Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Solvent ideas needed.

YT2095 - 1-3-2008 at 04:45

I have some large sheets of Polarised film, but there is a clear adhesive on the one side that I want to remove.

I expect that the material is some form of Cellulose (probably Acetate).

I`ve tried WD-40 and that does nothing (it Normally works).
I tried acetone and the adhesive turn to gel almost instantly BUT it ruins the film also.
I`ve tried Ligroin and that doesn`t touch it either.
ethanol works a Little bit, but leaves it Very messy.

any one have any ideas or have done this before?


edited to add: I just tried Toluene and that works exactly the same as the acetone and ruins the film too.

I`m hoping there may be an Inorganic method as I`m running out of known solvents that I have in stock.


[Edited on 1-3-2008 by YT2095]

chemrox - 1-3-2008 at 06:45

MIBK has worked for me on similar substances

YT2095 - 1-3-2008 at 07:04

Hmmmm... I have non of that, not even a trace.
the closest I have as denaturing agent is MEK in a bottle off "pure" ethanol.

vulture - 1-3-2008 at 09:24

Isopropyl alcohol might be the best of both worlds. Or some higher alcohol. Diethyl ether?

[Edited on 1-3-2008 by vulture]

YT2095 - 1-3-2008 at 09:32

aha, Good ideas!

I have some Pre-Injection mediwipes that contain the IPA, and the Ether`s off site in the Machine shop (where I`m going tomorrow morning anyway).

I`ll let you know ;)

lavenatti - 3-3-2008 at 06:29

I hate to suggest something so simple, but how about soapy water and a good scrubbing? You'll probably end up with a bunch of little rolled up adhesive balls but if the soap keeps the adhesive from resticking to the film it may work.

Tacho - 3-3-2008 at 06:44

I have succesfully removed adhesive coats from plastic surfaces using one of two techniques:

1- Soybean oil - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
2- I cut a piece of adhesive tape and do a repeated apply/remove on the surface. Somewhat as if you were depilating it. With some skill and luck, all the adhesive end up on the tape, leaving the plastic surface clean and undamaged.

Good luck.

MagicJigPipe - 3-3-2008 at 08:05

"I have some Pre-Injection mediwipes that contain the IPA, and the Ether`s off site in the Machine shop (where I`m going tomorrow morning anyway)."

Any 24-hr gas station will have at least 70%
IPA and almost any grocery, Wal-Mart, pharmacy type store will carry the 91% and/or 100%. I suppose my question is, why even think about using alcohol pads?

EDIT
I forgot you might live in Europe and I'm not sure what kind of stores are open when in your area but still, IPA IMO is one of the most common and easy to get chemicals (as easy as 3% H2O2)

[Edited on 3-3-2008 by MagicJigPipe]

YT2095 - 3-3-2008 at 09:46

I`ve never seen IPA here OTC other than in 25ml overpriced tape-head cleaner bottles.

and the soap or oils have no effect, also I didn`t manage to get to the machine shop yesterday to get the Ether, so I`m still hanging some hopes on that.

as for scrubbing, it`s a No Go as it`s Optical film and even plastic on plastic will scratch it (as I found out).

bio2 - 3-3-2008 at 10:14

.......I expect that the material is some form of Cellulose (probably Acetate)...........

Nitroalkanes are solvents for Cellulose Acetate.

YT2095 - 3-3-2008 at 10:33

and so that`s Something I would wish to avoid (since dissolving the Film is NOT the intention), which is just as well because I don`t have any anyway :)

MagicJigPipe - 3-3-2008 at 14:48

I can buy OTC 91% IPA (or 99% or 100% w/ 1% oil) here in bulk and will gladly send it to you (or anyone else on this forum) at cost + shipping. It's not about the money, just helping the cause. Does anyone know if it's hazmat since it's flammable? Maybe a lower concentration (70%?) wouldn't be.

Buying it from a supplier might be cheaper because of shipping but if it isn't, let me know.

91% is $1.50 (.99 Euros or .76 pounds)(probably a little less for bulk) for 16oz (473mL). You can judge the weight by the density + thin HDPE bottle.

vulture - 3-3-2008 at 15:07

Any pharmacist in europe should be able to get you IPA, as it's used for desinfection. If you're afraid they'll charge too much, take a copy of your favourite chemical suppliers catalog along and have them order the cheapest IPA in there.

MagicJigPipe - 3-3-2008 at 16:03

A pharmacist ordering chemicals from a catalog for a private individual? I'm almost positive that 99% of the time if that were tried in the US they would respond with an impolite "No!". Even for something as mundane as isopropanol. First of all they would ask, "Why do you need something more pure than the IPA on the shelves?" And you might as well forget trying to order anything else.

One time I tried to order benzoic acid USP and they told me it was a CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE (prescription only).

Even benzyl alcohol was a pain to get from a pharmacy (and insanely expensive).

If it wasn't for the stupid gun laws I would move to Europe.

EDIT
And the US used to be the place where people came to experience MORE personal freedoms. Now, sadly, it is the opposite.

[Edited on 3-3-2008 by MagicJigPipe]

woelen - 4-3-2008 at 00:17

MagicJigPipe, it is not useful to compare your situation with our situation. In the EU (at least in NL, UK, BE and DE) I have not seen IPA in pure form or only mixed with water as an OTC chemical. Of course we can buy it, but then we need to order it from a pharmacist or a better equipped old-fashioned drug-store.

