Cleaning cowling

[markejackson02]

What kind of cleaners can be used on a 201 cowling. Want to remove some old adhesive but don't want to hurt the fiberglass. 

[MB65E]

Mineral spirits works well for the grease and oil. I'd use Acetone on a wrag to knock the adhesive off. 

Just be careful with the windscreen.

Cheers,

-Matt

[ArtVandelay]

I would not use acetone on fiberglass, look for orange peel adhesive remover, it's much gentler, I've used on my boat with good results, I was still careful and clean the area with soap and water afterwards.

[Yooper Rocketman]

If you are talking cleaning the painted surface, both comments above would be appropriate.  If you are cleaning the back side, and unpainted fiberglass, then I would stay away from mineral spirits and use acetone.  I am building a carbon fiber (and some fiberglass) airplane and all prep cleaning before bonding or painting is done with acetone.  Acetone will not saturate the fiberglass permanently, where as Mineral spirits will.

Tom

[markejackson02]

Goo-Off worked perfectly.

[Cabanaboy]

3M 08984 General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner - Remove grease, tar and adhesive from cars, trucks and airplanes. Will not damage vehicle paint, vinyl or fabrics. Specially blended solvent cuts cleaning time in half.

AMAZON LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-General-Purpose-Adhesive-Cleaner/dp/B00ZIM9XPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445211729&sr=8-1&keywords=3M+08984

 

 

[garytex]

I have used the 3-M on some really old dried up adhesive, and it worked better than some other things I had tried, Laquer thinner, acetone, 100LL, Mineral spirits.  It smelled like it might have some pretty rough solvents, and I was a little nervous of it but it worked fine and didn't lift an automotive enamel finish.  That bit about "test an inconspicuous location first", I never do that, but after a whiff of that stuff, I did test first.