How to remove stuck paper from from acrylic sheet

Hi,

I have several sheets of acrylic still with the paper covering on. The sheets are approximately 16 years old and never used. I cannot get the paper off as it appears to be stuck on solid. It has been stored in a barn, no direct sun, but possibly just the heat of the summer year after year caused this. I have tried soaking in water, scraping with plastic egg lifter and the glue is still there.

Is there a solvent or equivalent that can be used that will not cloud or harm the acrylic?

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Pat,

Before even reading about the 'age' of your acrylic sheets, I said to myself, I bet that those are old sheets!

Maybe suppliers of acrylics could help you. Johnson Industrial Plastics, Cadillac Plastics, Crystal Glass and Plastics.

Why don't you try some alcohol. ... not the drinkable type, too expensive! but Methyl Hydrate or any other aliphatic solvent. This should, I think, soften up the dried-on mucilage/glue underface...but considering the square footage involved, maybe I'd try to prevent it from evaporating too fast ... it is water miscible, after all!

Cheers!

Freeman Newton - White Rock, British Columbia, Canada

Ed. note: Please keep Freeman in your thoughts & prayers. Message from Freeman, Dec. 2010

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Pat,

I happened to pass an Acrylic supplier this morning so I popped in and 'asked' your question.

The reply was pretty negative. Scrap those sheets as if 'you' try to soften up the sheets and 'scour' off the paper, you could get stress cracks. Maybe, perhaps, soak the entire sheet for some time in water (not a bad idea!)But I did point out that your sheets had NOT been outdoors which is probably a blessing.

They also asked if those sheets were extruded or pressed. Dinna ken, I replied. Probably extruded due to their cost but then extruded sheet can stress crack more easily than the pressed sheet.

But do NOT use Zylene or Toluene, Toluol or any of those aromatic hydrocarbons. Don't even use polar solvents like acetone [linked by editor to product info at Rockler]. They will ALL attack acrylics fairly fiercely. Anyhow, Acetone is often used for edge joining but it is not a particularly good adhesive compared to proprietary acrylic cements.

(I'd go for the idea of soaking the entire sheet in water. Maybe TSP (trisodium phosphate [linked by editor to product info at Amazon]) would help as it is a superlative wetting agent) Lots of luck!

Freeman Newton - White Rock, British Columbia, Canada

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Many of these sheets used an adhesive that is heat activated. You can try using an electric hair dryer to warm the corner of the sheet and see if this loosens the paper. If it does, slowly work your way across the sheet--if you go too fast the paper will rip making removal more difficult. If that does not work, sometimes allowing a light oil, such as vegetable oil, to soak in overnight will loosen the sheets. Good luck. Howard Berman wire forming - Yonkers, New York The best way of getting off paper on old Perspex, I have found after 30 years of experience, is to brush a thin coat of eucalyptus oil on the paper and leave it for 15 minutes, than the paper scrapes off easily with a piece of wood, and the final clean up is also easily done with a cloth with some eucalyptus oil, it leaves no residue and is dry after 1/2 hour, I have just cleaned up some 20 mm sheet that was 20 years old no problem at all. Whatever you do, never use any sort of alcohol. Valther Baek-Hansen - Canberra, Australia

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October 27, 2009 A mist of silicone spray. Wait a minute, and removal is smooth and easy. I roll the paper backing off using a broomstick or 1x1. David Halloran - Somerville, Massachusetts November 11, 2009 I had the same problem with some acrylic laying in the basement for about 7 years. I used a forced air heat gun to warm the paper/adhesive and it peeled off intact smooth as silk! Lonnie Rose - Lynchburg, Virginia April 10, 2011 Just used Methylated spirits and it made it a lot easier to peel the paper off. I needed to keep the paper very damp though with Metho. willy McGee - Adelaide Australia

Eucalyptus oil works great on any surface that is not porous and not safe with general solvents. It can remove glue from plastics as it softens the glue. Then wash off with soap and water.

Make sure to be careful using a heat gun. If used too intensely in one area you have the chance of leaving a nasty residue on the acrylic from the adhesive. This will not come off, basically melted in.