Cleaning sticky pad residue off windscreen.

kamkar

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10 years, many dashcams
So after having been testing cameras for years in my car, i have had a substantial number of cameras attached, not least in the prime center spot on the dotted area in front of my mirror.
But lately the residue left behind when i have taken them off have caused some problems for mew cameras staying in place, so today i decided to do a spring cleaning of that dotted area and also the top L corner of the windscreen where i put GPS antennas.

So my tools of choice for this was my trusty old Kent - Speedy 500 solvent.
speedy 500.jpg

And then a old Nike T shirt i got in Singapore in 1990 as a rag, plus my pocket knife to scrape off the worst of the residue.

First i attacked the upper Left corner where the glass are plain, i also removed a old inspection sticker, this area was pretty uneventful, just wiping with the T - shirt ( the sleeve part soaked in the Speedy 500 )
After removing what i could with my knife blade the APPROX 2 Sq inch of old sticky pad residue was gone after a few minutes wiping back and forth with my solvent.
I then proceeded to the dotted area, where in the following pic you can still see a not cleaned section right next to where my DR camera would be mounted, as you can see there some times there are a lot gunk left.
Other times the pad come off like it was never there, i can only assume this is due to the kind of pad used.

Anyway attacked in the same order as in the corner, but here on the dotted or actually holed area, well getting into those holes proved to be more problematic, and to be honest after 30 minutes of rubbing and re-soaking my rag as the speedy 500 evaporate fast i called it quits.

Even if the stuff was not completely gone, and at least with my eyes pretty easy to see where the pads have been ( 3 of them on the dotted area towards the left side )
but my phone camera actually look okay clean, but trust me it is not, at least not visually as seen with human eyes.
Anyway after a few minutes i put the main unit of the A139 system on the windscreen on the dots where i have just cleaned it to the best of my patience, so now to see if the damn thing will stay in place,,,, but i feel good about this.
The dotted area or as you can see in my case holed area, well it is baked onto the inner side of the windscreen, but even scraping with my knife i did not ruin any of it.
But it do hamper cleaning somewhat, but maybe even stronger solvents would be better, i just had Speedy 500 around so i used that.

dotted area and residue.jpg

Anyways as you can see by my picture, even if it lie a bit, then it can be done and people should not fear sticking cameras to the windscreen.
 
Not sure what's in that "Speedy 500" but some solvents are quite intense and even their fumes can destroy plastics, paints, and coatings :eek: Even if it's safe for what you're using it for, take precautions to keep it off of other surfaces it might harm. And protect yourself too- good ventilation, nothing that might ignite it or the vapors, and use good eye protection :cool:

Most 'frits' are embedded in the windshield between the layers of glass now- those are safe from harm. The best I've found for those is a razor-blade scraper which must be sharp; used with care it won't hurt the glass. Wipe all the 'gum' off the blade each time or it will smear and not be effective. I have a very thin putty knife which works well for this. What little 'gum' residue that may be left behind on the glass will come off with some rubbing with a less potent solvent. Just be sure to feel the glass to know whether it's a surface-applied frit like Kamkars or whether it's embedded before you go scraping away ;)

Phil
 
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Yes you do not want to be too generous with it, or let it sit on something for too long.

As i did not want to throw out my whole t shirt rag, i cut off the used sleeve with my knife, so i am set for removing the rest of the stuff in the middle dotted area and the upper right corner of the windscreen too.
 
Sometimes I use Goof Off, or Goo Gone but most of the time I just use isopropyl alcohol or acetone. (or both) The local dollar store sells 8 ounce bottles of pure acetone for use as nail polish remover, so that's the cheapest thing you can find for a strong solvent.
 
I got my speedy 500 as a "involuntary raise" at work,,,, meaning i stole it from my employer :)

This was back in 1998,,,,,, i would never do something like that today, and really i dont think i ever needed to, everyone i ever worked for have been pretty happy about having me, so from them NO is not a word i hear often.
So i could probably just have asked if it was okay i took one.

Also at least 70% of the content of this one, i actually used at a later place of work.
 
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You mean you took it offsite for further testing because you were considerate enough to do that on your own time ;)
 
Yes. Always important to know the products you are working with, how else can you do a good piece of work.
 
Hi kamkar,
Just a FWIW here...
I've always found that using any kind of solvent, be it named "Adhesive remover" or similar, really don't perform a proper job
&, as mentioned, can damage the surrounding plastic/rubber fittings.

The best thing I've found to remove any kind of adhesive residue is good old Mineral Turpentine. (Turps.)

Being oil based & not solvent based, it has remarkable abilities to soften & remove most, if not all types of "glue."

After use, clean the area with Metholated spirits & a clean micro fibre cloth... Nothing stronger is required.
Why not try it.....next time?

Hope this helps a bit.

Stay safe.

Regards, Mike..
 
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any kind of solvent

Yeah a range of solvents can probably be used for this job, but the speedy 500 was all i had at hand, i am a old guy living alone so dont really have a lot of cleaning stuff at hand
My only other options would be toilet cleaner, and a few other spray on cleaners most often chlorine based and then regular washing up soap, so had it not been for the last centiliters of my speedy 500 i would have had to research and buy something.

O and then i have a really nice smelling cleaner on spray can that is Citrus based, which i think i got from the same place as my speedy 500
 
I said...
I've always found that using any kind of solvent, be it named "Adhesive remover" or similar, really DON'T perform a proper job...

Turps is not a solvent as such. It just works well to soften & remove "glue residue."

Try it on any kind of sticky residue such as tree sap on your car.
 
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Hi kamkar,
Just a FWIW here...
I've always found that using any kind of solvent, be it named "Adhesive remover" or similar, really don't perform a proper job
&, as mentioned, can damage the surrounding plastic/rubber fittings.

The best thing I've found to remove any kind of adhesive residue is good old Mineral Turpentine. (Turps.)

Being oil based & not solvent based, it has remarkable abilities to soften & remove most, if not all types of "glue."

After use, clean the area with Metholated spirits & a clean micro fibre cloth... Nothing stronger is required.
Why not try it.....next time?

Hope this helps a bit.

Stay safe.

Regards, Mike..

From my experience it depends on what it is you want to dissolve or remove whether it may be different types of adhesive, dried paint, grease, glue or whatever. For example, isopropyl alcohol works well on some adhesives and paints and not others, ethyl alcohol works where isopropyl might not, acetone works well on some things and not others but it melts many types of plastic and silicone, turpentine or mineral spirits work on some things and not others, petroleum distillates are best on some things, D-Limonene is great but not on everything, naptha is good for removing certain substances. General purpose "adhesive removers" often combine many of these substances. Personally, I keep a selection of products on hand and use the one that works the best. I seem to have amassed a small collection of stuff over the years that lives on the paint shelf in my basement. I try to start out with whatever is the mildest for the job and go from there.
 
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Naphtha ( cargo samples ) are also good for lighting the BBQ on a big tanker, but one must be careful not to set fire to signal flags strung up for decoration above the grill :)
Of course this was a empty and cleaned tanker going from Japan to the Gulf, otherwise it would be very unhealthy to safety to have a fire on what is essential a 220 M / +1/8 mile long floating bomb.

I did that on MT Torm Kristina AKA the Naphtha express, which when i engaged the ship had already been going back and forth between Japan and Saudi Arabia with Naphtha for years, for so long they even had T- shirts made.
 
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Hi,
Here's another product that is natural & highly recommended.

"Eucalyptus oil...It is used as a solvent for removing grease and sticky residue."
Along with a heap of other applications.

T'is a tad expensive but worth it.
 
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