How do you remove plastic film from canopy?

[lndwarrior]

I have spent the best part of two full days trying to solve this.
All of the plastic on the inside of the canopy just peels off. Also one side of the outer portion. However one whole side and part of the front of the canopy has the protective film hardened on and I can't get it off.
Here's what I've tried:
- heating with a blow dryer
- scraping with soft wood skewer
- sticking on Gorrilla tape and trying to pull it off with that
- wiping a this film of kerosene on it and trying to scrape off ( i then immediately washed it off).
- soaking it in my hot tub (not kidding!)
- WD-40
I can scrape it with a fine wooden skewer and maybe clear as much as one square inch in an hour. Some simple math suggests this could take three solid weeks of 8 hour days to complete at this rate!
Any other ideas? Even, last ditch ones?
Thx,
Gary

[DonFromTX]

Wow, mine has sat for years and I feared that. Comments over on the RV12 board indicated that nobody ever encountered any problem like this.

[flyboy1963]

seriously, Van's knows who made the canopy, the brand, and the exact product on it. If it is coming to you like this, and it hasn't been exposed to sunlight for months at a time, it should not be that hard to remove.
I would guess that the factory film has been removed when the acrylic is heated and formed, then they add an 'aftermarket' film to protect it while shipping and storing.

One odd thing that's worth a try, peel up a small section, leaving a flap of film hanging, and direct the most concentrated high-pressure air nozzle you have at the surface right where it meets the film.

whatever you do, if you are heating it etc. do it slowly, and evenly, to the whole thing if you can. Localized stresses can cause grief.

good luck!

[BillL]

mineral spirits will not harm the plexi. Try taking a 2"x2" patch of several layers of paper towel, soak with mineral spirits and cover with saran wrap or aluminum foil as a evaporation barrier and let it soak for a few of hours.

Not assured, but it won't hurt. I have seen decades old wooden screwdriver handle soaked in MS for a couple of days come out looking like wood again.
Good luck.