Jump to content

Cleaning burned in tape residues from lights...


Recommended Posts

Hi,

 

is there any trick for cleaning those burned-in textile and gaffer tape residues from the outside of high wattage fixtures (such as fresnesls and PARs)? I've tried denat. alcohol and ammonia with lots of scrubbing :angry: and only little success - maybe there is something a bit more effective? Shouldn't be so strong that it peels the paint off, though...

 

Greetings,

Marc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
is there any trick for cleaning those burned-in textile and gaffer tape residues from the outside of high wattage fixtures (such as fresnesls and PARs)? I've tried denat. alcohol and ammonia with lots of scrubbing :angry: and only little success - maybe there is something a bit more effective? Shouldn't be so strong that it peels the paint off, though...

 

Hi Marc,

 

try heating the stuff with a hot air gun. That should help in some cases!

 

Cheers, Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

try rubbing some mayonaise into the affected area, leave it for an hour or so, then scrape off. apparently the oil content helps soak through adhesive. If it is totally burnt in, you may have some trouble with this method. A houshold cleaner like 'astonish' may do it. its designed for ovens, although be careful, its slightly abrasive and could scratch the finish.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good ideas guys, thanks!

 

The stuff has burned in (the adhesive is not sticky any more).. at the buttom where it's colder the residues still have their gray color, at the top they are sort of brownish, probably partially carbonized. I'll keep you updated on what works best.

 

(I'm still puzzled about the amount of tape used on those fixtures... you should think people would learn after seing the tape burn in the first time, then use something different for attaching stuff to the fixture, but no...) :angry:

Edited by Marc Roessler
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Member
try rubbing some mayonaise into the affected area, leave it for an hour or so, then scrape off. apparently the oil content helps soak through adhesive. If it is totally burnt in, you may have some trouble with this method. A houshold cleaner like 'astonish' may do it. its designed for ovens, although be careful, its slightly abrasive and could scratch the finish.

 

Then be sure to save that lamp until just before lunch, so the whole place smells like a sub-shop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK I tried various stuff on this... thanks to all for your suggestions.

 

The oven cleaner really does wonders... spray it, and within seconds you can wipe the residue off. This works for most of the tape residues and does not seem to damage the paint. However, the package says it can damage paint and metals such as aluminium, so try it first at some small pattch not readily visible. As an added benefit this only has a very light alkaline smell. This cleaner works best for patches where the glue really has burnt in and carbonized, and it will also remove rust.

 

The oven cleaner won't work for some of the resiudes, what worked best here was ammonia. It smells, it attacks the skin, so it's really no fun at all, and you still have to do lots of scraping/rubbing.

 

For greasy residue, use printer cleaning spray or cold cleaner (it's the same, actually). It' a mixture of solvents and the residues will run off the parts within seconds.

 

Greetings,

Marc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...