Advice needed

[Bungle]

We are having a new bathroom installed in two weeks time and part of this has seen me clearing the loft .

Now I thought I'd found all the models I had stored up there but the the fairies keep awarding me with little gifts and yes in a box marked "Lounge Lights/ light shades" was, of course, three models (1/48th). At first they looked completed, an unpainted Airfix 1/48th Buccaneer caught my eye but when I lifted out of the box I found it was put together with Sellotape ! Sellotape that had dried to a brittle, disintegrating mess ! Basically it fell apart in my hands. Checking the other two kits, an F-104 and an F-18, they are the same. So I spent the weekend removing the Sellotape and separating the parts - all good BUT the Sellotape has left a glue residue on the plastic. The glue is very hard and gentle persuasion doesn't seem to work. I don't want to try any chemical solution (Acetone for example) in case it damages the plastic so my question to you guys is ...

Anyone have any ideas how to safely remove Sellotape residue from the plastic?

I'll be honest, I'm not making big scale kits anymore sticking with 1/72 so I want to get them into a saleable condition.

[PR19_Kit]

I've had exactly that problem in the past myself, and it's a real pain. 

I did try acetone on the residue, and sure enough it wrecked the surface of the styrene, but white spirit worked, eventually. It took a fair amount of rubbing and not a few pieces of scrap cloth, but it did work in the end.

[Martin H]

I've had exactly that problem in the past myself, and it's a real pain. 

I did try acetone on the residue, and sure enough it wrecked the surface of the styrene, but white spirit worked, eventually. It took a fair amount of rubbing and not a few pieces of scrap cloth, but it did work in the end.

You would get similar results to white spirits by useing meths and plenty of elbow grease. We used it as a light weight cleaning agent in the old print shop. The heavy weight stuff was ethyl acetate. Nasty stuff if you wernt used to it. I still have memories of heading home "stoned" on the fumes in the bad old days before decent ventilation and PPE were brought in.

[Dizzyfugu]

Putting the kits/parts into a "bath" of foamed* oven cleaner on a sodium carbonate basis for some time (some days) might help - the stuff is rather mild, creeps under ANYTHING and loosens old paint, for instance. It might not make the glue residue disappear, but it could be a mild way of additional cleaning preparation.

*There are also gels available, but I have no idea how aggressive/effective these are on IP kits.

[Nick]

I dislike window stickers in my cars because they obstruct my view and I don't want to be a rolling advert for the dealer who has already made a profit from me.

So I peel or scrape them off with care. The residue does come off with a liberal dose of white spirit and gentle rubbing. As the others say, it takes time.

Out of interest - have you tried the old trick of soaking it in oven cleaner?

[McColm]

Have you tried hot soapy water and a nail brush, this should loosen up the glue. You might have to repeat this a few times.

[Rheged]

After I escaped from teaching, I ran a book wholesaler's customer service department.  One of our jobs was to check over items returned by retailers.  To our surprise, we found that Tesco value baby wipes remove the residue left by all sorts of   stickers and tape; the books/CDS etc then became saleable again.  I shouldn't be surprised at this, they are designed to remove sticky stuff from babies' tender bottoms so it's worth a go on other surfaces.    They also clean your hands if you don't have soap and water handy.

[TomZ]

Acetone free nail polish remover?

If you get the acetone free variant it won't attack the plastic. I use it to remove unwanted filler.

TomZ

[kerick]

I would try alcohol with time to soak and some scrubbing. At least it won't hurt the plastic.

[Mossie]

Ethanol or IPA* would probably work best and won't attack the plastic.

*Isopropyl alcohol, not India Pale Ale, the latter won't work and is a terrible waste too . 

[kerick]

Ethanol or IPA* would probably work best and won't attack the plastic.

*Isopropyl alcohol, not India Pale Ale, the latter won't work and is a terrible waste too . 

Plus leave the parts all sticky!

[major]

After I escaped from teaching, I ran a book wholesaler's customer service department.  One of our jobs was to check over items returned by retailers.  To our surprise, we found that Tesco value baby wipes remove the residue left by all sorts of   stickers and tape; the books/CDS etc then became saleable again.  I shouldn't be surprised at this, they are designed to remove sticky stuff from babies' tender bottoms so it's worth a go on other surfaces.    They also clean your hands if you don't have soap and water handy.

I pity the poor child's posteriors that those things can remove! We swear by them in our house. They even remove tar from the nice shiny bits on the car and motorcycles 

[loupgarou]

After I escaped from teaching, I ran a book wholesaler's customer service department.  One of our jobs was to check over items returned by retailers.  To our surprise, we found that Tesco value baby wipes remove the residue left by all sorts of   stickers and tape; the books/CDS etc then became saleable again.  I shouldn't be surprised at this, they are designed to remove sticky stuff from babies' tender bottoms so it's worth a go on other surfaces.    They also clean your hands if you don't have soap and water handy.

Two questions:
- it's only Tesco brand wipes that work,  or any brand would do?
- has anybody tried wrapping a model in wipes to see if it softens and removes paint ?

[Rheged]

After I escaped from teaching, I ran a book wholesaler's customer service department.  One of our jobs was to check over items returned by retailers.  To our surprise, we found that Tesco value baby wipes remove the residue left by all sorts of   stickers and tape; the books/CDS etc then became saleable again.  I shouldn't be surprised at this, they are designed to remove sticky stuff from babies' tender bottoms so it's worth a go on other surfaces.    They also clean your hands if you don't have soap and water handy.

Two questions:
- it's only Tesco brand wipes that work,  or any brand would do?
- has anybody tried wrapping a model in wipes to see if it softens and removes paint ?

Answer 1.......The Tesco Value wipes worked best out of a limited selection we tried
and      2.......Not tried it yet, anyone fancy experimenting?

[loupgarou]

Thanks, Rheged.
As Tesco is completely  unknown on the continent, I'll have to discover the exact composition of the wipes "solvent" to compare.