Removing sticky film from GRP

[JohnHaine]

I'm renovating a Corribee, and the foam-backed vinyl lining to the cabin walls was falling off after 27 years (this is a common problem apparently). I've stripped off the vinyl but most of the decaying foam remained behind. The foam comes off with wire brushing but a lot of the gluey film remains and won't scrape or brush off.

I think it needs some kind of chemical stripper to soften the glue, I'm sure that nitromors would do the job but probably go through the GRP as well! Can anyone suggest a stripper that won't attack the GRP but should loosen the glue please?

John.

 

[Mudplugger]

John, have had to do this twice over the years, I am not sure that there is a short cut!!, If you are renewing the foam back, then its not terribly important to get the old glue of, provided you have removed the old foam. if you are going for a painted finish, then a Power drill & rotary wire brush, goggles & mask worked well for me....but not pleasant! HTH

 

[philip_stevens]

Be careful when you are removing the foam!! I copied this message over 2 years ago, and have retrieved it from my archives.

<font color="red"> "Posted by Meme Grant on June 13, 2002, 4:05 pm

The Polyurethane foam at the back of the vinyl decomposes and breaks into a fine dust which causes allergic reactions which can be acute. This nearly cost the lives of myself and my crew on a trip, all 4 had allergic reactions. If it had not been for the Epirb,the excellent Rescue services of Brazil, the vessels who picked us up and the superb Brazilian medical services we would have died. I had chemical Pneumonia and severe oedema of the epiglottis. More at risk are those who smoke and those who have had a history of asthma (like me) or other lung problems."</font>

regards,
Philip

www.stiveswebdesign.co.uk

 

[Talbot]

When removing the old foam and glue it is essential that you remove everything from the boat first cause this is a VERY messy buisness. It is also essential that you protect yourself throroughly as well - full coveralls, gogles and a good facemask designed to remove that dust from the air you are trying to breath.

Places like screwfix and hawk house marine will sell you a special flapwheel that will strip the glue off, but when my son and I did ours, we used a scraper and dyson to remove as much of the old foam as possible and get it of the boat. we then used a small angle grinder with a 3" cup brass wire wheel. This on slower speed was able to rip the old glue off the GRP without damaging the GRP. Higher speed did the job more quickly and was good for thick layers of glue, but needed a lot of care to prevent damage to the GRP. It is very messy and took a long time to dyson the lot up afterwards, but provided a clean surface for the new lining.

Chemical products wil normally merely soften the glue and then need to be wiped over - fine maybe for a very small patch (although I reckon acetone does it faster) but would be a horrible task for a complete headlining, and would need an enormous amount of cloth to wipe off the gunk (as well as taking forever).

 

[VicS]

When i did mine i found that any power driven device generated sufficient heat to soften the old glue and simply spread it out. Apart from small areas where i wanted to bond some wooden pads, i decided that what could not be removed by manual scraping and reasonable effort did not need to be removed.

When you come to fitting the new stuff make sure you protect yourself from the fumes of the adhesive by wearing an "organic vapours" mask as well as ensuring good ventilation. You can get the mask from Hawke House Marine together with all the materials and adhesives. It may look a bit expensive but it's a lot cheaper than a funeral! Hawke house also have a useful hints and tips leaflet which really does contain some useful hints.

 

[Talbot]

[ QUOTE ]
i found that any power driven device generated sufficient heat to soften the old glue and simply spread it out.

[/ QUOTE ] Not my experience using the brass wire cup wheel. Peals it off the grp and flings it everywhere, but not softened, just messy! And a Cat has a lot of headlining!

 

[rhumlady]

I have just done the forecabin in my Konsort. It's a horrible job but I also found the glue smeared. I used a flapwheel on my anglegrinder to clean up the remaining stuff and get down to bare glass. It's messy and you DO need the best of kit for protection,but the end result should be worth it. I hope.

 

[JohnHaine]

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.

I've now got the foam off with the help of a wire brush and Vax, and most of it out of the boat! I'm coming to the conclusion that I'll have to apply some sort of new covering rather than painting, to minimise condensation, so maybe I don't have to get all the glue off. Where there is excess peeiling glue, sounds like a brass cup wheel might be useful.

Cheers, John.