I have a paddle that is need of rebuild. Problem is that when it broke in the field I used duct tape to patch it for the remainder of the trip. Now I have all that gummy residue left on the blade. What should I use to get that gunk off? I don’t want to ruin the resin coating on the blade. Any offers of advice would be greatly appreciated!
dougd
WD40
Will work just fine…
Is it a wood paddle or composite ?
– Last Updated: Feb-16-05 10:10 PM EST –
If it's wood core I would not use anything patroleum based. Once oil seeps into the wood it would be hard to fix. If it's a glassed paddle or composite I would try alcohol first and then move up to something stronger like acetone which will cut the goo but dry fast and not penetrate. I have good luck with acetone for cleaning and degreasing gelcoat with no ill effects. Test a small area first.
Acetone or Ethyl Acetate
Check on a small patch to make sure you are not dissolving anything you don;'t want to. You can find cheap nail polish removers that are mostly Ethyl Acetate (read the ingredients) .
Acetone will attack epoxy resin,
although not to a severe extent. There are commercial products for removing sticky goop.
Caution products like OOPS and Goof off
are even stronger than acetone. I use these products at work all the time and they will even etch some types of solid vinyl.
Avon Skin so Soft bath oil
NO Sh** it really works to soften the adhesive in duct tape. Also use it to get old stickers off the windshield etc. Is clearly petrolium based so the caution about getting into the wood fiber is well taken.
perhaps
If you can find methanol, I’d bet it’d do the trick.
It’s Wood
I’m going to give alcohol a try first and see how it goes. Thanks for all the suggestions.
dougd