plastic film removal from aluminum sheet

[fairchild1934]

I had to apply my own. Its been on for about 3-4 years - gotten a bit hard to remove.
are there solvents which will make it swell up or loosen the adhesive?

some suppliers dont put it on because they get complaints about this-- however I see it as 100% needed to prevent scratches during working.

I tried a heat gun- but that didnt do much of anything.

does some one have a secret trick ?

Tim

[carlpeterson]

I experienced the same problem you are having, plastic had been on for a number of years and baking in the AZ summers. I tried a number of options to include strong solvents but in the end, paint stripper worked the best. I just brushed on a thin coat, let it pop the plastic, scrapped off the plastic residue and throughly cleaned the aluminum with alcohol.

[Jhankins]

I had some luck peeling a corner up just enough to wrap around a piece of small diameter all thread about 12” long then was able to wind the plastic onto the all thread by rolling it like a rolling pin

[Dpearson]

My wings were covered with white plastic which had been on for 15 years. In many areas the plastic was brittle and the adhesive was rock hard. Heat gun + plastic razor scrapers (from Amazon) got the plastic off, then Goof-off took care of the adhesive.

[fairchild1934]

I used roll plastic film that is for putting down on carpet when you're doing interior construction. The plastic isnt brittle- in fact its quite stretchy. It just seems like the adhesive has become stronger--- and the plastic has become easier to pull in two. Might try some orange oil paint remover.
Heat didnt seem to relax the adhesive any.

I wondered if DMSO would do anything---- though it might be too dangerous to use.
thanks for the thoughts-----

T

[geraldmorrissey]

Acetone and paper towels.

[Lee]

These plastic coatings are a major pain. Mine had been on since 2016. I ended up applying the heat gun to the side away from the plastic and pealing the plastic off. Left a lot of adhesive. Goo Gone and a GRAY Scotch Brite Pad and lots of elbow grease removed the Adhesive. I tried Goof Off, didn't see and advantage and didn't like working with it. Then denatured alcohol to clean the aluminum. Tedious but it worked.
Lee

[Battson]

Mine were similarly old - I had the same problem, the plastic came off in tiny little pieces. It just fell apart.
My kit was in storage in TX for quite a while, plus the time to build it.

I used a product called "Wife". Works great.
It comes with long fingernails and a love for picking at things, even plastic film.
The plastic has to be picked off one square centimeter at a time, but that's part of the fun. Highly recommended, would use again next time.

[fairchild1934]

I have heard of that product. I think that the quality control varys a lot --- there are many bad batches. The good ones are prcious and scarce
and highly valued for their great intrinsic value.

[MidGenerationAL]

UPDATE:
I am picking up a build that sat untouched for 10-15 years and the plastic film had gotten VERY stubborn.
I first tried the remnants of an old can of paint stripper, that worked great - but it wasn't enough to finish the job and in the meantime ethylene chloride was banned. The new eco-friendly substitutes don't work as well (predictably).

Eventually i tried Klean Strip Aircraft Ultra. It works almost as well as the old banned stuff - but (also predictably from the word "aircraft" in the name) it's $99/gallon.

[rv8bldr]

I used a heat gun to soften up the plastic and glue. It came off fairly easy after that.

[dramsey]

I used the product Batson mentioned above, WIFE. She likes to help and frankly I hate picking the plastic off. She is way more patient than I am. I used acetone to clean the residue.