I know this has been covered before, but in the interest of (my own) expediency…can someone refresh me on how to remove mini-cell that has been glued in with - it looks like, contact cement?
Got my hands on this Dagger Sojourn, and decided after paddling it that I don’t want these knee blocks (cups, actually) that the previous owner put in. I’m figuring on replacing them with thin mini-cell over a larger area to accommodate the sliding seat.
low-to-med with heatgun & a flexible
putty knife works fine. Have always had success when I don’t down any brews in anticipation…along with just resign to taking your time as to not melt any layer of the floor off.
$.01
Me too
I’m interested in this subject as well. I’m outfitting a NovaCraft SuperNova with a pedestal as well as the seat… and think I need some extended knee pads. I don’t think I’m going to get it right the first time…so I’d like to know how to remove these as well. Thanks in advance.
paint thinner
Warming often helps soften up the glue, as has been mentioned. I use a paint scraper/putty knife as well to work off the pad and with care, the pad can often be used again. Some minicell residue will be left on the hull.
Sometimes the consistency of this residue is such that you can roll it off the hull with your thumb, although you might well get a blister doing so. More often you cannot.
I have found that turpentine, mineral spirits, or paint thinner will invariably soften contact cement residue, but the solvent often needs to be in contact with the residue for a spell and patience is a virtue. Use a mild abrasive pad like a Scotch Brite pad or gently work the solvent into the residue a little at a time with a paint scraper and it will come off. Sometimes the inner vinyl layer of the Royalex will be slightly off-color even after all the residue is off, however.
Try WD-40. Use neoprene for pads.
In my ZRE sticker removal thread I found that WD-40 softened the residual glue the best of the things I had available.
I also don’t like knee cups on a flatwater canoe. I prefer flat pads so I can move around, forward and sideways so as to do tricky and clumsy things.
Of course, if you install big pads, you can do so right over the messy job you may do on the small cup removal. We’ll never know or tell.
If you go the DIY pad route, I would recommend 1/2" non-nylon neoprene instead of minicell. It’s springier and also less slippery. Dave Curtis and Harold Deal suggested this to me, and I agree with them. It is also more tear resistant (to shoe sliding) than sleeping pad foam, which I have also used with success.
Davey Hearn, the owner of Sweet Composites and the world C-1 champion, 19-time national champion and three-time Olympian, agrees. He says on his site: “Minicel is softer but it is somewhat slippery when wet. Neoprene provides better traction under one’s knees and is more durable.” He sells all the products.
http://sweetcomposites.com/Tips.html
Mine fall out on their own.
Thanks, everybody!
And thanks for the link, Glenn!