StevieB
|
| posted on 21/2/12 at 09:47 PM |
|
|
Removing (unset) GRP resin?
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]
|
|
|
|
|
austin man
|
| posted on 21/2/12 at 10:07 PM |
|
|
try cellulose thinners
Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone
|
|
|
PSpirine
|
| posted on 21/2/12 at 10:09 PM |
|
|
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!
|
|
|
Chippy
|
| posted on 21/2/12 at 11:03 PM |
|
|
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
To make a car go faster, just add lightness. Colin Chapman - OR - fit a bigger engine. Chippy
|
|
|
Peteff
|
| posted on 21/2/12 at 11:08 PM |
|
|
If the resin is still sticky just put some talcum powder on it and rub it round or a skim of filler over it
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
|
|
|
twybrow
|
| posted on 21/2/12 at 11:39 PM |
|
|
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!
|
|
|
orton1966
|
| posted on 22/2/12 at 06:46 AM |
|
|
as per this
quote:
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
Agreed to the above, could possibly use solvent free cleaner once you have the worst off. Just a quick note should you then choose to finish the
repair.
Firstly polyester resin does not stick very well to many common plastics, including abs, epoxy is better but harder to work with. A cheat with abs is
to soften the surface with plumber’s solvent (used for white waste pipe solvent weld joints) and immediately brush/scrub catalysed polyester resin
into this melted surface, then lay-up your reinforcement as normal.
Always good to find out what plastic your working on first though!
|
|
|
Neville Jones
|
| posted on 22/2/12 at 11:35 AM |
|
|
MEK is about the best, as it doesn't attack the cured resin as much as acetone.
Cheers,
Nev.
|
|
|
StevieB
|
| posted on 22/2/12 at 08:22 PM |
|
|
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.
|
|
|
.jpg)
