Good solvent for revoming glue residue?

"Goo Gone" is petroleum based and pretty good for things like stickers, tape, etc. Has a citrus-y smell, not bad. Similar to common mineral spirits, but smells better. Kerosene works too but it's kinda stinky.

"Goof Off" contains Xylene/Toluene, pluse a few other aromatic hydrocarbons, and is stronger (will dissolve old latex paint). Gets everything "Good Gone" doesn't.

The Duck company (of "Duck Tape" fame) makes an orange colored adhesive remover, citrus and petroleum based. Comes with a plastic spatula formed into the cap, nice for scraping goo without scratching the underlying material.

Getting to the "harder" stuff - straight to the serious solvents. At Home Depot/Lowes you can get Naptha, Toluene, Xylene, Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK), Trichloroethylene ("Carbo-Sol"), as well as the usual Acetone, Lacquer Thinner, Denatured Alcohol, etc. Basically, the heavy artillery when the other stuff just won't do. Some of those WILL dissolve the paint, but if you're careful with it, they will make quick work of removing old adhesive. Pretty stinky stuff, so do it outside, and have a few rags handy in case of spills. BTW Methyl Ethyl Ketone is a great model adhesive (i.e., for styrene, ABS) in addition to being a good (if quickly evaporating) solvent. As an adhesive, a little goes a long way (I use a sewing needle to apply it). The stuff wicks like crazy into tiny cracks, and dries fast. I have dried many a child's tear by using MEK to fix a broken plastic toy.

As always, work from the WEAKER solvent to the STRONGER solvent, and test it first in an inconspicuous place in case it eats the paint. Or your skin. Or your bones.

Mike

Oddly enough, WD-40 is a great product for that job.

Label remover from Maplin is pretty good. My favourite which is cheap is panel wipe - about 5 quid for 5 litres from a paint supplier.

This will sound silly but go to a local market of CHEAP drug store and buy a large can of CHEAP crass perfume.

Spray this on the residue and it should melt away. this stuff is also very good for removing Permanent Marker, OHP pen, Ball Pen and other crap. Advise to test on inconspicuous area first but car paint should be Ok as should most other things man made - natural fibers might be dodgy!

Sir Hugh of Bognor

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Intelligence is not knowing the answer but knowing where and how to find it!

Hugh Gundersen snipped-for-privacy@h-gee.co.uk Bognor Regis, W.Sussex, England, UK

It is not an adhesive, but will platicise many plastics allowing them to adhere together and reset once the solvent has evaporated.

On a good day furan based solvents will do the same for PVC.