Evening!

Got a problem that I'm hoping someone can help me with.

I bought a Triumph Tiger just under a year ago and the panniers are in a pretty bad way - one is very scratched where it saved the rest of the bike from a fall (previous rider). One is completely smashed (similar event, same rider, different result!).

The previous owner has tried to do a (very, very bad) repair to the pannier lid with GRP but clearly given up on the job. He then decided to leave the GRP kit inside the pannier, where the resin has leaked and basically made a nasty mess. It's still pretty gloopy after all this time as the hardener hasn't been added, but lots of GRP matting/packaging etc. mixed in there.

I'd like to have use of the panniers again one day and, with either some new lids or a GRP repair done properly, they should be good again (well, as good as triumph OE kit was in the first place).

Can anyone recommend a decent method of removing the resin and remnants held within? The pannier box is plastic of some sort, probably ABS. I didn't want to pile in there with thinners or something in case it reacts and either melts the plastic pannier or gives off some real nasty fumes in some way (safety first and all that )

A new set of OE panniers is £650 plus VAT, so I'd like to avoid that at all costs!

Cheers,

Steve

[Edited on 21/2/12 by StevieB]

try cellulose thinners

Acetone can be used to clean up the resin (assuming it's polyester). However, this destroys a lot of other things too.

Unfortunately polyester resin is not an easy clean up.. I certainly wouldn't bother having tried to do a similar job in the past.


If it's how I'm imagining and you've got a layer of the stuff on the bottom inside, I'd probably just mix up some hardener-heavy resin, and cover the bottom with it (mix it with the gloop). It'll set the whole thing and all you'll lose is a bit of depth (and obviously add a bit of weight to the whole thing!).

If it causes the whole bottom to set, you could always try to then use a chisel to break bits off, although I'm skeptical of this!

Pair of rubber gloves, a scraper and some old news paper. Remove as much as you can with the scraper onto the news paper, and when you have got the majority out give it a quick wipe over with celulose thinners, just make sure that the thinners doesn't have time to melt the box, so just a dampened rag. HTH Ray

If the resin is still sticky just put some talcum powder on it and rub it round or a skim of filler over it

There are a few water based acetone substitutes that can be used to clean up resin. I have used a few, and they have been good (especially effective with warm water). From a quick Google, try Bio-Solv or similar!

quote:

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Originally posted by Chippy
Pair of rubber gloves, a scraper and some old news paper. Remove as much as you can with the scraper onto the news paper, and when you have got the majority out give it a quick wipe over with celulose thinners, just make sure that the thinners doesn't have time to melt the box, so just a dampened rag. HTH Ray

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MEK is about the best, as it doesn't attack the cured resin as much as acetone.

Cheers,
Nev.

Cheers for the advice, much appreciated.

I've just been out for another look at the problem and noticed that the back of the pannier has also been smashed and repaired with GRP (not particularly well, I might say). Since this is the bit that holds the brackets and ultimately carries the weight, I'd be constantly waiting for the sudden weight shift and rear view of my gear bouncing into hedge rows behind me.

So, back to monitoring eSkip for a (pref. roulette green) right hand pannier.

Or maybe splash a whole heap of money on a decent aftermarket luggage set.