Hot Glue on my ABS Plastic Part...

[Kurt Wendt]

So - recently I decided to try making molds of something I made on my
Bot. It takes too long to make MANY copies of the item - and I could
also save on my plastic consumption that way.

Now - in preparing the Mold - I used a Hot Glue Gun to glue my drink
coasters down to the bottom of a cardboard box - which was my mold. But,
in pulling it apart - now that the mold in silicone rubber has been
produced - I got a Mess on the underside of my items. I would like to
clean them up - but, I don't know the best way to do it.

I used a Hot Glue Gun to glue down my item to the box mold. How can I
get these gobs of Glue OFF my item - without destroying my items - or
greatly marking and gashing them up???

TIA,
Kurt

[Owen M Collins]

I've never used hot glue on ABS before. But I have always had luck prying it off of wood and other plastics. Have you tried a paint scraper or putty knife?

O.

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[Z LeHericy]

you could try heat since hot glue melts at a significantly lower temperature than abs plastic ...  A hair dryer should melt the glue without damaging the plastic.

[Kurt Wendt]

Ah - now THERE is an Interesting proposition!

Yes - I will DEFINITELY Give that a Shot!

Thx,
-K-

[Kurt Wendt]

I tried your suggestion - and it worked great - as it got the Majority of the glue off. However - I could not do it perfectly - and residual glue is on there - making it look pretty darned messy. I'm going to try some Acetone on it right now - although I don't know if its really gonna help...

-K-


On 12/21/2011 3:20 PM, Z LeHericy wrote:

[Whosawhatsis]

I'm not sure what the acetone will do to the glue, but it will certainly melt the ABS, and it sounds like that's not what you want.

[EthanS.]

Try some rubbing alcohol to remove the hot glue.

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/10/simple-solution-to-removing-hot-glu.html

[neoteric]

Ok, not to derail the thread, but after you made the mold, what will
you use to make to copies of the objects with. I am interested in
your process.

[Kurt Wendt]

No problem. All the materials - to make the molds and the plastic copies
- come in this starter kit:
http://www.smooth-on.com/Getting-Started-Po/c4_1217/index.html

-K-