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Goo removal

Dave12

Well Known Member
During a recent trip down south, my 9 started shedding the pilot?s side wing walk. Can anyone recommend a product that will help remove the old adhesive, but not harm the paint?
 
Have you tried a clay bar? It will definitely not hurt the paint. You can purchase the kit at most auto stores (AutoZone, etc.). If there is a lot of residue you may go through a couple bars.
 
I'd try mineral spirits first. It is aggressive enough to deal with several of the potential "goo's" without hurting paint. If that doesn't work, I would try one of the lemon based cleaners or denatured alcohol. Failing that, there are commercially available adhesive removers.
 
If wing walk is still there, use a heat gun and get a corner started then heat just ahead of the peeling line as you pull with a steady force. Only heat at and 1-2" ahead of the peel line to focus heat where needed and not over heat the underlying wing. Peeling cold is a risk to pulling paint up in the process.

If the wing walk is all gone, then I use a mix of 75/25 mineral spirits/naptha (coleman fuel) place two sheets of non-correlated paper towels on the area, wet with a squirt bottle, like an old diner ketsup server, and cover the whole area with aluminum foil.

Test a 4X4" area first to see how long it will take, but leave it up to an hour for stubborn adhesive.

Then take off the foil, set aside the first towel, and use the lower one to get the slimy goop off, pitch it immediately and switch to the clean second sheet to get any residual and all the scum left. It evaporates fast but you will have a few minutes to do both sheets. Repeat as needed for the remaining areas.

You can do the melting stage all at once, but for the removal maybe a half towel at a time, so plan ahead. Once melted, then foil is removed the clock is ticking for evaporation to reverse the melting process.

As in all things, take some care as you proceed to learn in steps.
 
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