Sticky Tape! - (Not quite a rant or a rave)

Pingu · Post by **Pingu** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 1:24 pm

I have an old boat that I want to repair for a spare. The carbon-kevlar hull is just about covered in bits of duck tape. I want to get all the tape off before I start to repair the boat properly.

The problem is, it's poor quality tape. As I try to take it off, the waterproof thin film comes off fairly easily but it leaves a cotton-like web and a gungy layer of sticky stuff.

Can anyone recommend something (perhaps some sort of solvent) that will get rid of the tape but not damage the boat?

Seedy Paddler · Post by **Seedy Paddler** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 2:49 pm

A number of options :
1/ Hot Water - near boiling from the kettle and plenty of elbow grease
2/ Methylated Spirits - available from any good chemist
3/ White spirit - available as paintbrush cleaner from any DIY store
3/ Acetone or Nail Varnish Remover (the older stuff had an acetone base) - more difficult to get but any stockist of resin etc should be able to supply.

In the latter cases make sure the area is well ventilated and DON'T smoke or bring a naked flame near the area whilst working !

With Acetone try not to let the boat soak too long as it will eventually soften the resin and your boat will go floppy. However if it does reach that stage you could always just make a replacement from cardboard.

Other options to try:
Aerosol furniture polish, Aerosol deoderant or Hairspray - at least they smell better than metyhs of acetone.

If the cotton weave is still in the glue it will take a bit of effort, you may want to drop by your local DIY and look for a window paint scraper - basically a stanle knife blade embedded in a plastic handle. They are great for scraping the stuff off - just watch out and not cut off loose bots of hull.

Have fun

SarahC · Post by **SarahC** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 4:12 pm

i had the same problem with it covering the bottom of my old boat, i used white spirit and an ice scraper- with still no sucess! good luck!

Pingu · Post by **Pingu** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 5:16 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I would never have thought of the near boiling water. I'll try that first. I've got one of those steam cleaner thingys with various attachments.

If that fails I'll have a go with the solvents.

Dave Royle · Post by **Dave Royle** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 7:10 pm

I'm not sure a steam cleaner is a good idea. Temperatures above 100°C may cause a problem. I would suggest a wallpaper or paint scraper (not the window scraper suggested as this would be too sharp) and some acetone. I can let you have a tin of acetone if you want.

Dave Royle · Post by **Dave Royle** » Fri Sep 03, 2004 7:11 pm

Oh I forgot. Acetone is Carcenogenic (cancer causing) so use gloves as well as not smoking etc. (no. not woolley gloves).

Pingu · Post by **Pingu** » Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:03 pm

All done.

The steam cleaner turned the gooey mess into a hot gooey mess.

I managed to clean it all off with just simple white spirit and plenty of elbow grease. I've now got a clean boat with all the cracks and holes exposed. Ther repair is looking a bigger job than I envisaged!

I intend to buy a length of carbon-kevlar in the week to repair it. Do I just use normal resin "A" and what should I do to prepare the hull beforehand? Would it need "roughening up" a bit?

Pingu · Post by **Pingu** » Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:07 pm

I helped to make some canoes about 20 years ago. I used to wash my hands in acetone to get rid of all the resin. I never realised that it was dodgy. I'm probably heading for an early grave.

No flowers please. Donations in lieu to IAPP:

(International Associatiation for the Protection of Penguins)

Jimi3000 · Post by **Jimi3000** » Sun Sep 05, 2004 9:34 pm

you share my dads birthday.....

Dutch Geezer · Post by **Dutch Geezer** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 12:31 am

I would use epoxy resin, not Polyester, it works better with kev/carb cloth and it will flex with the boat without starting to peel off.

Try to get rid of all the old gelcoat down to the cloth, if it goes fluffy, shave it with a sharp stanley blade.

Most important, degrease the repair area, use acetone if possible, if not, use white spirit or some other solvent which will not leave some residue behind.

If needed strengthen the area on the inside with woven glass cloth.

I think lots of little patches on the outside are better than one great big one, which if it comes loose acts like a bucket.

When you do the outside patch, cover it with clear plastic and squeegee out the excess resin, try to keep the repair pressed down as much as possible, you can also use peelply for this if you have some.

If possible, after about 15 minutes apply indirect heat to the area of the repair, I use a fan heater for this reason.

Dont forget the gloves!!!

Pingu · Post by **Pingu** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 10:45 pm

Thanks DG for all your assistance.

The boat is looking pretty good. The badly broken nose is repaired and the hull (whilst it looks like a patchwork quilt of small individual patches) might be watertight for the first time in ages.

My usual supplier only stocked carbon or kevlar mat and so I took a trip to a place near Sandbach who sorted me out with a m2 of carbon-kevlar, 750g of epoxy resin and a litre of acetone for £36. I can recommend them if anyone needs details.

Experience tells me that there will be some cracks that I haven't sorted yet but it's better than the sticky tape I started with.