Large Scale Central

Any ideas on how to remove glue from roof of USAT passenger car

Problem Solving
#1

Hi everyone,

I just bought 7 SP Alu passenger cars from USA trains. They came shipped with a white “cloth” glued to the plastic protecting the car. Sadly on mine the glue was not dry or got hot and seeped through the fabric and stuck to the car. I tried windex with no luck and than made the mistake of trying alcohol and that destroyed the paint finish on the baggage car. any ideas on how to remove the glue without hurting the paint finish?

Thanks, Dave

#2

quick pictures this one not too bad the baggage car had almost the entie strip stuck to the car

#3

Dave,

I think I would contact Ro if they came that way and I had opened them upon receipt. If I left them sit for a while before opening it could be an issue from where I had put them. Ask USAT for replacements(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#4

Agreed I would try Charles Ro first, but in the event they do not have anymore of that car try Goo Gone.

#5

Dave

Since anything solvent based is likely to attack the paint how about some hot water and Dawn dish washing liquid.

Maybe vinegar or decal setting solution if you want something more aggressive.

Mineral spirits or turpentine.

Also you did not say what kind or percentage of alcohol you used . Maybe test a weaker solution of Isopropyl (%50>) on the messed up roof.

#6

Call Ro first, they may be able to replace the roof, then they can experiment!

#7

Sometime freezing the glue will make it stiff enough to chip it off, carefully of course.

But yea, I would contact USA trains. Maybe they can tell you what to use, if they don’t offer a replacement.

#8

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the ideas. Called charles ro this morning and Mike in parts (the only one who deals with problems I guess) only works Tue-Thur. man what a sweet gig that is. He’s a nice guy and has helped me out a ton with parts. I’m just trying to avoid shipping back and forth. So I tried the suggestions in order of aggressiveness. first hot water and soap no luck but did seem to soften it up. thought about the freezing we have a -15 deg walk in freezer at work but was worried about the chipping part. so dug out the goo gone and that did the trick. I put the car out in the sun for about 20 min and wiped the entire roof in a couple of even strokes and it took it right off. than I rinsed with just water and final clean with windex.

#9

Dave

I am glad you had success. Hooray for Joseph for having the right answer!!!

I will remember Goo Gone…mostly because I like the name. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#10

Even though some folks don’t like Goo Gone, I have a big bottle of it in the workroom and use it quite often.

#11

So I believe you actually took a thin layer of paint off all the surface and evened it out… with a solvent that was pretty gentle so as not to remove all the paint.

Goo Gone is in my arsenal, as well as many others… I usually try them from mild to wild …

Funny, I have a web page with them on it: https://elmassian.com/index.php/large-scale-train-main-page/misc-train-stuff/tools-aamp-accessories

Here’s the text:

So the listing will go from mild to wild, mostly by how these attack plastic.

  • plain old isopropyl alcohol - usually safe on most plastics, but can cloud some clear ones and hurt some soft ones
  • goo gone - usually mild but can eat some plastics, try first in a safe spot
  • tape head cleaner - (isopropyl alcohol and trichlorotriflouroethane) - almost always safe
  • pure freon liquid - great degreaser, but kills the ozone layer and you can’t get it anymore
  • liftoff - (#2 most common, but get the complete kit of 0, 1, 2, 3) - Great stuff, use the #2 all the time for lables. It was made to penetrate stickers, and then release the adhesive so stickers just “lift off”. Medium mild, will attack some plastics, test first. Be sure to get a can.
  • rubber cleaner - usually safe on everything, good for cleaning rubber before gluing or putting armorall on
  • kerosene - good all around mild solvent, what WD-40 is mostly made of. Does not evaporate completely, leaves oily residue.
  • tar and bug remover - sometimes works wonders, medium solvent, watch on plastics
  • Kroil - (early 50’s magic lube and cleaner) - mild solvent that works better than kerosene
  • Metafin - much like Kroil
  • paint thinner - medium solvent, can attack plastic
  • CRC-32 - really a lube and corrosion inhibitor, but has some solvent. Can clean some stuff and lube. The solvent can attack some some plastics, no matter what Lewis says.
  • WD40 - I have a can. It’s like spray kerosene. It usually leaves a sticky residue, requiring more WD-40. Not good as a lube.
  • Boeshield t-9 (also corrosion protection, similar to but better than crc-32)
  • silicon spray - (there is a solvent in it) - can clean some stuff, but attacks many plastics. If it does not attack your plastic, cleans and lubes.
  • brake cleaner - very good degreaser - safe on some plastics
  • carb cleaner - degreaser and cleaner, but can leave funny residue on some metals, eats most plastics. Has it’s uses. Hurts your skin.
  • acetone - melts or dissolves almost all plastics. Good degreaser, but keep off your hands.
  • lacquer thinner - about as strong as acetone, seems to eat an even larger variety of plastics. Strong fumes!
  • M.E.K - dissolves almost everything made of plastic, makes a good plastic solvent welder.
#12

