Removing 40 year old cotton tape
10-24-17, 10:22 AM
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Removing 40 year old cotton tape
Any suggestions on removing 40 year plus cotton tape? The stuff is just not coming off. It's glued on hard and it rips the moment you try to peel it. This is from a good quality mid 70s Sekine, a SHS 271:
10-24-17, 10:24 AM
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Putty knife.
Start scraping away at it with a plastic one first, but if that doesn't do the trick, move up to steel.
Start scraping away at it with a plastic one first, but if that doesn't do the trick, move up to steel.
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● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
10-24-17, 10:29 AM
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Heat gun. Not just a blower dryer but an actual heat gun that might burn the cloth and soften the adhesive. Keep a wet towel handy.
10-24-17, 01:13 PM
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Saturate the cloth with mineral spirits, let sit for an hour or so, peel cloth off, clean up the leftover glue with more mineral spirits.
10-24-17, 02:39 PM
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10-24-17, 02:52 PM
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I've dealt with this exact scenario by soaking with WD40 and then wrapping the bar to sit overnight.
I used the plastic bags that the newspaper arrives in to prevent evaporation.
The next day all of the old fragile tape peeled right off, no force needed.
But heat also sounds good (per thumpism). I would try funneling the blast from a hair drier through the bars. Allow some means for some of the hot air to escape or the overly-restricted nozzle will repeatedly trip the drier's thermal-overload switch and possibly cause damage or a fire hazard. I have done this myself, just never with cloth tape. I don't know how readily that very old or dry adhesive will yield, but it likely will respond favorably.
Using a solvent like mineral spirits (per CroMo Mike) would probably work more rapidly than WD40 I have to admit.
I used the plastic bags that the newspaper arrives in to prevent evaporation.
The next day all of the old fragile tape peeled right off, no force needed.
But heat also sounds good (per thumpism). I would try funneling the blast from a hair drier through the bars. Allow some means for some of the hot air to escape or the overly-restricted nozzle will repeatedly trip the drier's thermal-overload switch and possibly cause damage or a fire hazard. I have done this myself, just never with cloth tape. I don't know how readily that very old or dry adhesive will yield, but it likely will respond favorably.
Using a solvent like mineral spirits (per CroMo Mike) would probably work more rapidly than WD40 I have to admit.
10-24-17, 02:53 PM
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10-24-17, 03:23 PM
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10-24-17, 03:26 PM
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Mineral spirits worked for me in the past, but I've never tried it on 40 (!!) year old glue. It is also sold as oil based paint thinner and is pretty much the same thing as deodorized kerosene or charcoal starter. Unlike lacquer thinner, it generally won't harm the cured paint on the frame, it has low flammability, and is very slow to evaporate. But lacquer thinner has more "melting" power.
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10-24-17, 03:50 PM
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Needless to say, there are several different methods used to remove old bar tape. But the most important are patience and elbow grease. Removing tape is a thankless job that takes time but stay at it and, sooner or later, the bars will gleam...
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10-24-17, 07:15 PM
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10-24-17, 07:32 PM
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wall paper remover ???? I don't have any idea if it would work, but it seems kind of logical, at least to me it does.
It seems a lot less hazardous than some more chemically abrasive solvents.
It seems a lot less hazardous than some more chemically abrasive solvents.
10-25-17, 01:02 AM
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Berrymans oldschool carb cleaner, nasty stuff in all respects, very effective.
