Removing Part Labels

I thought I saw this somewhere else, but cannot recall where.  As most of you know, the part number labels are not easy to remove.  Most people use various solvents including paint thinner, acetone or naptha.  In the summer this works fine, but with my shop below 50 degrees F, my solvent, paint thinner, does not seem to cut through all the glue.  I found the easiest way to deal with this is to sharpen a stick, such as a paint stirrer or similar shaped wood to a wide chisel point.  I soak the label in solvent, then scrape it off with the sharp stick.  Wood (or a fingernail) is just the right hardness so that it will scrape off the label without scratching the aluminum.  In the summer I had used a plastic paint scraper, but this time of year, the wood is better.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Maltais on November 10, 2015 at 2:13pm

Just takes a bit longer in the cold. I used acetone but it's not instant... soak it with a rag and keep it "damp" for about 30 seconds, should just wipe right off after that.  You'll see it turn a light gray then a darker color before it's ready to just slide off.

Permalink Reply by Paul Sanders on November 10, 2015 at 3:51pm

I use acetone but quite often it takes two 15-20s soaks before they will come off. Except for the labels that were on my wings kit, I think they used super glue for those - they looked and felt different to all the other kit labels.

Interesting that Thomas has the opposite problem to me regarding the weather.

Permalink Reply by Robert K Norwood on December 22, 2016 at 12:27pm
I use spray brake cleaner. Give it five mi. Works very good.
Bob
Permalink Reply by Frank A Pisz on December 22, 2016 at 12:50pm

Hi!  I use MEK.  Fill an eyedropper, put a few drops on label to saturate it, wait 20 seconds, and the

label slides right off.  Wipe spot with paper towel dampened with MEK. No scratches. MEK seems to work

better than acetone or alcohol or lacquer thinner.

Permalink Reply by Thomas A Muller on December 22, 2016 at 3:59pm
Thanks guys, I'll try both brake cleaner and MEK and see which works best in the cold.
Permalink Reply by Jim and Amelia Isaacs on December 22, 2016 at 4:53pm

What happens if you just leave the label alone?

Permalink Reply by Don Morrisey on December 22, 2016 at 7:12pm

If they're in a place where they're not going to be seen, I leave them as is.

Permalink Reply by Thomas Jackson on December 23, 2016 at 2:29pm

THOMAS, USE WD-40 let it soak (place a small piece of paper towel over the label and saturated on top of the label) for a short time and it may need a little help from a single blade razor blade. Usually it will peel off.

Permalink Reply by Perry Delano on December 25, 2016 at 9:38am

Zinc Chromate thinner will take them off right now, but a less smelly way (as recommended by Mathew Heinz) is to spray with paint thinner (varsol), wait 5 min. ,while you do something else, and then just peel them off. If you forget to peel it before the varsol dries again, just give it another spray and wait a couple minutes. A little wipe up with the thinner afterward gets rid of the residue.

Permalink Reply by James Kelly on December 26, 2016 at 6:05pm
Soak the label. Let set couple of minutes, pull label off. Also good for sharpie marks.
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Permalink Reply by Jorge Fernandez on April 12, 2019 at 4:22pm

Resurrecting an old thread. On the Homebuilthelp DVD’s John suggests carb cleaner. He brings up the question of the cleaner harming the aluminum, but counters that carbs are made of aluminum. Now our kits are 6061 aluminum, any thoughts if it is indeed ok to use?

Permalink Reply by Todd Scruton on April 13, 2019 at 9:10pm

Well since the subject came around again. I use a propane torch to heat the metal just under the sticker. It sure doesn’t take much heat to warm it up enough to easily pull the sticker off. Be careful not to overheat the Aluminum, just a touch hotter than easily handled will do the trick. No smells, no chemicals and no waiting.

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