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A plastic dilemma - - - - solved

 
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briana(at)xtra.co.nz
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PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2011 1:35 pm    Post subject: A plastic dilemma - - - - solved Reply with quote

Thanks for all the suggestions. I experimented with a number and found that most would work - - to some degree.

1. The hairdryer - - helps soften the plastic, but you need at least 3 hands, and the aluminium conducts the heat away quickly. I was able only to peel up small edges without more than 2 hands.

2. De Solvit - - happened to have some, works to unstick the adhesive. WIll only do 1-2mm at the edge at a time because the plastic does what it is supposed to do and prevents any surface contamination.

3. Dunk the whole piece in hot water - - softens the plastic and enables large pieces to be peeled off, provided the ageing process hasn't become extreme. That is, it restores some plasticity and seems to lessen the bond, but not on the worst affected areas.

4. Petrol, 96 octane Mogas - - - works a bit like De-Solvit, only faster. The plastic remains intact, but the edges begin to wrinkle up if left to soak for a bit. The petrol vapour works just as well, because areas that were not immersed wrinkled up too. Used an old toothbrush to scrub the flaking edges. However, this is by far the most environmentally unfriendly. It's messy and very smelly. It also takes time.

5. Boiling water - - - the best of the lot. Clean and simple. Thankfully the pieces I was working with were small enough and flexible enough to be partially immersed in a large pot of boiling water, section by section. There is no visible effect, but after about 3 minutes of immersion it was possible to peel the plastic off in quite large pieces. It was still possible to peel for a minute or two after taking the pieces out of the water.

Phew! Job done.

Brian


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