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Either alcohol or WD-40 oil damaged my gel coat
Alez - 21/8/12 at 10:52 AM

Hi,

A while ago I used both of these while trying to remove double sided tape from the bodywork. One of these substances made the gel coat very soft and it actually peeled a little before I realized this had happened.

I cleaned everything dry and left the car alone hoping that the get coat would get hard again, which it did.

I need to know which of the two caused this because I need to remove some more of this tape again, and it would be good to use something more effective than just water.

Cheers,

Alex

Confused but excited. - 21/8/12 at 10:58 AM

IIRC that's why they banned fibreglas fuel tanks years ago. The alcohol that they used to put in the fuel made the tanks go like rubber bags. Not a happy situation on a motor bike.
PS Nitromors does the same.

[Edited on 21/8/12 by Confused but excited.]

loggyboy - 21/8/12 at 11:03 AM

Could it have been the glue in the tape that damaged it?

Mr Whippy - 21/8/12 at 11:03 AM

never had issues with wd40 on grp or any resins

use hot water from the kettle to remove stickers

richardh - 21/8/12 at 11:13 AM

i used a heat gun on LOW setting and then used a rag dampened with white spirit on mine and it worked ok for me.

Alez - 21/8/12 at 11:20 AM

Thanks everyone for all the useful information.

quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
Could it have been the glue in the tape that damaged it?

I'm afraid not. The damage happened at a front lip where the liquid dripped and not where the glue was.

chillis - 21/8/12 at 12:05 PM

I would think it unlikely that wd40 would do that as its an oil.
I have used brake cleaner on GRP without issues but Acetone (which is used to clean GRP lay up tools) will soften the gel coat as you have described. Don't know what meths or ethanol would do but I suspect ethanol (whick is now in petrol) would soften both polyester and epoxy resins.
Would help to know what alcohol you used.

Alez - 21/8/12 at 12:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by chillis
Would help to know what alcohol you used.

Thanks. I used the alcohol that's normally used to clean a wound, I don't know the proper name for it.

twybrow - 21/8/12 at 01:21 PM

Acetone should not affect cured polyester gelcoat... It is used routinely to clean moulds etc, and they do not dissolve! for a cheap source of acetone, try the Mrs' nail varnish remover. I dont know the forumlation of WD40, but I would suspect that to be more likely than the alcohol....

Did you leave it to soak? Ie was this liquid left on the surface for a long time? I ask, as any alcohol should have evaporated rather quickly.

Alez - 21/8/12 at 01:33 PM

quote:
Originally posted by twybrow
Did you leave it to soak? Ie was this liquid left on the surface for a long time? I ask, as any alcohol should have evaporated rather quickly.

It remained wet for say 20 min or so while I was trying to remove the glue, then I realized what had happened and cleaned it dry. I suppose the amount was enough that it wouldn't evaporate so quickly.

Alez - 21/8/12 at 04:57 PM

I don't have a mains plug nearby, so I can't use a heat gun / hair drier... I've now tried hot water and the glue was extremely difficult to remove, so I switched to WD-40 oil again, but used a very small amount. This has worked really well, with no damage whatsoever and has made the glue extremely easy to remove by rubbing with a cloth. I've then removed the oil as thoroughly as possible using a different cloth, then washed with warm water and soap. Therefore my bodywork is now ready for the new number plates

Thanks all!

[Edited on 21/8/12 by Alez]