cleaning ABS

[ozboater]

managed to get my new vac u cracker built... turned out great so far, motor mount in, hardware on etc... gonna mount up the servo and receiver today... yesterday i put a load of dirty fingerprints on the hull... tried to clean them out with isopropyl alcohol and it helped but i d like to get the hull spotless so i can paint it up soon... any ideas or suggestions for removing dirty fingerprints from ABS...

i ll post some photos in the build section sometime soon..

cheers

oz

[Dr. Jet]

Cleaning ABS

There are other readily VOCs (volatile organic compounds) I know of that won’t attack ABS. Denatured alcohol, naphtha (lighter fluid), and kerosene (Jet A) should be alright. Lacquer thinner, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, and similar will dissolve ABS.

You may want to try one of the “Orange Oil” cleaners. Using a “Scotch Brite” pad with orange oil or something like “Comet” or similar powered kitchen sink cleansers may work too.

When all else fails, sandpaper will work with moderate application.

[ozboater]

thanks dr jet... i was going to resort to a light wet sand if all else failed... the isopropyl alcohol helped a little but it hasn t removed the bulk of the dirt...

[Rex R]

some nice hot soapy water(dish detergent) works nicely , then wet sand(you'll need to do this bit anyway).

[Doby]

Just curious, but what kind of "dirt" are we talking about here. Between alcohol and dish soap, just about everything should now be clean..........

[ozboater]

dirty / dusty fingerprints doby... had to help a mate out yesterday, we were fetching an old 65 dodge truck from down a dusty trail... i took the hull along and christened it in snow melt here in the sierras... dusty cab in the truck, dirty hands = fingerprints all over the boat...

[H2OCamel]

Simple green works wonders and is biodegradeable

[Doby]

Windex, Dish Soap, Alcohol, Goo Gone. If these things don't remove what on your hull, nothing will !