[Alpha22]

A quick fix would be to rip.scrape off as much as you can in the time you are prepared to spend. Then cover with Evo stick and cover with a layer of vinyl. Bumpy but clean.

 

[rogerball0]

I was hoping for something more along the lines of "spray this stuff on and leave for 10 mins, then wipe off"!!

Can recommend (as above) Auto Glym Tar Remover available from Halfords, about £8 a bottle - literally spray on foam/glue residue - be generous, soak the stuff - and leave.......well you'll need to its evil stuff. When i did my centaur (8 bottles) had all the hatches closed and found myself staggering around the saloon after 15 minutes laughing my arse off for absolutely no reason so make sure you've got plenty of air moving through the boat and or wear a decent mask while doing it.

Other than that crack on - i used a wire brush attachement for the drill as the face off discs i bought tended to smear the glue and foam about the coachroof rather than remove it but wire worked a treat leaving 'as new' fibreglass, see link below

https://picasaweb.google.com/110182886418433827802/Headlining?authuser=0&feat=directlink

cheers roger

www.agentlemansyacht.com

 

[Tradewinds]

This stuff is very good.

http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/p-1019-3m-citrus-cleaner-adhesive-remover-spray-500ml.aspx

 

[Keith-i]

You can have a go with my face off disc if you want. Worked alright on grp with sticky glue. Maybe get the worst off with it then use solvent. Being on ply, perhaps a heat gun and scraper.

 

[rivonia]

Use a flexible S/S scraper followed by acetone.

Peter

 

[Nicholas123]

In the same boat!
I intend to try rubbing at it with a petrol soaked rag some time in the future.(obviously I will not be smoking at the same time)

 

[Nicholas123]

This stuff is very good.

http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/p-1019-3m-citrus-cleaner-adhesive-remover-spray-500ml.aspx

At that price it should be!

 

[Hydrozoan]

I've just done my headlining panels and, after dry scraping the worst of the residual foam/adhesive, then used white spirit and the scraper. A bit messy (used quite a few rags to clean up) but it was effective - only needed light sanding afterwards to prepare surface for new (fabric- not foam-backed) vinyl. I was able to take the panels off the boat, however.

 

[chrisbitz]

just as a possibly alternative view, I've often found on smaller areas, that rubbing in ash or dusty dirt can remove sticky stuff and make it go hard...

It's not quite as messy, but doesn't actually remove it, but does stop the stickiness!

 

[Tradewinds]

At that price it should be!

No pleasing some people

 

[JSYmartini]

Thanks everyone for the tips, don't think I'll get in there very well with a grinder or similar, certainly won't be able to use a drill.

Scraper, wire wool and acetone will be my first attempt, I can imagine though when the acetone dries the stickiness will come back until I've removed every bit of glue.

I'm not going to bother covering it again, long term plan is to rip the whole lot out and remodel the cabin and heads but not until I've got the pennies and certainly not while I'm living on it!

 

[Loggo]

There are a few products in motor factors for removing vinyl from vehicle signs, wraps etc. - should do the job on your sticky backed plastic.

 

[makingplansfor]

Having gone through this my recommendation would be hard scrubbing brush and vacuum cleaner, when the majority of the old backing is removed the stickiness dries up after a while and you can get on with sticking it back. I wouldn't start using solvents or any other other chemical shortcuts - got into a real mess for no benefit.

As an aside - I used a self adhesive closed cell foam from B&Q (laminate floor underlay) to replace the foam and a spray impact adhesive to stick the old vinyl to it.

 

[Daydream believer]

Get some 3 mm ply & just cover the old vinyl. Keep a paper template of the shape for later use or for the opposite side in the future
Fix along the leading edge & a couple of fixings as far in as you can reach & forget the mess behind it

 

[greenalien]

As an aside - I used a self adhesive closed cell foam from B&Q (laminate floor underlay) to replace the foam

B & Q list several different underlay foam materials - 2mm, 3mm and 5mm. Which one did you use? Can you post a link please?

 

[Keith-i]

Whatabout a Fein Multimaster with the sharp flat blade?