Glue on windscreen
 

I have a RV6A that is getting close to flying. When we pulled the plastic off the windscreen there is some tape glue left on it from where we did the glass work. I need to know is what would be safe to use to remove the glue?

Thanks Dannie

The -7 instructions say to use mineral spirits. It will not damage the canopy. Worked well for me.

I used mineral spirits on mine recently and it was fine but I didn?t leave it on very long either.

I highly recommend you go to the archives on this and get a lot of information. It's all there. In the meantime you need to be very circumspect about taking advice on this topic. Acrylic is highly susceptible to damage from a huge range of chemicals/solvents. In fact there's not much that WONT damage it. I have seen so much erroneous advice given on this topic. Quite often when acrylic is damaged at the molecular level the stress cracks do not appear until further down the track.

Vans, Verbatim.

?Grease, oil, tape residue, etc. may best be removed with mineral spirits, refined kerosene,
white gasoline, naphtha, or isopropyl alcohol. Wash approved solvents off the canopy with Dawn dishwashing liquid and water.?

From the canopy manufacturer...
 

Airplane Plastics make the canopies for Van's Aircraft. Here is the information posted on their web site:

How should I clean my canopy?

Use cleaners specifically for acrylic. A damp cloth or an air blast will clean the dust away. To achieve the best results use fore and aft motion instead of a circular motion. To clean dirty acrylics use plenty of water and non-abrasive soap or detergent. All-cotton flannel can be used for drying. Never use aromatic solvents such as acetone, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, lighter fluid, lacquer thinners, gasoline, window sprays, concentrated alcohol, ketones or scouring compounds. Avoid using cleaners with ammonia, such as 409. Grease, oil or tape residue may be removed with kerosene, white gasoline, naphtha or isopropyl alcohol (Do not use isopropyl alcohol on extruded acrylic). Mineral spirits is our favorite. Wash approved solvents off of canopy with Dawn dishwashing liquid or equivalent and water followed by a clear water rinse. To prevent water spots, blow dry with compressed air or wipe dry with soft cotton flannel.

lighter fluid vs. Naptha
 

Strange - I thought lighter fluid and naptha were the same thing. Not sure I'd use isopropyl alcohol, since I don't know if our canopies are extruded acrylic, and I've seen it glaze some plastics.

I guess kerosene is the safest thing to use.

Thanks everyone, I was just not sure what to use and did not want to destroy the canopy.

Dannie

I think "naptha" is a generic term used to describe a wide range of petroleum products.

Quite true, and the same thing can be said about "mineral spirits". These substances can be dangerous for the simple reason you cannot be sure exactly what you're getting.

Personally I'm with Mickey Coggins on this one....kerosene only. It's widely available and you know exactly what you're getting. But use it sparingly and don't get it in drilled holes or on cut edges. And wash it off immediately afterwards with a mild dishwashing detergent in water.

You just CANNOT be too careful about what you put on a formed acrylic canopy.

Wrap some gorilla tape around your fingers glue outwards, put it on the canopy adhesive and wait a second or two then quickly pull it off.

No solvents and no scratches from rubbing - worked superbly for me :D

Bit like hair waxing ......

I?m not about to try it without checking with the manufacturer first, but I wonder if eucalyptus oil would affect acrylic; nothing better at removing gum glues.

I drove up to Dayton, Ohio area to pick up a new canopy for my RV8 after cracking the original one during construction. The guys at Airplane Plastics (manufacturers of our Vans canopies) cleaned glue residue off my new canopy with isopropyl rubbing alcohol - like you get at Walgreens. They said they use that stuff by the case. I've used it and it works fine. Washing with water and mild detergent (like dawn) after the alcohol is a good idea.

Just an FYI during my vinyl wrap iused isopropyl alcohol to clean the very edge of the canopy the the vinyl could over lap the edge onto the acrylic a tiny bit. It did not harm the acrylic a all.

Saw an A&P Destroy a Cessna window with brake clean one day on another field though so wouldn?t recommend trying that one.

As other have said, "mineral spirits" and "naptha" are sort of generic names and you don't exactly know what's in the bottle.

At least a bottle of isopropyl rubbing alcohol from the drug store/supermarket is clearly marked to be only one ingredient and water. :)

It was my favorite for removing many years of masking tape a plastic protector off my -6A canopy during construction.

Wrong cleaner
 

On another note, I grabbed the aerosol can of plexi cleaner to clean the canopy prior to a flight recently. Sprayed over a large area and started to wipe it off. It just left oily streaks, and would not come off! Looked closer at the can, and it was actually ?stainless steel polish? for the tool box😳😱😤. I grabbed the can out of habit, but someone must have moved them. Grabbed ALL the clean towels I could find and got it off, with a lot of swearing. No apparent damage a few months later, but all the aircraft cleaning products are in a totally different area from the rest of the shop chemicals. Got lucky this time!!