Epoxy Glue

What is the substrate? Wood, plastic, metal, .....?

This is a 2006 car and the newer cars of today have a thin covering on their bumpers which I would guess is a thin metal or plastic and they are painted the same color as the car. In fact, the bumpers look loke an extension of the car body.

Thanks

ED

What's it stuck to?

Is it stuck to a flat surface or is it also filling surface voids?

How delicate is the surface it is stuck to?

If its the epoxy container then you should throw it away and buy a new one.

It is a car bumper which looks like an entension of the car body, typical of new cars of to day. The surface is flat and smooth. I would guess it is composed of a thin metal or a plastic based covering that is the same color as the car and looks like an extension of the car body.

ED

I've used acetone (found in some finger nail polish removers) when the epoxy has hardened - but usually within the hour and it dissolves the resin and hardener. I have not tried it on fully cured epoxy - but I would try it and see if it works. If the pieces are small enough, you could soak them in acetone. Be careful, acetone is flammable and also is absorbed by skin, so wear chem-block gloves.

Heat it up gently with the hair dryer and scrape it out with a sharpened stick. Or a sharpened cotton swab, if the swab has a wooden "handle". The trick is to gently warm it till the epoxy gets soft enough to remove but not hot enough to damage the substraight. Take your time and you can do it.

Good Luck.

Thanks! I'll try it.

ED

A Dremel rotary tool works well!

Ed,

I use a soldering iron or wood burning iron and an exacto knife.

Jon

Method 1

It is easy to remove cured epoxy by heating it above its glass transition (softening point) temperature, cut or chisel it away. Care to be taken to protect with face mask and provide good ventilation to avoid inhalation of epoxy odor.

Method 2

Immerse cured resin in Dichloromethane (Methylene Chloride) which will cause it to swell and can be scrapped away.

Caution: Dichloromethane is the least toxic of the simple chlorohydrocarbons, but it is not without its health risks as its high volatility makes it an acute inhalation hazard. Dichloromethane is also metabolized by the body to carbon monoxide potentially leading to carbon monoxide poisoning. Acute exposure by inhalation has resulted in optic neuropathy and hepatitis. Prolonged skin contact can result in the dichloromethane dissolving some of the fatty tissues in skin, resulting in skin irritation or chemical burns.

Method 3: "Circa 1850 Heavy Body paint & Varnish Remover" might soften and make it easy to remove cured resin.

I would recommend method 3 being easiest and least hazardous.

Ed,

I assume that you wish only to remove the cured epoxy without damage by heating or chemically damaging the item it is stuck to.

"1 inch long, 1/4 inch wide and 1/8 inch deep"

This is about the dimensiones of the stuff I worked with in the Aerospace electronic repair business. It was found to be best to use the direct heat contact method using a soldering iron tip and removing the softened epoxy using a small cutting/scraping tool without harm to adjacent materials and components in order to replace components that were bonded to an assembly.

No need for overkill by using heatguns or chemicals and potential exposures to harmful liquids and vapors.

Jon

Use a blow torch...

Depending on the substrate you could also dip it in some liquid nitrogen then it chips away quite easily.

replace the windshield.

Ooooh you could be right.
100 Quatous on the newcomer.
Del

My favorite, the tried and true US Army Combat Engineer's removal process:

"When all else fails, attach a block of C4 plastique, affix det cord and detonator...trigger it and run like hell!!!!" hehehehe

Jeeezzzz, I kill myself! Can't tell I like to blow-up things, eh????!!!! ***GRINZZZZZ***

Ed, tell me about the hardened glue: is it flexible, hard or really rigid and breakable? Also, already asked: what material was glued together. Could we grind the glued materials, and what you want to do with the unglued pieces? To get a good answer or solution to a problem, let know people all details necessary to the solution, Gil.

Hammer and chisel.

In my opinion, even if you masked off all of the surrounding painted area, applied whatever chemical or mechanical method of your choice (I'd prefer mechanical as in Dremel Tool abrasive disc to control removal down to a mil of thickness before compromising the paint) and removed almost all of the offending material, you would still have to feather sand the area and spot repaint then buff to blend. The best result would be an area that would be difficult to pick out for about a year at which time UV degradation of the differing ages of the painted surfaces would be very evident even at some distance. If it were me, I would ignore it and avoid the probability of making a bigger mess, since the splotch is so small. The only right way is to repaint the entire cover and hope it matches the rest of the car.