Acetone

[MrWhoopee]

I needed a little acetone this morning to remove some label gum. Being too lazy to go out to the garage, I asked my wife if she had any nail polish remover. To my surprise, this is what she brought out. She got it at the local Dollar General.



It's like a miniature one of these:



There will be one in my shop before the day is out.

 

[SLK001]

Acetone has the propensity to evaporate thru the plastic container.

 

[brino]

To my surprise, this is what she brought out. She got it at the local Dollar General.

Yep, they are very useful.
I found those a few years ago. Now I keep one on my electronics bench for cleaning PCBs, etc.

Brian

 

[RJSakowski]

I find WD40 to be much more effective for removing label adhesives.

 

[ChazzC]

I find WD40 to be much more effective for removing label adhesives.

Depends on the label; I find the thicker Goo Gone works best for me - brush it on the label, let it sit overnight and the label lifts off. However, like with WD-40, it leaves an oily residue which needs to be cleaned off with IPA (or Acetone).

Full strength Simple Green works well on some adhesives as well.

 

[RJSakowski]

I started using WD40 when I was replacing labels on floppy disks. Acetone doesn't play nicely with polystyrene. I first remove as much of the label as I can to allow the WD40 to come into contact with the adhesive. Then I brush a small amount of WD40 on the remainder and I can usually wipe off the adhesive with a paper towel. As you said, a followup with IPA or acetone if I need a dry surface,

 

[GeneT45]

Hard to beat a Justrite, but if I can find those at the local dollar ^h^h^h^h^h^h dollar-twenty-five store I'll definitely glom onto one.

WD-40 is great, for a very few things, but acetone is much, much better for cleaning metal prior to welding, removing Dykem and removing the skudge left behind by Goo-Gone and similar "cleaners" after you've removed a label with them...

GsT

 

[Mauzinette]

Acetone has the propensity to evaporate thru the plastic container.

Indeed, I learned this the stupid way.

 

[pontiac428]

Acetone has the propensity to evaporate thru the plastic container.

That's a polypropylene container, holds acetone just fine.

 

[GeneT45]

That's a polypropylene container, holds acetone just fine.

Well, in a theoretical sense. In a realistic scenario the acetone escapes via whatever valve is in use - unless your'e just sealing it in a container, in which case the can it comes in is the best bet.

GsT