Door seal glue removal

[Guitarmaster]

I've searched the forums, but the search engine is not that good. does anybody have a decent way to remove the old glue from under the door seal?

 

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[tankertoad]

Wire wheel on a cordless drill did the job on mine. Replaced it with this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-5-16-in-x-1-4-in-x-17-ft-Black-EPDM-Cellular-Rubber-Weatherstrip-Tape-V25BK/202844545

Used both beads around the door and one bead along the bottom of the sill for the best seal. 

[tankertoad]

Here's another thread on alternate door seals:

https://mooneyspace.com/topic/25821-door-seals-again/

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Guitarmaster said:

 

I've searched the forums, but the search engine is not that good. does anybody have a decent way to remove the old glue from under the door seal?

 

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

 

 

A rag soaked in Toluene, rolled up and laid on the glue will soften it.

Clarence

[Marauder]

Make sure you glove and mask up when you use toluene. You don’t want to end up looking like a Marauder.

Any residue left can be cleaned up with a Scotch Brite pad.




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[hypertech]

Peerco 321.  It was suggested when I did my seal.  It really works.  At most I used a plastic scraper or maybe a brass brush after that but really, give the chemical time and it came right off.

[320KPH]

safe and easy to use... available at Home Depot

[ArtVandelay]

Whatever you use, be sure to thoroughly clean any residue off else new trim won’t stick.


Tom

[TTaylor]

ABN Rubber Eraser Wheel & Drill Adapter 1-Pack Adhesive Remover, Vinyl Decal

 

[Shadrach]

I would avoid using a wire wheel with anything. 3M general adhesive remover has worked well for me. This is not the citrus spray which is only really suitable for removing sticker residue.

[Guitarmaster]

ABN Rubber Eraser Wheel & Drill Adapter 1-Pack Adhesive Remover, Vinyl Decal

 

I just heard about this thing. Pretty cool!

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[RLCarter]

Patience, elbow grease and your favorite solvent to soften it up, My original style seal had multiple layers of contact type glue EVERYWHERE, it must have been applied with a mop

[TTaylor]

My mechanic uses these:

https://www.hillas.com/Categories/Roloc-Bristle-Discs/Scotch-Brite-Roloc-Bristle-Disc-2-in-x-5-8-Tapered-50-40-per-case.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw7_rlBRBaEiwAc23rhsnHVqLn5sNgKzd25BNGY8e5gixq9PcE9pIgdwNhlB-KCbhtdEj61RoCLQsQAvD_BwE

[0TreeLemur]

A few weeks ago we change the door seal on our M20C.  We bought the seal, sealant, and sealant remover from a company called Knots2U.  The sealant remover works like a charm.  It is a clear gel with a citrus odor.   Not only does it remove door sealant, it also softens and allows easy removal of tank (polysulphide) sealant that was inadvertently stuck on the a/c after getting the tanks re-sealed last year.     Cleans up messes from installing new windows because those also use the 2-hour polysulphide sealant.  Good luck!

Here is the link:

https://www.knots2u.net/door-seal-adhesive-remover-1-pint/

[Greg Ellis]

Just putting in a second for the door seal remover from knots2u.  It worked very well when I changed out the cabin door seal and baggage door seal on my plane.

[Mufflerbearing]

I like the advice given.  I personally like the 3M General Adhesive cleaner to remove anything sticky.  Just have some patience to let it work.  I like that it doesn't attack paint.  We use it alot to remove rubber hits on race cars.  

[carusoam]

MB,

Got a pic of the race car?

We have a few racers/car owners/pilots around here... and a guy who has wrapped a few race cars in vinyl graphics...

There is a thread around here that has Mooneys and other vehicles....

Best regards,

-a-

[Need4Speed]

Lemur, How did the Knots2U door seal work for you? I ordered the cabin door kit for my Twin Comanche and plan to install it this weekend. Glad to hear the Peerco 321 adhesive remover worked well. I was dreading that part.  I am installing new door bushings and we made insert bushings for the hinge pin holes on the door hinges (door side). I am removing the old door gasket as many said it must he removed in order to get the door fitted properly. That's why I'm installing the new door seal.

