Remove old glue and sticky residue

[SmilesRising]

Hi! i have an old monitor what im going to use for a project but the circuit board is very sticky from some sort of adhesive. how do i remove it without damaging the board? would chemically pure gasoline work?

[Murasaki]

Just your typical alcohol should do.

[Pixel5]

iso propanol should work.

[SmilesRising]

4 minutes ago, Pixel5 said:

iso propanol should work.

i don't have that at home.. is the gasoline a nono?

[SmilesRising]

8 minutes ago, Mayushii said:

Just your typical alcohol should do.

what's "typical" how many % are we talking about?

[Hiya!]

7 minutes ago, smiles rising said:

what's "typical" how many % are we talking about?

Isoproply alcohol..as much as you need

[mariushm]

Gasoline, lighter fluid, they're both solvents, so they'll work, but you'll then have to clean the surface with water or some other alcohol and let them dry.

WD40 will also work, as a big part of it is solvents. But again, you should clean afterwards.

If you don't have isopropyl alcohol, find some sanitary alcohol or some acetone (see if the women around you have some nail polish remover, basically same thing) or find some vodka

 

[Pixel5]

On 12/25/2018 at 10:28 AM, smiles rising said:

i don't have that at home.. is the gasoline a nono?

gasoline could also work but since gasoline usually is a mixture and not a pure substance its hard to know if its good for that specific glue or not.

[TheFlyingTraut]

WD40.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

On 12/25/2018 at 2:23 AM, Pixel5 said:

iso propanol should work.

 

On 12/25/2018 at 2:28 AM, smiles rising said:

what's "typical" how many % are we talking about?

 

On 12/25/2018 at 2:36 AM, Hiya! said:

Isoproply alcohol..as much as you need

Isopropyl alcohol comes in varying percentages of dilution wih water. 70% or therebouts is the most common and is normally used for disinfecting wounds or preparing skin for injections.

 

90% or therebouts is less common but frequently can be found in drugstores and supermarkets and used for cleaning other than skin and wounds.

 

99% is hardest to find but is far more effective for cleaning surfaces. Typically, you will find it in hardware and, maybe, paint stores (I get mine from Ace Hardware). It's more expensive than the lower percentage alcohols. I've used it for cleaning sticky residue from tape and labels when lower percentages wouldn't work (a bit of scrubbing is often necessary). What's nice about the alcohol is it dries residue free, unlike many other solvents.

 

If 99% alcohol doesn't get the job done, I use Goof Off or naptha (cigarette lighter fluid). These solvents are more flammable and may damage a circuit board. They also leave an oily residue that needs to be removed. Isopropyl alcohol works well for that.

 

Nail polish remover usually contains acetone, which is a good solvent but also contains lanolin which wil leave an oily residue behind. It's better to buy purer acetone from a hardware store, home center, or paint store. It is extremely flammable, though, andd the fumes are pretty ferocious. Acetone also will dissolve many plastics. Acetone is the best (actually, pretty much the only) solvent for removing superglue (cyanoacrylates). Nail polish remover can be used for removing superglue from the skin since the lanolin reduces skin drying and irritation.

15 hours ago, Pixel5 said:

gasoline could also work but since gasoline usually is a mixture and not a pure substance its hard to know if its good for that specific glue or not.

Gasoline should never be used for cleaning. It's just too volatile and it's use is a good way to get burn or to burn ndown your home. The fumes are also pretty ferocious. It contains many additives tha make it even more hazardous to your health. Gasoline should only be used for fuel.

[Hiya!]

5 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

-snip-

Regardless..it should work whether its 70/90/99%.

I've tried it..and maybe the higher the number the better it would work but even 70% work like a charm for me

[Lady Fitzgerald]

2 hours ago, Hiya! said:

Regardless..it should work whether its 70/90/99%.

I've tried it..and maybe the higher the number the better it would work but even 70% work like a charm for me

The percentage often does make a difference. 70% alcohol swabs will barely remove Sharpie ink from a nonporous surface while 91% will take it off easily. I recently had a sticky tape residue on some audio cables and 91% isopropyl alcohol wouldn't even faze it. 99% did remove it but it took a little bit of scrubbing. I've had sticker residue that even 99% wouldn't touch and had to resort to naptha or Goof Off, then clean that up with alcohol.

 

[Hiya!]

6 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

The percentage often does make a difference. 70% alcohol swabs will barely remove Sharpie ink from a nonporous surface while 91% will take it off easily. I recently had a sticky tape residue on some audio cables and 91% isopropyl alcohol wouldn't even faze it. 99% did remove it but it took a little bit of scrubbing. I've had sticker residue that even 99% wouldn't touch and had to resort to naptha or Goof Off, then clean that up with alcohol.

 

Hmm..guess some work for other and some didn't..you know what just buy a goo gone..

[Lady Fitzgerald]

8 minutes ago, Hiya! said:

Hmm..guess some work for other and some didn't..you know what just buy a goo gone..

I keep a variety of solvents, including Goof Off (Goo Gone is just another brand for the same thing; they are both orange oil based) around for that reason and because some solvents can damage certain materials. I also prefer o use the solvents that don't leave a residue whenever possible to cut down on extra work.