Sticky residue remover?

KevO

KevO

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Heads bulkheads were previously finished with some self-adhesive vinyl monstrosity which is peeling away leaving a manky wet sticky sh!t residue behind. I’m gonna rip it off this weekend and see what horrors it may be hiding and then go from there. Probably make good and paint. Hey ho. Any idea what might help get the sticky off? Acetone? Petrol? White spirit?

I know there is a specific sticky stuff remover spray available online but I’m not gonna get that before the morning.
 
KevO said:
Heads bulkheads were previously finished with some self-adhesive vinyl monstrosity which is peeling away leaving a manky wet sticky sh!t residue behind. I’m gonna rip it off this weekend and see what horrors it may be hiding and then go from there. Probably make good and paint. Hey ho. Any idea what might help get the sticky off? Acetone? Petrol? White spirit?

I know there is a specific sticky stuff remover spray available online but I’m not gonna get that before the morning.
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Sticky stuff remover from your local hardware store, Homebase, B&Q, Screwfix, Toolstation etc etc. You can get liquid or sprays
White spirit might do it.
Beware of fumes from any solvents and flammability.

Only a fool would use petrol
 
It's a case of try whatever solvents you have at hand. I just recently covered some of my interior in modern fablon equivalent. Quicker than painting and won't yellow, and fairly easy to remove further down the road
 
Depends what the glue is.
If it's tacky to the touch, it''s perhaps worth trying Cif and a good scrub. It's cheap and the fumes won't kill you.
My armoury of solvents includes Acetone, Meths, White Spirit, Petrol, IPA (iso propyl alcohol not the beer!) and that 'solvent cleaner' which toolstation sell for cleaning upvc window frames. That last one is worth having IMHO.
 
None of the volatile solvents are nice to inhale but acetone is nasty stuff. Meths might not work but is the least troublesome. It might also be worth doing some careful scraping to remove the bulk of the residue first.
 
There is a product called 'Detak' originally developed to release chewing gum but also effective on sealants, might be worth a try? I have used 'sticky stuff remover' to remove the residue of long gone masking or duct tape and it worked on them.
Warning , acetone is very volatile, very difficult not to get a lungful if using it inside. Many years ago we used to use it to rinse lab. equipment, the bath was outside with a fume cupboard for drying right beside it. Ptrol is less volatile but still far from safe.Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol might be safer but less effective. The solvent used in your old glue may have been toluene which is close to acetone. If you do try acetone use a small quantity at a time, get out as soon as you apply it and stay away while the vapour disperses but you will still be taking a serious risk, (and put your fag out before opening the tin).
Seriously, try the Sticky stuff remover or Detak first, give it a bit of time then scrape with a new blade in a Bahco scraper, you will need to wipe the blade every couple of strokes.

For an immediate 'off the wall wonder solution' which may not work you might try a bit of heat with a hairdryer prior to pulling it off but of course it could just make it worse.
 
The main point to remember is to start with the least 'destructive' method first;

Scraping
White Spirits
IPA
Acetone...

you get the idea. Remember to clean off the stuff as soon as possible to prevent any degridation to the substrate.
 
ctva said:
The main point to remember is to start with the least 'destructive' method first;

Scraping
White Spirits
IPA
Acetone...

you get the idea. Remember to clean off the stuff as soon as possible to prevent any degridation to the substrate.
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I'd insert some water based attacks between 'scraping' and 'white spirit'.
We used to use a 'foaming aerosol cleaner' where I worked, it seemed to remove a fair range of stuff, water rinsable.
 
The OP and many others need to understand how and why solvation takes place and why one solvent is better or more appropriate than another for a given substance. Without the specific knowledge the only way is by trial and error with a range of organic solvents and occasionally water. There again many organic solvents have health issues and one should avoid inhalation and most are flammable to one degree or another both factors that should be taken into account. One trick is to start with one solvent and then use another as an example acetone is soluble in alcohol and after removing most of a substance with acetone a wipe with alcohol will remove the last vestiges of acetone and substrate. For an adhesive that has been used on a headlining which will likely be an organic solution of a polymer probably in a non polar solvent the trick will be finding a suitable non polar solvent petrol unfortunately is probably the one that most will have access to that is likely to do the trick, Turpentine is probably going to be better than white spirit. I doubt that the usual polar organic solvents are going to work and if they do acetone is probably going to be the better of them.
 
French supermarkets sell an impressive array of solvents - including "petrole desaromatise" and what I take to be dry-cleaning fluid.
I have tried them and others rather un-systematically, with varying results. None seem to be able to remove sticky gunge from an inflatable dinghy.
Anybody taken a more scientific approach?
 
lampshuk said:
French supermarkets sell an impressive array of solvents - including "petrole desaromatise" and what I take to be dry-cleaning fluid.
I have tried them and others rather un-systematically, with varying results. None seem to be able to remove sticky gunge from an inflatable dinghy.
Anybody taken a more scientific approach?
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If it's a PVC dinghy, I'd try the solvent cleaner sold for uPVC windows.
After I'd tried Cif.
For some flavours of 'sticky gunge, what you need is a powder with lots of surface area to bond with the stickiness. Like a dust bath, or rubbing your hands in sawdust to remove grease or glue. Cif is basically a detergent plus lots of powder which has lots of surface to bond with gringe.
 
lampshuk said:
French supermarkets sell an impressive array of solvents - including "petrole desaromatise" and what I take to be dry-cleaning fluid.
I have tried them and others rather un-systematically, with varying results. None seem to be able to remove sticky gunge from an inflatable dinghy.
Anybody taken a more scientific approach?
Click to expand...

You need to know what the sticky gunge is.
You will find that you cannot buy and nor do French dry cleaners use Perchlorethylene (Dry cleaning fluid) it is now permanently banned and since 2013 businesses began to change to less toxic solvents.
 
The "watered back" nail varnish remover can be bought fairly cheaply. Not as strong as neat Acetone but it's pretty good. (and it does remove sticky residue off inflatables without any damage... but test a multi layer patch on yours first)
 
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