Macwester headlinning glue from 1976

Have tried solvents, even ones that worked, but you end up with a horrible sticky mess, everywhere. You cant beat the wirebrush on the angle grinder. you still get dust everywhere but at least its not sticky.
 
Anybody know the exact type?I am trying to find a solvent to remove it & have written to Bostik on the assumption that it was their glue but I'm not sure.

Keep us informed as to your progress please Nicholas. Lots of us with the same problems, but holding off doing anything until some one comes up with a solution to the glue issue.
RoN
 
Anybody know the exact type?I am trying to find a solvent to remove it & have written to Bostik on the assumption that it was their glue but I'm not sure.

Almost certainly a solvent based contact adhesive, but no knowing what make it would have been, Bostik, Evo stik, Dunlop ??????

Probably toluene (metylbenzene) based although the cleaners, if available, were very probably xylene (dimethylbenzene).

Try some toluene or xylene if you like but I promise you a ghastly sticky mess.

Hawke House sell a "face off" disc for adhesive removal but personally I did not have much more success with something similar. Maybe I ran it too slowly.

Possibly a cup type wire brush on a small angle grinder will be effective

http://www.hawkehouse.co.uk but the new website is incomplete... dead loss in fact!
 
Almost certainly a solvent based contact adhesive, but no knowing what make it would have been, Bostik, Evo stik, Dunlop ??????

Probably toluene (metylbenzene) based although the cleaners, if available, were very probably xylene (dimethylbenzene).

Try some toluene or xylene if you like but I promise you a ghastly sticky mess.

Hawke House sell a "face off" disc for adhesive removal but personally I did not have much more success with something similar. Maybe I ran it too slowly.

Possibly a cup type wire brush on a small angle grinder will be effective

http://www.hawkehouse.co.uk but the new website is incomplete... dead loss in fact!

The cup type wire brush is not great. You need to use the type that have the bristles facing outwards. These are a lot more effective. The cup type foul with the glue and the job becomes a lot slower.
 
I have a 1971 Macwester and I used wire disc brush on an electric drill and course sand paper, with good results. Anything else made the old glue too soft and hence difficult to remove.
 
The cup type wire brush is not great. You need to use the type that have the bristles facing outwards. These are a lot more effective. The cup type foul with the glue and the job becomes a lot slower.

I did not have much joy with a wheel type wire brush either!
 
I did not have much joy with a wheel type wire brush either!

You need to make sure it is the very aggressive type. The soft brass ones are a waste of time. The steel hard bristles are the ones you want. We have done two full headlining replacement projects on catamarans which equates to a huge area. Tried every which way and can confirm that this is the best way to do the job.
 
I got a reply from Bostik & they say there is a product but it is only suitable for small areas."Thank you for your enquiry.

There is a solvent which is designed to remove small deposits of polychloroprene contact adhesive, however this is not suitable for use on large areas. A technical data sheet is attached which explains this."

I tried cutting & pasting the document but for some reason it did'nt highlight.It sounds pretty deadly stuff & talks a lot about well ventilated areas etc.
Back to the drawing board.So far I found it quite easy to chisel off chunky areas of glue but it is when you get down to the finer stuff that it is a problem.Yes a wire brush will remove it but the dust & fiberglass particles are deadly.Acetone was'nt much cop but petrol seems to soften it & be some benefit.
Rubbing it with rubber seems to work after a fashion & at least you don't get the bloody dust.I shall try softening it with more white spirit & petrol & see how that turns out.
 
The best type of abrasive disc I have used for this is the round disc about 1" thick made from very stiff and very coarse pan scrub type material and used with a drill chuck. Worked very well for doing the same job on my Macwester!
 
The best type of abrasive disc I have used for this is the round disc about 1" thick made from very stiff and very coarse pan scrub type material and used with a drill chuck. Worked very well for doing the same job on my Macwester!


I used something similar.... I think 3M make a version... They are plastic, impregnated with an abrasive. Far kinder to GRP than a wire brush.... In fact they hardly touch the GRP.... keep the speed down and the glue comes off easily.

Something like this... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-75mm-...TEM-DISK-/170739787210?_trksid=p2054897.l4275
 
I used something similar.... I think 3M make a version... They are plastic, impregnated with an abrasive. Far kinder to GRP than a wire brush.... In fact they hardly touch the GRP.... keep the speed down and the glue comes off easily.

Something like this... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-75mm-...TEM-DISK-/170739787210?_trksid=p2054897.l4275


These work well on old adhesive http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/p...de-semi-flex-abrasi?da=1&TC=SRC-abrasive disc

The trick is not to use too much pressure or speed. The speed causes heat that gives you the gooey mess. Too much pressure cuts into the GRP creating dust.
 
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