A sticky situation

April 17, 2009 12:10 PM

Removing stubborn masking tape from aluminum?

I have a 12' aluminum fishing boat that I recently stripped and repainted. In the process of repainting, I masked off the aluminum rail that runs around the perimeter of the boat. Unfortunately, I inadvertently bought The World's Cheapest Masking Tape, and the stuff has absolutely adhered itself to the surface to which it was stuck. When it comes off at all, it's in blotches, not strips. But mostly, it just remains stuck to the aluminum surface.

In the past I've used Goof Off and a razor blade for this sort of thing, but that's been a less than perfect solution with this particular tape, as the Goof Off breaks down the tape along with the adhesive, leaving me with a bigger mess that still doesn't want to come off, but is now even more likely to breakdown and become thousands of little balls of gummy tape that are still stuck to the %@$#! rail! Also, the surface is a little pitted, so the razor blade can't make a decent pass underneath the tape. Arrrrrrgg!

I can go after the rail with a wire brush and ScotchBrite if I have to, but a) that's likely to be a lot of work, even if I soak the stuff in Goof Off, and b) the dissolving tape clogs up the brush and ScotchBrite, which further slows down the process.

A further complication: the rail itself is grooved along it's length, so there's a lot of detail that needs to be chased down if I go with a method that uses an abrasive to grind away the tape.

So, in light of the above, does anyone have any other ideas on removing stubborn, well-adhered, but flimsy masking tape? I'm sort of hoping someone has a trick for this that's clever instead of relying on brute force and elbow grease, though I'm prepared for the latter if it's the only thing that works.

Tools I have at my disposal: an air compressor and die grinder, a pressure washer (the tape just laughed when i tried this approach, plus I'm worried this will take off the new paint I've just applied), various electric hand drills, and a garage full of tools.

posted by mosk to home & garden (15 comments total)

I'd kick the solvents up a notch and use paint thinner (not varsol) applied with a rag. It should melt everything right away for you.
posted by davey_darling at 12:32 PM on April 17

I'd experiment with a heat gun / blow dryer on a section to see if it loosens up the adhesive and lets you pull off the tape normally.
posted by zippy at 12:34 PM on April 17

I would try automotive hand-cleaing lotion. If that didnt work, olive oil.
posted by bricoleur at 1:06 PM on April 17

These are great, guys -- keep 'em coming. I'll be giving these a try this weekend.
posted by mosk at 1:14 PM on April 17

I always remove sticker and tape residue with oil, as the residue seems to be oil-soluble. If it's a kitchen item, I just use vegetable oil, if not I often use mineral oil (johnson's baby oil). It takes a little bit of elbow grease but it does get it off.

Try smearing some oil on, let it sit for a bit, then take it off with a cleaning agent like 409.
posted by jefftang at 1:14 PM on April 17

Contractors' Solvent. It's expensive, but it works on most anything. Get it at your hardware store.
posted by torticat at 1:26 PM on April 17

Acetone might work better than Goof Off. Unfortunately, masking tape is just about the worst tape to actually mask with and becomes a huge PIA to remove (been there, done that).

I'd use a wire brush wheel on a drill, if the finish of the metal wasn't worth preserving (nicely polished, chromed, etc). Aluminum, being relatively soft, is likely to end up with lots of fine scratches using this method. But it's the fastest thing I can think of to get the tape off.
posted by 6550 at 1:31 PM on April 17

i like to use rubbing alcohol for tape/sticker goo. acetone is also a good one. both can be annoying bc of how fast they evaporate. oil also works well, and has relatively simple application/cleanup.

sometimes it's not the power of the solvent, but the type. i have this crazy orange spray that will remove anything oil-based, but can't handle stickers that rubbing alcohol can.
posted by vaguelyweird at 1:44 PM on April 17

Heat gun and Rapid Remover.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 2:16 PM on April 17

Soak it with diesel. Then take a stiff brush to it, or a hot soap spray (like at a car wash).
posted by BadMiker at 2:46 PM on April 17

WD-40 seems to get glue off everything else. Might be worth a go.
posted by devnull at 2:51 PM on April 17

Regular ol' carburetor cleaner will work, too
posted by Acacia at 4:43 PM on April 17

I have also had good success removing tape and adhesive gum with WD-40.
posted by Daddy-O at 5:17 PM on April 17

3m (and probably others) make tools just for this. Specifically a Pinstripe removal disk. Chucks into your drill, removes stickers from body work like nobody's business. They are also used on air planes so should be safe for your boat. You can get them at auto body supply places.
posted by Mitheral at 5:32 PM on April 17

Thanks, folks. I'm sure many of these ideas would have worked, but I happened to have a can of WD-40 at hand, so I gave that a try first, and it worked well enough. Also, although I don't have a heat gun, it was a nice sunny day here, and the heat really helped loosen the adhesive.

Net result was WD-40 + heat + razor blade removed most of the tape, and what was left I was able to clean up with a ScotchBrite pad dipped in Goof Off. All told, the whole process took a little over an hour and didn't require too much elbow grease. I am very happy with the results.

Thanks again for all the great suggestions!
posted by mosk at 8:28 PM on April 18