Getting rid of hot glue residue on the inside of a translucid airbox top

[sinikl]

So, i have an 06 xb9sx with cherry bomb airbox and flyscreen, both of which were painted over by previous owner. I got the paint off and sanded and polished it up and it looks sort of murky red now (not perfect, i need to redo it).

Along the way i discovered 4 stacks of magnets that PO had hot glued to the inside of the airbox cover, someone here thinks (don't remember who) that it was probably to mount a magnetic tank bag (makes sense). The magnets are gone but the chunks of hot glue remain, and if i ever get the outside super smooth and clear again, they're gonna look really stupid (they already look kind of stupid but you can't see them well enough for it to be obvious).

Any ideas on how to get this stuff off other than razor knife and sand (and sand, and sand some more)?

The outside probably took at least 4 hrs if not 6 to get to the stage i'm at now -- i kind of rushed thru 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and should not have -- and i really don't fancy the idea of doing the same to the inside of the plastic, which other than the hot glue is pristine as you would expect.

Also an aside: the frontmost holes near the fuel filler have both been cracked, and one of them, a big chunk, the corner of the airbox if you will, thru which the bolt would pass if it weren't broken off, is gone. What would you fill that with or would you just leave it alone? I'm tempted to try ... wait for it... hot glue?

[34nineteen]

You could try heating it up with a hair dryer or heat gun, then peel the glue off with your fingernail or a plastic razor.

[Cooter]

Thats what I would try^^^^. The translucent covers don't like solvents at all.

[sinikl]

+1 on they hate solvents. the lacquer thinner i used 'crazed' the plastic (i think that's appropriate use of the word, correct me if not.. lacy white opaque bits that feel silky smooth to the touch, but still do not admit light). On the flyscreen, I just left the lacy bits thinking some sort of topcoat would fix them (it didn't). On the tank i sanded through the crazing (worked) but then rushed the step-up thru grits so it's still visibly finely scratched, but nothing you can feel with a fingernail, say.

The heat gun idea sounds good, i'll give it a try. Cheers 34nineteen, cooter!

[badmotorscooter]

I would do the opposite, freeze the hot melt off. Get it really cold in your freezer, then whack it with a chisel. If you assume the PO used a quality hot melt, then best case scenario you have low melt kind that is at least 150F usually. At that temp the plastic will likely warp. I doubt they used a hobby store hot melt. Most of that stuff is junk, won't stick to anything that vibrates or hold weight worth a damn. I use hotmelt all the time, the good 3M kind, depending on what kind was used, you may be screwed.

[airbozo]

I agree with badmotorscooter. Freeze 'em off.

I used to hot glue connectors onto PC motherboards and had to freeze them of to return for repair. Heat just made it worse.

You can use a can of compressed air and turn it upside down to get insta freeze in a small location.

[nicholas900]

As far as removing the glue, you could try this:
https://youtu.be/dNNqSXgj6DE

As far as polishing the cover back up, the headlight restoration kits they sell at the automotive stores that go on a power drill work great on all the plastics I've tried them on. Never tried it on Buell plastics though....

[34nineteen]

As far as removing the glue, you could try this:
https://youtu.be/dNNqSXgj6DE

As far as polishing the cover back up, the headlight restoration kits they sell at the automotive stores that go on a power drill work great on all the plastics I've tried them on. Never tried it on Buell plastics though....

OK, so let me get this straight.... your "solution" is that we shell out money for isopropyl alcohol and q-tips?






(sorry, I couldn't help myself)


Hopefully, its just hot glue and not epoxy.

[sinikl]

No headlight resto kit will save me, because i sanded the whole thing from 320/400/600/800/1000/1500/2000 first to get rid of crazing (that i inflicted), and i have scratches from that step-up process where i rushed the latter bits.

It's, IMO, really hard to see sand scratches at 800 grit or higher until it's polished fully.

[Outlaw]

Just buy a new set. Pick your color.