handyandi Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Have a lantern that someone has most helpfully in the past used gaffa on & the adhesive has baked on. Have tried the proprietary label removers (orange smelling stuff) & foam cleanser & ambersil solvent but nothing seems to shift it since it will not soak in. Any assistance welcome - preferably the type that doesn't involve a respray as the lantern is in pretty good nick apart from the gaffa. Cheers Andi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keeper of the Keys Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 did you try turpentine or cleaning alcohol (>70%)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyandi Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 No, have not. Presume you mean isopropyl alcohol, but will give them a try. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keeper of the Keys Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I don't know the exact name, in Dutch they call it "spiritus" which is basically pure(ish) alcohol made poisonous with colour and smell added. My guess is you could also use pure alcohol instead of "spiritus" but in most countries that's to expensive due to taxes etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Spiritus may be the same as methylated spirits. I'd guess that petrol would be an option, but COSHH might get in the way a bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 You could try Nail Polish Remover. Unfortunately it's mostly Acetone so may take the paint off too, so test it on some barn doors or somewhere that won't show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Once gaffa goo is baked on, that's pretty well it IME ;) Even with strong solvents, you'll probably need some coarse wire wool; or a wire brush on a drill... ...and some touch-up / spray paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taffymonster Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I'm not so sure on baked on adhesive - not had to contend with that - but when I was working for a production company, part of equipment prep was making sure stuff was clean and we had 2 methods of dealing with gaffa gunk in general: Using steam to clean them - we did drapery so we had a good few steamers around Respray - usual method as most of our luminaires were corporate black. Most stuff got a respray when turned over from a big job. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roderick Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Try soaking the adhesive residue.The problem is that because of the heat of the light, the adhesive has become hard and almost impossible to remove.Soak some rags in turps or 'surgical spirit' and leave them sitting on the patch for 30 minutes or so. That should soften the residue and make it easier to remove. Obviously, make sure you do this in a well ventilated room - and don't smoke ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biskit Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 What type of paint finish is it, and what shape of lantern? On things like old Patt 123s with the hard, smooth paint and curved surfaces, it is possible to chip and scrape the baked adhesive off using a screwdriver or similar without damaging the paint. On flat surfaces of more modern lanterns, a paint scraper (sharp stanley knife blade on a plastic handle) might work, but depending on the type of paint finish, there may still be a bit of touching up required. If it is only a small area, perhaps get the stuff scraped down as smooth as possible and 'touch in' the discoloured bit with black sharpie? As others have said, when gaffer adhesive bakes on, you're down to mechanical means of removing it rather than solvents! Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyandi Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Its on a Strand Prelude Fresnel. Smooth black stove enamel sort of finish, I think. I did after a while try a blade, but rightly it does tend to take the paint off. If I have to resort to taking the paint off, other than a sharpie's handy purple hue, any recommended touch up paint? Thanks so far for the help all. Andi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revbobuk Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Pot scourers - the ones which look like a nest of tiny springs - are good at removing stuff like this as long as you don't scrub too hard. Moisten with a bit of WD40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLee Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 The more vicious proprietary spray-on oven cleaners are very good at loosening carbonised deposits. Obviously you should try out somewhere unobtrusive first in case they also loosen the paint and take care if the paint finish is damaged, as I would expect that these products may well pit bare aluminium. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I use Methyl Ethyl Ketone which dissolves most things. (including some plastics). However its essential to check for 'paint compatibility' first as it can strip that too. I guess the parcans are epoxy coated so should be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightingtec Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Have a lantern that someone has most helpfully in the past used gaffa on & the adhesive has baked on. Have tried the proprietary label removers (orange smelling stuff) & foam cleanser & ambersil solvent but nothing seems to shift it since it will not soak in. Any assistance welcome - preferably the type that doesn't involve a respray as the lantern is in pretty good nick apart from the gaffa. Cheers Andi Hi Andi I had this once on some old strands with epoxy paint finish. I softened gaffer residue carefully with some Nitromore's paint stripper - and rinsed off before it touched the paint. Depends what the lantern is finished in but might be worth a try on a small patch first. If you do need to touch up paint, Screwfix do an aerosol of black (matt) heat resisting paint which I've used a number of times, Halfords do too. Good luck regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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