Pesky plastic coating on aluminum?

[bob turner]

Grabbed a couple pieces of .032 out of the shop scrap bin for a non-aviation project, did some forming and cutting, and now I can't get the coating off, except by diligent scraping. Any suggestions? Heat? Paint stripper?

 

[Ken Kennedy]

small heat gun and go slow!!

 

[Farmer Hank]

Naphtha works well on old paper and glue on plexiglas. Probably has to soak through to work. Offered as an idea you might try, but may not penetrate the film on aluminum.

 

[bob turner]

I heated it with a torch and scraped it off. I will be more careful which scraps I grab in the future.

 

[FatCub300]

The trick...or at least the trick we use when dealing with this, making parts for Boeing...is to warm the whole skin. We use a radiant heater about 4 feet from the skin, generally we hang the skin with a couple clamps off a ladder. After 10-15 minutes, the glue is much more easily peeled. two guys can peel a 48" x 48" square in about 2 minutes.
DO NOT PULL TOO HARD....you can easily kink the sheet metal, particularly on very light gages.
It's best to give it a few minutes...and sweat...till it's running down your leg! Swearing helps alot. Heat guns are too hot and can and will burn which makes an ever bigger pain in the butt to deal with. Gentle heat...maybe to 125degrees...and slow, gentle, constant pull...work from one corner.


Hope that helps.

Steve.

 

[aktango58]

MEK!

Local hardware store, and get thick heavy rubber gloves, and well ventilated.

 

[Hardtailjohn]

Gentle heat...maybe to 125degrees...and slow, gentle, constant pull...work from one corner.


Hope that helps.

Steve.

Yep, a hair dryer is plenty of heat!!
JH

 

[eskimo77]

If it isn't too brittle, just hard to pull off, you can get an edge started and roll it around a broom stick or dowel rod and roll it onto the stick and off of the aluminum. Works great.

 

[bob turner]

It wasn't the normal protective film - it acted more like a sprayed-on coating. Very soft, but tenaceous. Heat melted it to a very viscous fluid state, which then could be wiped off.

I have problems with older coatings of sheet plastic, and in the olden days, paper over Plexiglas, but was not familiar with this stuff. Asked here because it was aircraft scrap. The secret to normal coatings is to pull them off soon after purchase.