5200 removal

W

wapiti

New member
Just wanted to share my recent experience with removing a rod holder from the outside cabin wall of my 22 angler. I mounted the aluminum rodholder with two screws and a liberal amount of 5200, Big Mistake. To start the removal process I first reviewed the posts you all provided on the topic. Armed with this information, made a flex cutter from some 50 lb test braided line tied to some oak handles. After about 15 strokes between the cabin wall and the rod holder frame the line broke. Tried cutting with braided line about 3 or 4 times with the same result. Moved up to steel down rigger cable and actually made a little progress cutting the 5200 adhesive, all of 1/2 a inch after 10 minutes. Decided I needed to go to plan B - a sharpened scrapper and a heat gun. With some careful heating of the aluminum frame and wedging the scrapper, the frame slowly popped away from the wall. The paint on the rod holder acted as the separating agent once it was heated. I am sure that if I had bonded bare unpainted aluminum I would not have had a much tougher time removing the rod holder. After a couple of hours of elbow grease as outline in previous posts I removed most of the 5200 from the cabin wall. In summary as mentioned before give some thought to what and where you are mounting items using the 5200 adhesive as it is no easy job removing it after the adhesive has cured.
Happy boating
Wapiti
 
Two other things I have found that helped beside the heat. One is using steel single strand piano wire (or sold SS leader wire), and the other is Anti Bond, or Marine Formula by DeBond. If you wet the 5200 from the top and let the anti bond or Marine Formula DeBond work its way down, it will come off more cleanly.
 
You My Friend, are brave than I. In a recent project I fixed a block of "purple heart" wood to the inside of the transom, under the splash well with 4200 fast set and it is where I can just barely reach . As a result of less than stellar pre-planning I now need to move that block about an inch upward. I'm open to any great ideas for this one, as getting a wire behind and under, and working that back and forth is highly unlikely. Thanks in advance for all the perfect tricks.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Harvey I got a steel putty knife and using a grinder I literally sharpened the edges like a knife. I then pushed it while rocking it back & forth against the gelcoat. It cut the adhesive as I went. A pia, but just an idea.
 
Harvey-

They make a removal solvent for 4200. Lay gauze along the top seam and wet it. Repeat with a syringe until the bond is loose. Might take many applications.

Or, just add a second block above the first one. Might be a lot simpler, and no more expensive.

Good Luck!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Back
Top