And yes, many of us can order chemicals from a chemical supplier. I have a local drugstore nearby, who orders chemicals from chemical suppliers, which normally does not sell to private individuals. In this way I obtained NaN3, KF, and a few other nasties, which I otherwise could not get.

There really is a difference in what is OTC in one country and in another country. Pure diethylether is OTC over here, just like pure acetone and ligroin, but IPA is not, nor is methanol (but in BE, methanol is OTC as well).

EU != USA

Even in different countries inside the EU there are differences, e.g. in NL I cannot buy more than 5% ammonia, in BE I can get 12% in a supermarket.

argyrium - 4-3-2008 at 02:18

YT2095,

You might try mineral spirits (aka "paint thinner") or kerosene - possibly "mixed" with a small amount of a polar solvent (2-propanol, EtOH). If the adhesive absorbs enough and swells sufficiently, you may be able to "roll" it off. You might try letting the adhesive imbibe/swell to the point where it becomes mobile, then transfer/submerge the sheet to a tray filled with water. Wet a soft cotton cloth with the non-polar solvents and rub the adhesive off THROUGH the water. The water should help keep the gooey mess from transferring onto the clean side and all over everything. Likely need to use many pieces of cloth (or paper towels) - and gloves. A few drops of detergent added to the water may help, too.

Hope this works.

PS - IF the above works, you will likely still have a real mess that would/will require further cleaning with more of the same solvents after removal from the water bath. A final clean-up with a lighter hydrocarbon blend ("naptha", "lighter fluid") on paper towels should help.

[Edited on 4-3-2008 by argyrium]

JohnWW - 4-3-2008 at 02:50

The isopropyl alcohol sold in hardware or similar stores as "rubbing alcohol" is usually only the distilled stuff containing only about 70% of the stuff, and 30% water, because of the isopropanol-water constant-boiling-point azeotrope. Purer isopropanol is more expensive, probably obtained by a further distillation with benzene, like absolute ethanol. It is used widely as a substitute for 95% grain alcohol (without denaturing additives), because of the heavy excise tax on the latter in most countries.

[Edited on 4-3-08 by JohnWW]

-jeffB - 4-3-2008 at 06:42

Quote:
Originally posted by JohnWW
The isopropyl alcohol sold in hardware or similar stores as "rubbing alcohol" is usually only the distilled stuff containing only about 70% of the stuff, and 30% water, because of the isopropanol-water constant-boiling-point azeotrope. Purer isopropanol is more expensive, probably obtained by a further distillation with benzene, like absolute ethanol.


In the US it's common to find "91%" (by volume) isopropanol. This is presumably the azeotrope, which is actually 87% IPA and 13% water:

http://www.shellchemicals.com/alcohols/1,1098,1089,00.html#2...

I seem to remember that diluting the mix to 70% IPA by volume makes it less flammable and less harsh on the skin, but 91% is still widely available.

I ran a fractionation of 70% IPA to try out my distillation setup. There were no surprises, the vapor temperature behaved as I expected, and the product burned like "91%" IPA, but I didn't do any density or other measurements to verify my results.

Wikipedia says the industrial processes for anhydrous IPA use cyclohexane or diisopropyl ether as azeotroping agents.

YT2095 - 4-3-2008 at 08:45

the medi-swab IPA doesn`t work, nor does Paraffin ( a Kerosene analog).

maybe the IPA was too pure or something? as for the Paraffin, I didn`t really expect that would work anyway since WD-40 didn`t touch it either.

chemrox - 6-3-2008 at 09:35

I find 99% in the pharmacy in 750 ml bottles as "isopropyl alcohol." We use it in the alcohol lamp. My wife goes through a bottle every two months or so. This is in the US; home of controls.

Saerynide - 7-4-2008 at 15:36

Theres a petroleum based solvent product here in the US and Canada called "Goo Gone". It's yellowish and comes in a clear bottle and smells like orange/citrus. Maybe they have it in the UK too?

It works wonders in removing sticky plastic glue from labels, tape, and what have you. So far, it hasn't hurt my plastic, but I always still test with a small patch first.

pantone159 - 7-4-2008 at 15:47

Quote:
Originally posted by Saerynide
It's yellowish and comes in a clear bottle and smells like orange/citrus.


limonene??

Saerynide - 7-4-2008 at 21:46

Hmmm.. I never thought of that. The label says its petroleum based, but I guess there could be probably a lot of limonene in there too.

MagicJigPipe - 7-4-2008 at 22:01

Quote:

Theres a petroleum based solvent product here in the US and Canada called "Goo Gone". It's yellowish and comes in a clear bottle and smells like orange/citrus. Maybe they have it in the UK too?


I remember it being mostly xylenes. Of course there has to be something that makes it yellow and citrus-smelling.

unionised - 7-4-2008 at 22:05

IPA OTC in UK
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=isopropyl&s...

azo - 8-4-2008 at 03:02

You could also try vinyl floor stripper which contains propylene glycol mono-t-butyl ether and propylene glycol monomethyl, ether
As well as sodium hydroxide and a surfactant.

YT2095 - 14-5-2008 at 01:01

just a quick update so as not to leave things hanging, I managed to get a litre of IPA from ebay, the price was pretty disgusting (nearly 10 GBP) but I have some Phenolphthalein indicator to make up as well with it, so it`s going to last me a long time.

Thanks each.