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Building Tips and technical articles. => ARF'S => Topic started by: Mike Scholtes on September 10, 2008, 10:00:20 PM

Title: How to strip plastic covering?
Post by: Mike Scholtes on September 10, 2008, 10:00:20 PM

I have lots of experience applying plastic film coverings but not the reverse. What is the best way to remove the film and hopefully the adhesive with it? I am guessing a heat source, but how much? Hair dryer? Heat gun? Flamethrower? I will be stripping a new Score so it is probably ChinaKote. For adhesive that remains on the surface, how best to remove that?

Title: Re: How to strip plastic covering?
Post by: Andrew Hathaway on September 10, 2008, 10:13:13 PM

Find a loose edge and pull.  Anywhere color/adhesive remains, sand it off with 100 grit.  Heating it doesn't seem to have much effect.  Acetone can be used to remove any spots that stay stuck.  The TF arf's I've stripped shed their kote very easily without much sanding. 

Title: Re: How to strip plastic covering?
Post by: Jim Oliver on September 10, 2008, 10:15:15 PM

Mike,

I have used the heat gun (the one I use for shrinking covering) to help convince the adhesive to release the wood........still leaves color/adhesive in some areas.  Light sanding usually gets the stubborn stuff.

In my experience, acetone dissolves the color/adhesive well enough but it then soaks into the balsa and leaves stains that are tuff to remove.

Cheers,
Jim

Title: Re: How to strip plastic covering?
Post by: Bob Reeves on September 11, 2008, 02:05:32 AM

Use a heat gun, it will come off clean.. Pull it off cold and you will have a mess..

Title: Re: How to strip plastic covering?
Post by: Crist Rigotti on September 11, 2008, 06:23:33 AM

Do what Bob says and clean up the airframe like Jim says.

Title: Re: How to strip plastic covering?
Post by: Alan Hahn on September 11, 2008, 07:55:37 AM

I think it is a big function of the covering and the state if it too. For example, removing the covering from a Vector Arf directly from the box was really easy (using a heat gun), almost no residue left on it. However removing the covering from a Nobler Arf after shrinking it down was not so easy, The Monocote left patches of color/adhesive and as someone noted, it was impossible to remove all the color (I also used acetone to wipe most of the gunky stuff off). I also think Monocote, as a rule is tougher to remove.

Title: Re: How to strip plastic covering?
Post by: Mike Scholtes on September 11, 2008, 10:11:37 AM

Thanks guys. The model is fresh-out-of-the-box new, no application of heat to the covering. I bought it with the intention of stripping it. The plan is to build it as a glued-together model, balsa cowl, fuse-mounted carbon gear, painted finish. Will not look much like a Score when finished but the aerodynamics will be the same.