C-Forum

Anyone got any ideas for removing old glue. Redoing some old outfitting in a Genesis and the glue just seems to get warm and turns gooey when I sand it. I have been sanding and cleaning with Denatured alcohol. Any suggestions?

If it's contact cement you can put a layer of fresh contact cement on top. The solvents will soften up the old stuff. Then when it gets tacky you can roll both coats up into a ball.

If it is contact cement, paint thinner will also work without dissolving the hull. Depending on the age of the cement, the paint thinner may need to be in contact with the glue residue for a while before it loosens up, and you may need to use some gentle abrasion like a Scotch Brite pad to get it up.

If the glue is fresher, sometimes you can just roll it off with your thumb.

If you have Vynabond residue, it is much harder to get off without damaging the hull. You might be able to get some of it off with acetone or MEK, but avoid any but brief contact with the hull to avoid melting it.

Toluene or Xylene is way more gentle to ABS and vinyl and it does a fantastic job of dissolving contact cement. I do try to roll the contact cement off while dry first if it comes off fairly easy.

As a side benefit they can be used as Aquaseal accelerator.

I tried the contact cement idea and it worked on a lot but not all. This is some old OLD glue. I may try again when it warms up a bit here in VA. I have MEK but was nervous about it. I will give the Toluene or Xylene a shot this weekend and see what happens.

Now if I can figure out how to get some stubborn oxidation off of a gel coat I may be dong alright.