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Removing ancient masking tape

Pro from Dover

Pro from Dover

Registered User
Rhome, Texas
Attention all chemical engineers and chemical scientist wannabes.......

I have been searching high and low for the past few decades to discover a miracle compound on this here earth that will remove the remnants of masking tape adhesive. Now I'm not talking about sun baked masking tape from last year that can typically be worked through with the usual MEKs, and vairous members of the ---enes family...

What I haven't discovered is something that will dissolve the paleozoic type of masking tape that was applied during the Eisenhower administration. The type of tape adhesive I'm talking about is where the paper crumbles to a powder and leaves a spiffy deposit of masking adhesive that is comparable in hardness and tenacity to portland cement... Dipping the wings in a 1200 gallon vat of MEK for a week is sort of unfeasible...

We've got some cherry wings and ailerons that are in process of recover and they're festooned with the demon adhesive remnants....

Ideas anyone? I'm verklept...talk amongst yourselves...

See you in Reklaw,

Bill
 
Try this?

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WD-40 will remove "newer" tape residue. Don't know how it works on petrified stuff.

I've found with solvents like acetone and MEK sometimes you have to leave a cloth dampened with the solvent over the spot for a few minutes to dissolve the substance.

Good luck!

John Scott
 
I had a bunch of 25 year old masking tape residue to remove from hardwood floors. I tried lots of solvents, but nothing worked all that well. The Goo Gone, combined with steel wool, got the adhesive to form globules, which eventually could be scrubbed away.

You won't be able to use steel wool, but maybe ScotchBrite pads and Goo Gone would work.
 
I hate to sound stupid but!!??!! Someone told me a long time ago that smearing peanut butter on old masking tape residue would soften it up. Never had a chance to try it myself. Anybody heard of this?

Mike
 
I'd try slow evaporating laquer thinner first. It worked on some of my parts that were spooged by masking tape. If it does work you won't have any additional clean-up. If you're going to use something that doesn't evaporate and will require additional washing anyway, just use aircraft stripper and be done with it.

SB
 
Benzene. Except for it is not nice, and not available, in the olden days it was thinner for paper cement, and it took old masking tape off right now. I guess I changed careers, and didn't get enough of it, 'cause I am still here.
 
Thanks for the input. I Googled Goo-gone (yipes, did I really type that...) and it came up with this:

"Goo Gone is perfect for all those gooey, sticky, gummy, greasy cleaning problems. Removes chewing gum, grease, tar stickers, labels, tape residue, oil, blood, lipstick and mascara, shoe polish, crayon, bumper stickers. Works on carpets, upholstery, clothing, wood and cement."

Apparently blood is considered part of the "goo" family... From the description I'm thinking this stuff may also work on ex-spouses and the neighbor's cat..

Benzene and peanut butter cocktails for the house! I'm off to the hardware store! I'll probably have to pick up some beer too...

I'll try to report back over the weekend on the scientific results...
 
I would be tempted to try a heat gun on a test piece to soften it. I have been successful with that method when solvents have failed.
Glenn
 
On a sailboat hull I removed the old masking tape that was dried like cristal with contact cement cleaner (lePage) and it worked fine. You put it with a brush and wait 10 minute and use a rag and it is done. On the same boat I had to remove the paint on the fiberglass to change the name of the boat and a friend told me to use oven "easy off" and also it work fine.
 
I tried Goof Off this weekend. It seemed to soften things a bit but I think that was just my perception. Stuff still needed scraping with a scraper. Never did soften it. Active ingredient is Xylene on that stuff...
 
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