Hello,
I'm currently struggling with removing adhesive residue from my 9" disc grinder. I've used both sandpaper stuck on with spray on adhesive from 3M and pressure activated sanding discs. Removing the glue seems labor intensive and I'm down to rubbing with mineral spirits and scraping with plastic and BRASS scrapers. There must be a better way... I have not tried heating with a heat gun first or soaking the used disc with Goof Off or some label removal solvent. It seams the longer I leave a disc on or the harder I grind, the harder it is to remove the old disc. I use Rod Nielson's hub and steel plates, so the brass scraper doesn't scar the plate.
For years now I have used PB Blaster "Citrus Based Degreaser". Don't let the name fool you - it's for many uses.
Years ago the same product was called "SLR" - Sticker and Label Remover" and the disappeared and I was lost. I called the company and they told me that due to some EPA guidelines they had to rename it - but the product was the same.
It works fantastically. After use also clean off with simple water/damp cloth before reapplying adhesive.
A little goes a long way. Spray on and let soak for a few minutes and reapply as necessary.
Search and you'll see it many places. I got my last one on Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/Blaster-16-CBD-Powerful-Citrus-Degreaser/dp/B0002KKIQ4/ref=sr_1_1_pp?crid=LNLO30F7YCQG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Q2_XaJ0wByQEFTkK0IzYIFJiBc8foVJZeKh2RF-ne_ipM-fp_PVn8S3hRnj6RkCQU4KGQbpHj_Bykko3Ke8n-RUM4jrVpCamiV4qdh7gdqK_u7VerxIHvoJRxMgewOJqxMtx7bgyQZEGOuO65mlN-YOukk0-opuihqQ-Sl2uZErSQa3ppGf9eXDoxjPTtMBP29PT2EF_6Emik85Z5qFyeGYz1cNSXfn6oUgghPS6ILwWioq8wHWR2cc3K-qp1aZINrLndxVjBMsAaZ-nUWOOSYT915hyTgxEV3zrbAmYo6o.cEndU55DIZ0lYPU2RYOqemblYJfv_4IS-4WOfenl1fo&dib_tag=se&keywords=blaster+citrus+based+degreaser&qid=1708781798&sprefix=blaster+c%2Caps%2C109&sr=8-1
Also - try different adhesive. It seems pricey at first, but 3M Feathering Disc adhesive is good for MANY!! uses. And I do mean many. It's used in the auto paint industry and I get mine at NAPA.
Stick a 120 grit disc on first, then whatever grit paper on top of that. The 120 grit "backer" stays on the disc permanently, more or less. The 120 grit backer reduces the contact area for the glue to stick to. Top disc peels off easily.
I prefer 3m super77, but the feathering adhesive works just fine.
Thank you so much for the information. So far Rod Samdahl has spent about 2 hours each time taking off the "gunk" that builds up on the discs that he purchased after each use. It seems to be making the use of the tool almost "not worth it". What we have learned so far, (unless we are doing this wrong), is that this tool is almost exclusively used for finishing work for a couple reasons. 1) If you use the grinder too much with low grit, you heat up the glue backing making it harder to come off. 2) The only ceramic material we can find comes from red label and the glue backing on the discs is worse to get off than 3m spray.
We are happy to try your method next. The price of the sprays and degreaser will be obviously outweighed by the time spent removing an incorrect procedure or process. The stores closest to us are Ace/Home depo, So I will check there first to save the delivery time of amazon. Do you have an object you use to scrap the disc before the warm water cloth in order to get off the excess gunk? We purchased a set of plastic spackle scrapers to clean the wheel then tried mineral spirits on a cloth, but it just gets gunked up so quickly.
In the process of learning we are happy to try any and all suggestions, but we want to make sure that we understand thoroughly the suggestion so that we don't improperly apply it and experience failure in our own misunderstanding.
Thank you.
Rod Samdahl; here is another post on this information as well.
Respectfully
Michael
I use lighter fluid on a rag. Turn on the disk and press the rag to it. Removes adhesive in seconds and evaporates quickly.
I use a 3M spray adhesive on my disc sander and attach various grits directly to the disc. The trick is to only use a light dusting of adhesive. You really do not need to coat the whole disc either. Just around the edge will work just fine. I spin the disc by hand and spray until the disc has rotated twice. That's it. I get several pieces of paper to stick and remove before needing to apply any more adhesive. I leave the sheet attached until I need to either change grit or replace the sheet that I am using.
I rarely get enough adhesive buildup to cause any issues and probably only have to clean my disc every few months. I'm one of those guys who relies upon the engineers that designed a product to tell me how to deal with that product and all of its uses/problems/applications/whatever. So, I use what the engineers who designed the adhesive also designed to remove said adhesive.
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40070712/
Available at most knife supply houses and some ACE hardware stores.
“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”
Thank you for the information. What we have been doing is pretty similar to that.
Respectfully
Michael
