Thick old adhesive

C-Beans

Cadet
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
13
Floated around here a bit for info refurbing my first boat a '96 14ft. Achilles with a 40hp 2 stroke Tohatsu. Old yes, retirement age, sure, but fixin it up regardless & askin for help.
I spent over 2 hours on my back sanding off the old glue where the tow handle ripped off and don't want to again.
I'm in California and solvents are disappearing; prop 65.
Thought I heard or seen some sanding wheel that'll chew through glue but not harm my hypalon like a 3M Scotch-Bright product but been searching and can't find it.
Anyone know the name or product number? A picture?
The rings that the bimini top clacks onto are flappin off and the adhesive is so thick and I'm staring at another 4 hours sanding.
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
12,345
Welcome to Iboats,

To get rid of the glue left by any accessory that has become unglued there's a proper solvent called Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) that helps clean out the fabric, works much faster than anything used for that type of job. Look for them at boat shops, probably Iboats sells them ?

If need to remove any accessory that has become partially unglued, soak a flat medium screwdriver in solvent and gently make its way between both fabrics, repeat this process till the accessory has been fully removed. Solvent must be used in a well ventilated room as it's highly volatile and toxic..

Happy Boating
 
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C-Beans

Cadet
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
13
Thanks for the welcome and reply. Yes, MEK. That's one of my problems. They've outlawed the stuff in California along with toluene, xylene and vm&p naphtha. There is a product they call Painters Solvent which is supposed to replace those things. I've tried it but it but it didn't do much.

Seen a few hypalon repair videos where guys had some wheel or brush at the end of a drill that they used to remove adhesive. Some was old adhesive and some was new overspill they where cleaning up after patching. I ordered a brush I thought was the same but it was definitely too soft.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
After seeing what you are work on, I'd get an angle grinder with a flap disk in the 60 to 120 grit range and use that to remove the stuff. Just go real slow until you see how to use it and don't get too aggressive with it. It will remove that stuff and if you use some finesse you could even keep the finish beneath it too. JMHO
 

Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
12,345
Can you buy any of the mentioned cleaning products in other state and ship it to California ? Try brushing several layers of acrylic paint thinner on the tube fabric to soften it if possible while sanding as recommended...

Don't know if it's possible to help soften that awful hardened glue remains with a heat gun set at a moderate temp while it's faned side to side along sanding ?

Happy Boating
 

C-Beans

Cadet
Joined
Jan 17, 2019
Messages
13
Thanks again for all the great advice.
I called around trying to get those products shipped but when the SKU # comes up compared with a California address it won't ship.
A friend said he could get some from his father but that never happened so I went out and bought some wheeled I thought might work and this is the one that did the job.
 

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C-Beans

Cadet
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Jan 17, 2019
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It's 80 grit and seemed to heat and soften as I went.
Wiped over the area with painter's solvent after and it cleaned up pretty good.
 

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Sea Rider

Supreme Mariner
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Sep 20, 2008
Messages
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Congrats nice work, the area looks much nicer than before...

Happy Boating
 
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