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I have several sets of nice aluminum wheels with tires mounted, that I'd like to do actual driving with, so that means cementing the tires on the wheels. I have no problem with that. My problem is, when those tires wear out and need to be replaced, what's the easiest way to remove the CA glue from the aluminum without harming the aluminum? I don't recall if I've seen this topic discussed already. Is there a solvent that dissolves CA glue residue but won't harm aluminum?

acetone, I haven´t try with alu. , but doesn´t harm the plastic.

acetone is fine on aluminum, it's typically used on aluminum to wipe away dirt, oil, wax, etc prior to welding.

mamadoesn`tletme wrote:acetone, I haven´t try with alu. , but doesn´t harm the plastic.

I have to correct you on this, acetone will definitely harm plastic. It melted a Marui Galaxy wheel that I tried to remove paint from, with acetone. Acetone is safe on nylon, though.

Joe, I could've sworn I tried using acetone to remove CA glue residue and old tire remnants from a set of aluminum wheels I was restoring, and it didn't work at all--at least, not in a hurry, anyway. I didn't try soaking overnight or anything.

oh yeah, it's a slow process to remove CA, overnight is good, in a sealed container. it either completely flakes off, or if it's submerged, turns to goo in the bottom of the container. don't let it dry out before you wipe it off because it will more or less just redeposit the CA.

Thanks Joe! Now I don't need to be afraid to glue on some tires.

can't you also bake them at a low temp and the acetone flakes off?

Coelacanth wrote:

mamadoesn`tletme wrote:acetone, I haven´t try with alu. , but doesn´t harm the plastic.

I have to correct you on this, acetone will definitely harm plastic. It melted a Marui Galaxy wheel that I tried to remove paint from, with acetone. Acetone is safe on nylon, though.

I use acetone to remove tyres from Tamiyas plastic wheels with no problem. The trick is not to let the acetone touch the wheels. Put the tyres in an airtight container with a small open container (ceramic, glass, or polypropylene) with a small quantity of acetone in it. Seal the container and leave overnight or even longer and you can just peel the tyres straight off the wheels, it's the fumes that do the work.

Obviously with alloy wheels you don't have to worry about ensuring you keep the liquid acetone off the wheels.

terry.sc wrote:

Coelacanth wrote:

mamadoesn`tletme wrote:acetone, I haven´t try with alu. , but doesn´t harm the plastic.

I have to correct you on this, acetone will definitely harm plastic. It melted a Marui Galaxy wheel that I tried to remove paint from, with acetone. Acetone is safe on nylon, though.

I use acetone to remove tyres from Tamiyas plastic wheels with no problem. The trick is not to let the acetone touch the wheels. Put the tyres in an airtight container with a small open container (ceramic, glass, or polypropylene) with a small quantity of acetone in it. Seal the container and leave overnight or even longer and you can just peel the tyres straight off the wheels, it's the fumes that do the work.

Obviously with alloy wheels you don't have to worry about ensuring you keep the liquid acetone off the wheels.

That is good info. Tamiya plastics don't like solvents so I will be trying this next time.

I was also going to mention that Shoe-goo works really well for gluing tires onto rims if you want to get them off easily later on.

terry.sc wrote:Put the tyres in an airtight container with a small open container (ceramic, glass, or polypropylene) with a small quantity of acetone in it. Seal the container and leave overnight or even longer and you can just peel the tyres straight off the wheels, it's the fumes that do the work.

I totally forgot about that technique, thanks for reminding me.