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Author Topic: How do I remove contact cement?  (Read 16455 times)

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javeryh

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How do I remove contact cement?
« on: September 02, 2008, 04:47:22 pm »
I have a thin layer of contact cement on top of some plexiglas that I want to remove.  So far I've been scraping with a razor but it is SLOW.  Is there anything I can do to speed this up?  I'm thinking of maybe some type of solution I can apply with a q-tip that will dissolve the glue or something.... any ideas?

HaRuMaN

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2008, 04:51:20 pm »
Acetone might work

javeryh

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2008, 05:19:28 pm »
Acetone might work

Nail polish remover?  What effect (if any) do you think a drop or two will have on MDF?  There is a good chance that no matter how careful I am with the acetone I will get a bit on the adjacent MDF...

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2008, 05:32:46 pm »
Acetone on MDF will probably have no effect at all.  It's a pretty volatile compound, and will evaporate quickly.

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2008, 06:04:53 pm »
I would test it on a piece of scrap MDF just to be sure ...
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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2008, 07:27:39 pm »
Acetone will melt plexiglass and not do anything to MDF except make it swell if you spill a whole bunch on there

somunny

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2008, 07:38:52 pm »
Dumb question:  Have you tried rubbing it off with your hand?  I've found that some adhesives can simply be rubbed off for the most part.  What's left over could probably be removed with some windex or the like.  Just givin' it a shot.

javeryh

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2008, 07:58:10 pm »
Acetone will melt plexiglass and not do anything to MDF except make it swell if you spill a whole bunch on there

Yikes!  This is good to know - I have about 15 hours in the piece I'm working on... I do not want to start over!   ;D

Dumb question:  Have you tried rubbing it off with your hand?  I've found that some adhesives can simply be rubbed off for the most part.  What's left over could probably be removed with some windex or the like.  Just givin' it a shot.

I have tried to rub it off - it is really bonded tight to the Plexiglas.  It's not like rubber cement - it dries pretty hard even though when I pick at it with the razor blade it is a little rubbery.

somunny

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #8 on: September 02, 2008, 09:37:31 pm »
How about applying some heat?

mtn

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #9 on: September 07, 2008, 07:55:00 am »
Try  Wd-40. It breaks down gummy glue and can be washed off with soapy water.

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #10 on: September 07, 2008, 10:53:31 am »
Try mineral spirits.  I've had good luck with removing stuff with mineral spirits that I couldn't get off with other products.
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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #11 on: September 07, 2008, 11:55:47 am »
Try  Wd-40. It breaks down gummy glue and can be washed off with soapy water.

I used WD40 on my defender plexiglass bezel which had the glue of some sort of wide tape. Until I used the WD40 progress was extremely slow and I kept wondering if I was even making progress. The WD40 sped it up tremendously. Followed up with some glass cleaner type stuff and it worked well. WD40 gets my vote. And if it isn't obvious already, it didn't damage the material in any way.
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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #12 on: September 07, 2008, 07:19:58 pm »
These arnt the droids your looking for...

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #13 on: September 07, 2008, 08:03:29 pm »
javeryh,
Anything with Xylene in it will do the job. You will notice that GooGone won't work but Goof-Off does a fantastic job. That's because the active ingredient in Goof-Off is Xylene. You can buy Xylene by itself at Hope Depot next to all of the other chemicals. If you can't find it, just buy the Goof-Off.

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Re: How do I remove contact cement?
« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2008, 04:58:44 pm »
How about contact cement solvent? It's made for the job :)

Might want to test it on some scrap plexi first to doubler check that it won't damage it.