Clear Skies,

Gomer

[0TreeLemur]

On 12/20/2019 at 8:09 PM, Need4Speed said:

Lemur, How did the Knots2U door seal work for you? I ordered the cabin door kit for my Twin Comanche and plan to install it this weekend. Glad to hear the Peerco 321 adhesive remover worked well. I was dreading that part.  I am installing new door bushings and we made insert bushings for the hinge pin holes on the door hinges (door side). I am removing the old door gasket as many said it must he removed in order to get the door fitted properly. That's why I'm installing the new door seal.

Clear Skies,

Gomer

Hey Gomer,

That door seal from Knots2U was good for the most part.  It took a little bit of "adjustment" along the bottom to get a decent seal.   By adjustment, we shimmed the aluminum "L" shaped piece upward from the bottom of the door by inserting a little bit (1/8") thick piece of gasket material under it.  This reduced the gap between the bottom of the door frame and seal.   When I take it in for annual to a MSC next week I'm going to ask them to tighten the upper hook  a little bit.  There is still a bit of hissing noise coming from the upper door.

Fred

[Marc_B]

Adding for posterity:

Cleaning off the old seals:  Baggage door seal looked different than the cabin door.  Baggage door was the foam core rubber seal, but the main door was dense crunchy foam seal.  Baggage door came off cleanly and way too easily, but the cabin door came off in chunks.  The money was to use plastic razor blade scrapers to scrape off the foam between the rivet heads and get down to adhesive.  This worked surprisingly well but was a little tedious in places.

I used cheap thin plastic drop cloths from Home Depot with some painters tape to mask things and keep any remover or parts off the paint and out of the aircraft.  It was an easy step that made clean up super easy! I took off the interior panels for both the doors.  I initially removed the hold open arm on the main door, but it really didn't open that much more and I think you could easily just leave it on and be fine.  But it makes it a little easier.  If you do take it off, be mindful of the washers and the cotter pin when removing.

Hold open arm parts:  Door Cotter pin AN380-2-2 (MS24665-132); Washer AN960-10; Washer AN960-10L

I then used white shop terry cloths (and a brass brush as needed) with a small spray bottle filled with Adhesive remover.  Given the fumes I'd recommend good ventilation and a respirator/glasses/gloves.  Depending on how thick and crusty your old adhesive is, dictates how much you need to use a brass brush.  Some have described using drill mounted brass brush, and I found that I could control the use of a brush easier without worrying about damage to the underlying frame by hand.  Being able to spray the adhesive and keep it wet as it softened the adhesive made it MUCH easier.  With softened adhesive sometimes using the corner of a terry cloth rag dipped in some adhesive remover pulled off the top layer of the glue and that coupled with a brush turned it into about an hour+ per door.  I think the 3M General Purpose Adhesive is less damaging to painted surfaces than other types of removers.  I think overall it worked well and I had no damage to paint or any surfaces inside or outside the aircraft...although I did mask with drop cloths very well.  Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

6-pack of cheap plastic drop cloths from HD

Plastic Razor Blade Scraper

3M 08984 Adhesive Remover

Small 2 oz spray bottle

Wood handled brass brush

After cleaning off the old adhesive, I used isopropyl alcohol to clean off the metal, cleaned up the drop cloths/area, and reassembled the hold open arm and reinstalled the door panels.

[wombat]

I replaced my door seal a year or so ago and for removing the existing adhesive I used Peerco 321 adhesive remover.

It was effective but slow and quite stinky.   Put a layer on, wait 10 minutes, scrub/scrape/brush it off and get a little more adhesive.   Then do it again.   Eventually it'll all come off.

 

The peerco material is more like a mucus than a fluid, so it was not sprayable.

[PT20J]

According to the SDS, the active ingredient in Peerco 321 is limonene which comes from citrus peels. I would expect it to work slower but be less toxic than the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover which is a brew of aromatic hydrocarbons. I wore chemical resistant gloves and a organic filtering mask when using the 3M product and found it worked pretty quickly if I used the spray cans and followed the directions on the can. It does not seem to affect polyurethane paint. 

[Z W]

+1 for Peerco 321. It was a little slow acting but did not eat or damage any paint and mostly smelled like oranges and I felt no need for a respirator or filtering mask.