Need advice on removing adhesive.

[CastleBravo]

Ok garage dudes. I picked up this table from CL with a warped and ruined fiber surface that had to be removed for the thing to be of any use.

Of course this has turned out to be a time consuming and somewhat frustrating process.

At first I was just prying the fiber off. Then I wished up and tried using Klean-Strip lacquer thinner and a razor. Which has worked ok but removed much if the paint I had hoped to retain.

Then I wished up yet again and got the heat gun on it. It took a few minutes of trial an error but I finally settled on 950 degrees. That method has seemed to work best thus far.

Can talk suggest a better solvent to get this stuff off? At this point I plan to repaint so keeping the paint as it is, isn't a major concern.

I was told to try acetone. Of course I would use all kinds of PPE on that one. Any thoughts on this?

Also some notes. The Columbia vice came with the table. It's going to be my first vice restoration.

The big channel on the desk used to house switches and plugs. That's pretty cool considering this is going to be used primarily for electrical work on radios and such.

Final thought. If this was your table, would you leave the metal surface or recover it?

Thanks dudes!

I

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[coralnut]

IMO you're asking a lot of a solvent to be selective in removing the fiber/adhesive but not the paint. Personally, I think you'd spend less time on it and you'd have a better looking end result if you stripped it clean and repainted it, or just stripped it clean and left the metal bare.

 

[Zeke]

I'd keep the metal top. Acetone evaporates too quickly and that's one of it's assets. But not here. You could use gasoline going the cheapest route. You mentioned PPE so gas won't hurt you. Can be a bit dangerous in a closed space, but so can many solvents. If you don't want to deal with gas, get paint thinner. Hot thinner (naptha) would work faster but you're back near using gas.

I have that same base. They must have sold millions.

 

[chris fresh]

Any kind of thinner will vape off to quick.Try a spray on paint remover and put it on heavy and let it sit and work.Then chase it with a wide 3'' or 5'' putty knife/sheetrock knife.Let the stripper break down the heavy stuff.Then i would let it dry and then come back with a palm sander and sand till you get it where you want it.

That vise will be an easy clean up,Check the Yost resto in my sig.

Chris

 

[CastleBravo]

Good tips guys. Thanks a lot! I didn't think about the thinner vaping as an issue. I noticed it did quickly but didn't factor that in as a draw back. I'll let yall know what I find.


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[theoldwizard1]

That stuff reminds me of the black "cutback" adhesive used for years to adhere asbestos based tiles to concrete in millions of homes built in the 1950s and '60s. The only thing I found that works is Sentinel Formula 747 Plus Adhesive Remover.

Wet surface (if working on a floor, only wet a 4x4 area). Let sit for at least 15 minutes. Scrape of thick adhesive. Wipe up residue with shop (paper) towels. Repeat.

It may leave a black stain, but what is left can be sanded and painted.

 

[Whiskeymike]

Hard to tell what kind of adhesive it is. For many adhesives that don't harden, I use WD40 or Goofoff. WD40 seems to do it best, although this is often in an automotive situation.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Aircraft paint stripper applied, then covered with plastic food wrap will keep it from evaporating too quickly and keep it active longer. It's a fast and easy way to remove the paint from surfaces like this.

 

[CastleBravo]

Well I wish I had checked this threat sooner. I've almost got it clean but not for lack of significant elbow grease.

Here's some updated pics.

I still need to tackle the top shelf. Funny thing, this desk is very high quality. The exposed metal hasn't even begun hero show signs of rust. The edge has that old metal brown but it's not rusted after removing all the paint and glue.


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[Wamsutta]

You just need a heat gun and a putty knife. Do small areas at a time like 6 square inches or so. When you get down to the very last thin film, then you can use the GooGone.

 

[Flattie]

You just need a heat gun and a putty knife. Do small areas at a time like 6 square inches or so. When you get down to the very last thin film, then you can use the GooGone.

I second googone. It works well