how to safely remove glue from acrylic ?

[jph]

i had some time tonight to work on the tank again.

it had been sitting face down on the carpet for WEEKS.
i flipped it up, removed the plastic wrapping, and discovered that some of the plastic tape securing the original plastic wrap had somehow worked its way onto the front of the tank.

i gently removed it, but i was left with two ugly glue marks on both sides.

how can i safely, without scratching the acrylic, remove the glue ?
is there a dissolvant strong enough for glue, but gentle enough not to hurt the acrylic ?


any help/pointers appreciated.


J.

[Fly Guy]

Do not use any kind of solvent on it.

This might be a dumb question......but i imagine you have already tried rubbing it off with your finger??? Popping/scraping it off with a acrylic scraper??

[jph]

Originally Posted by Fly Guy

Do not use any kind of solvent on it.

This might be a dumb question......but i imagine you have already tried rubbing it off with your finger??? Popping/scraping it off with a acrylic scraper??

i have not tried anything yet


i found some info online telling me to try some soapy warm water and a sponge.


if i end up scratching it, i believe that i still have some 3M scratch remover that i successfully used om my car's clearcoat.


fingers crossed.


J.

[Fly Guy]

try the fingers first........then the soapy water and sponge.....then the chisel

If you DO scratch it a touch when all said and done, its not that big of a deal to fix......i dont know what you use for your cars clearcoat...but if it resembles different grits of sandpaper from 1500-12000 OR a abrasive liquid........that'll do it

[crvz]

I hesitate to mention this, as it takes some practice to do well, but I've often used a flame to manipulate or clean up acrylic. It's not very hard to do, but you do run the risk of messing it up even worse if you're not careful. I'd probably try some of the scratch removers before a flame, especially if it's in an obvious location, but just remember it's an option.

[jph]

Originally Posted by crvz

I hesitate to mention this, as it takes some practice to do well, but I've often used a flame to manipulate or clean up acrylic. It's not very hard to do, but you do run the risk of messing it up even worse if you're not careful. I'd probably try some of the scratch removers before a flame, especially if it's in an obvious location, but just remember it's an option.

it may be an option to warm up the glue a bit with a lighter.
it is in a VERY obvious location though.

let me try to draw...

|               |
| GGG     GG    |
|_______________|

i think that i'm going to try and warm it up with a hair dryer first.
then see if i can try to get as much as i can off with my nails.

i'm going to experiment a little bit on a piece of acrylic with some 3M adhesive remover, see if it does anything to the acrylic or not.
i know the stuff works to remove glue from paint


J.

[Twitterbait]

Actually... just use isopropyl Alcohol... test on another part of the tank first and then go for it. i have used it before with some success.

[jph]

Originally Posted by Twitterbait

Actually... just use isopropyl Alcohol... test on another part of the tank first and then go for it. i have used it before with some success.

thanks for the tip! i'll pick up a bottle on my way home from work.


J.

[jph]

Originally Posted by Twitterbait

Actually... just use isopropyl Alcohol... test on another part of the tank first and then go for it. i have used it before with some success.

it worked great!

tested it out on the top of the tank, no visible damage.

soaked a few cotton pads in the alcohol, and stuck them all over the glue.
let it soak for a minute, the glue dissolved, and came right off!

thank you!
J.

[zero186]

good to hear it came off