Greg Elmassian said:

So I believe you actually took a thin layer of paint off all the surface and evened it out… with a solvent that was pretty gentle so as not to remove all the paint.

Goo Gone is in my arsenal, as well as many others… I usually try them from mild to wild …

Funny, I have a web page with them on it: https://elmassian.com/index.php/large-scale-train-main-page/misc-train-stuff/tools-aamp-accessories

Here’s the text:

So the listing will go from mild to wild, mostly by how these attack plastic.

  • plain old isopropyl alcohol - usually safe on most plastics, but can cloud some clear ones and hurt some soft ones
  • goo gone - usually mild but can eat some plastics, try first in a safe spot
  • tape head cleaner - (isopropyl alcohol and trichlorotriflouroethane) - almost always safe
  • pure freon liquid - great degreaser, but kills the ozone layer and you can’t get it anymore
  • liftoff - (#2 most common, but get the complete kit of 0, 1, 2, 3) - Great stuff, use the #2 all the time for lables. It was made to penetrate stickers, and then release the adhesive so stickers just “lift off”. Medium mild, will attack some plastics, test first. Be sure to get a can.
  • rubber cleaner - usually safe on everything, good for cleaning rubber before gluing or putting armorall on
  • kerosene - good all around mild solvent, what WD-40 is mostly made of. Does not evaporate completely, leaves oily residue.
  • tar and bug remover - sometimes works wonders, medium solvent, watch on plastics
  • Kroil - (early 50’s magic lube and cleaner) - mild solvent that works better than kerosene
  • Metafin - much like Kroil
  • paint thinner - medium solvent, can attack plastic
  • CRC-32 - really a lube and corrosion inhibitor, but has some solvent. Can clean some stuff and lube. The solvent can attack some some plastics, no matter what Lewis says.
  • WD40 - I have a can. It’s like spray kerosene. It usually leaves a sticky residue, requiring more WD-40. Not good as a lube.
  • Boeshield t-9 (also corrosion protection, similar to but better than crc-32)
  • silicon spray - (there is a solvent in it) - can clean some stuff, but attacks many plastics. If it does not attack your plastic, cleans and lubes.
  • brake cleaner - very good degreaser - safe on some plastics
  • carb cleaner - degreaser and cleaner, but can leave funny residue on some metals, eats most plastics. Has it’s uses. Hurts your skin.
  • acetone - melts or dissolves almost all plastics. Good degreaser, but keep off your hands.
  • lacquer thinner - about as strong as acetone, seems to eat an even larger variety of plastics. Strong fumes!
  • M.E.K - dissolves almost everything made of plastic, makes a good plastic solvent welder.

You might want to add Skin So Soft to your arsenal. Avon products(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#13

Missed Goof Off.

#14

will add it, generally more aggressive than lift off…

Greg

#15

I’d add plain old vegetable oil to the list for removal of lots of different types of stickers, such as price tags, on smooth surfaces such as glass, metal and plastics. It usually takes a couple of hours, sometimes even overnight, of soaking to loosen the adhesive. I just use my finger or a q-tip to keep applying the oil to keep the sticker “wet”. After removal of the sticker a light washing with warm soapy water (dish washing liquid such as Dawn) removes both the oil and any residual adhesive.

#16

David Marconi,FOGCH said:

You might want to add Skin So Soft to your arsenal. Avon products(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Not needed if he washes dishes with Palmolive every night