Acetone/adhesive remover on polycarbonate is a no no

[R6cowboy]

I made the remarkably stupid mistake and grabbed the adhesive remover to remove tape residue from a lexan/polycarbonate body, which I've done before years ago but apparently didn't learn my lesson.
Got some tripoli polishing compound and went to work with a small rotary tool and cloth polishing wheel. Applied two rounds and here's the before and after. It's "livable", but still very pissed at myself.

Before

After

[Frankentruck]

The 'after' has a vintage RC look to it. Good recovery.

[jcwrks]

Which adhesive remover? Goo gone doesn't have that effect. WD-40 works well too.

[TRX-1-3]

Which adhesive remover? Goo gone doesn't have that effect. WD-40 works well too.

There is the industrial strength Goof Off. Comes in a small metal can like Zippo lighter fluid. It'll take the chrome off a trailer hitch. Very effective, but can be catastrophic in the wrong application. I found out the hard way with that stuff. I shoulda known better because like Uncle Jesse's moonshine, "one whiff will knock out a grizzly bear."
-‐-‐-‐----‐-------------------
That's a bummer with the windshield, but like Frankentruck mentioned, that's a good save. Your pissededness is understandable though.

[juicedcoupe]

I made the same mistake a while back and covered the worst of it with decals.

I only use lighter fluid or Windex on lexan now.

[ZED32]

Which adhesive remover? Goo gone doesn't have that effect. WD-40 works well too.

I second wd40. It's my go to goo remover for lite duty uses.

[R6cowboy]

Which adhesive remover? Goo gone doesn't have that effect. WD-40 works well too.

There is the industrial strength Goof Off. Comes in a small metal can like Zippo lighter fluid. It'll take the chrome off a trailer hitch. Very effective, but can be catastrophic in the wrong application. I found out the hard way with that stuff. I shoulda known better because like Uncle Jesse's moonshine, "one whiff will knock out a grizzly bear."
-‐-‐-‐----‐-------------------
That's a bummer with the windshield, but like Frankentruck mentioned, that's a good save. Your pissededness is understandable though.

It was Goof Off in the aerosol spray can.

[Coelacanth]

I made that mistake many years ago, too. Acetone crazed the Lexan and even made it crack in a few places.

I remove stickers with a hair dryer, and any remnant adhesive I remove with WD-40. You may need to let it soak in for a minute or two, but it wipes off pretty easily.

[R6cowboy]

I made that mistake many years ago, too. Acetone crazed the Lexan and even made it crack in a few places.

I remove stickers with a hair dryer, and any remnant adhesive I remove with WD-40. You may need to let it soak in for a minute or two, but it wipes off pretty easily.

WD-40 is what I was suppose to grab, but grabbed the Goof Off instead (which was right next to the WD) in a moment of spectacular stupidity. The Good Off is back in the garage cabinet where it belongs. No idea why it was in the hobby room to begin with.

[GoMachV]

Oh yeah goof off is some nasty stuff. I only use it when going nuclear on something. I'm actually surprised to see it didn't melt that body right through the work table and halfway to Alex

[R6cowboy]

Oh yeah goof off is some nasty stuff. I only use it when going nuclear on something. I'm actually surprised to see it didn't melt that body right through the work table and halfway to Alex

It might have if I would've rubbed it for more than half a second. What's seen in the picture was the result of a split second wipe... followed with a "oh sh!t, f me, you stupid dumb mother ........"

[rcmathguy]

If I remember correctly (not 100 percent sure), I have used 91 percent isopropyl and it works without issue. I also use it on Kyosho FRP (fiber glass). It did *not* haze/craze and can even gently remove thread lock. The optima mids are famous for having tons of thread lock glopped onto the lexan belt guards and this works great.

[Coelacanth]

Just wanted to add that isopropyl alcohol of any concentration has never been very effective at removing stubborn adhesive residue. You just waste your time rubbing back and forth across it and if you're lucky, it just smears it around more. Rubbing alcohol has lots of uses, it's a good grease remover (though WD-40 is much better) and it's great for removing Sharpie marker. I find I don't use rubbing alcohol for much when it comes to RC, other than to clean a surface before installing stickers or something. WD-40 is your friend.

If I'm working on my 1:1 cars in the garage and have my hands all greasy and dirty, I'll give them a quick wipe with WD-40 and a rag and that gets most of the gunk off, then I finish the job with one of those orange mechanic soaps back in the house.

[JosephS]

To add to this also add Acetone and adhesive remover is wrong on powder coated AE chassis.