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Removing aluminum sheet white plastic protection

pereeder

Member
Hello All-

I have the mostly blue aluminum plastic protection sheeting I'm sure all of us are familiar with. Even after more than 10 years, it's easily removed.

But, on my wing, I have some white plastic instead of the blue. It has degraded and is fighting me for every inch. It doesn't stay together, so pulling even the smallest corner results in immediate separation. Grrrr....

The best I can do is utilizing plastic razor blades, but it's going to take forever

Any ideas?

Thanks in Advance
 
Heat gun

+1 Heat.

I made the mistake of leaving it on too long as well. I used a plastic scraper along with a heat gun. You won't be able to pull off big pieces but it helps.

Doug
RV-7
Flying!
 
Try this before going to the heat gun. Not sure if it works, but if the surface is not continuous anymore - - - maybe.


Take two full sheets of paper towel, lay on and area and wet with mineral spirits. Not enough to drip. Then make a big S on the sheets with lighter fluid. Cover all with aluminum foil and leave it for 4 hours. Come back with your plastic razor blade and have a go. Scrape what you can easily, wipe with each towel you removed for final adhesive wash then fill with a clean towel.

It sounds like a lot, but may only take a few minutes of actual labor.

Good luck!
 
Removing Protective Old White Plastic

I had 1/2 of a ruder and one elevator that had the old white plastic. I bought the tail kit from someone that gave up and it was really good build quality just old with a couple pieces having this white plastic. I experimented with different methods that I got to work.

#1 - Paint Stripper
This method worked but I put blue 3M plastic tape (usually used for paint stripes) down to prevent the paint stripper from getting into the rivet areas to ease cleaning for painting. I had to let it sit for 15+ min to get the white to come off and by that time the tape was junk too. I used a plastic razor blade to scrap off the stripper. I also tried a plastic putty knife but the razor blade seemed to work better.

#2 - MEK soaked on white paper towel rags (rags in a box) = this worked but not as well as #1 and wore a paint mask (pain) to keep from breathing fumes. Also experimented with MEK for removing adhesive in method #3 below - also seemed to work but due to fumes opted for 3M adhesive remover.

#3 - used a Heat Gun to basically liquify the white plastic and then scraped it with a plastic razor blade in small sections. I then used a 3M adhesive remover (PN 08984) soaked on a rag to remove the residue. If the residue was thick the adhesive remover would soften it to where I could then hit it again w/ a new plastic razor blade to scrap off.

All in all - all 3 methods worked - be patient and prepare for a lot of work as its a big pain in the arse.... Also - load up on plastic razor blades - they work great but dull quickly. I only had one side of a ruder and one elevator. If my whole tail had this stuff (and I knew about it) I would NOT buy the kit.
 
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