# removing old tubular glue



## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

not much in the search on this, though i did find some old info on the web. wondering if anyone has any "new" methods. i got my tubs recently repaired - props to Tire Alert on replacing the tubes and base tape at a reasonable/good price - and now i need to clean up the rims of the old glue.

i bought some Goof Off - but how long do i need to let that stuff sit before the old glue comes off? and how "easy" will it come off?

what are some other methods?

btw, these are for a pair of Mavic SSC hard anodized rims - so yeah, taking a dremel with a scrubbing wheel does not sound like a good idea.


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

How much glue is on there? They don't have to be clean to reglue.

I may be an exception, but I've never had so much glue on a rim that it needed cleaning. I've been lucky with flats, and have a bunch of wheels/bikes I rotate, but there would have to be a lot of glue on the rim before I got overly concerned about glue buildup.

If you really need to remove it, try acetone.


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## abarth (Aug 12, 2008)

Have you try brake cleaner?


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

zmudshark said:


> If you really need to remove it, try acetone.


That's what we used back in the "olden days."


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*3m*

3M Adhesive Remover works pretty well. Soak it on pretty good with a rag, and use new spots on the rag frequently. Brillo pads (those green fibrous things) help. If it's an aluminum rim, a little heat from a heat gun speeds things up a lot -- not on carbon, though (don't ask me how I know this)! For tough stuff I also use a putty scraper that I've shaped with a grinder roughly to match the curvature of the rim. 

Automotive brake cleaner works even better, but it's pretty harsh. Goof Off and citrus cleaners are pretty worthless except for very small clean up areas.


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## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

zmudshark said:


> How much glue is on there? They don't have to be clean to reglue.
> 
> I may be an exception, but I've never had so much glue on a rim that it needed cleaning. I've been lucky with flats, and have a bunch of wheels/bikes I rotate, but there would have to be a lot of glue on the rim before I got overly concerned about glue buildup.
> 
> If you really need to remove it, try acetone.


there's a fair amount i think. seems like most of the glue was left on the rim when i peeled the tire off. says more about my "technique" or lack thereof for putting them on. 

i'll try some acetone. the goof off doesn't seem to work as well as I read. maybe they only had a little bit of glue on their rims.


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## Maybeck (Sep 30, 2004)

If the glue is very dry, use a wire wheel on a bench grinder. Just hold the wheel up to it and turn it using light pressure. Wear a dust mask. This is fastest easiest way to get a rim clean.

If the glue is still tacky then it's safe to glue over what's there. But you want to wipe it down with Naptha. That will clean the surface and help to revive the residual glue on the rim even more.


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## sewup dude (Aug 31, 2009)

Try Toulene from the hardware store. I've been using it for a while and it seems to work great.


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## onespeedbiker (May 28, 2007)

Try Park Chainbrite, I use it for almost everything including removing mastik from rims.


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## Reynolds531 (Nov 8, 2002)

Nothing rides like a tubular, but this thread reminds me why I gave them up.


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## Jimi_Lee (May 3, 2006)

I bought a pair of well used vintage wheels a year or more ago that had significant glue build up. There were even large chunks of fabric from the old tires still on. It was a perfect mess.

I tried Goof Off because it has Xylene in it which is supposedly pretty caustic. I also used pure acetone. In the end what worked was using my thumb and rubbing as much of it off as possible with the aid of a butter knife to get some of the big chunks off. Good luck with this long arduous task.


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

abarth said:


> Have you try brake cleaner?


Do not use brake cleaner on any aluminum parts. It can do nasty things to aluminum.


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## TWB8s (Sep 18, 2003)

In all the years of gluing tubulars for myself, friends and customers I have never cleaned the glue off. If the glue is dry and brittle it comes off easily with a butter knife as the wheel spins in my truing stand. The stuff that is stuck to the rim gets fresh glue and holds the tire fine. Since 1979 I've never rolled a road tire or had one I've glued roll. In fact, most of them have needed a screwdriver under the base tape to get off the rim once they go flat.


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## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

TWB8s said:


> In all the years of gluing tubulars for myself, friends and customers I have never cleaned the glue off. If the glue is dry and brittle it comes off easily with a butter knife as the wheel spins in my truing stand. The stuff that is stuck to the rim gets fresh glue and holds the tire fine. Since 1979 I've never rolled a road tire or had one I've glued roll. In fact, most of them have needed a screwdriver under the base tape to get off the rim once they go flat.


a butter knife?! i tried scraping it off dry, but it didn't seem to do much of anything - the glue doesn't seem really "dry" either. it's more a hard but bendy taffy that doesn't really want to come off the rim. one wheel i'll probably not worry about the glue since it's honestly not too bad, but the one i've started, well i've already started on it. 

Goof off works better then acetone. i cut a little container and have the rim sitting in a little pool of the stuff. after about an hour, it just wipes off with a paper towel. i let it sit in acetone all night and it didn't really do much except make the glue kind of slimey, but it still didn't wipe off.


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## Fai Mao (Nov 3, 2008)

Please don't shoot me for this: WD-40 will remove tubular glue from a rim. You just have to then get the residue of the WD-40 off the rim and brake surface


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## TWB8s (Sep 18, 2003)

moschika said:


> a butter knife?! i tried scraping it off dry, but it didn't seem to do much of anything - the glue doesn't seem really "dry" either. it's more a hard but bendy taffy that doesn't really want to come off the rim.



Yup, a butter knife, sometimes a rounded laboratory spatula if I'm in the basement. I don't like serrated or sharp edges scoring the rim. The "taffy" -like glue is still viable once the new glue sits on it for a few minutes. At least it does for me, but then I'm using Continental glue and have been for ages. If the glue is less like taffy and more like peanut brittle then it's time to try to scrape it off.


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## randyjawa (Dec 23, 2010)

I just cleaned up a set of tubular rims the other day for my 196? Bottecchia "Professional". I started by scraping off the heavy build-up with a small screwdriver. Then, I used a brass wire brush to clean off the smaller build-up. Finally, I washed the surface with lacquer thinner but use very little in the process. The procedure works like a charm but it did take a while.

It is also possible, so I have been told, to use a rotary wire brush on a Dremel or drill motor. This works if the glue is dried out but be careful...

Protect your eyes from flying debris and wear a dust mask.

Hope this is a help.


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## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

Fai Mao said:


> Please don't shoot me for this: WD-40 will remove tubular glue from a rim. You just have to then get the residue of the WD-40 off the rim and brake surface


i didn't use it on the rim, but whilst putting the tire on, i got glue all over my hands - probably the messiest i've gotten putting a tub on. anyway, i remembered your post and not having anything else to remove the glue(i didn't want to put goof off on my skin), i sprayed WD-40 on my hands and it work! the stuff came off easily.


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## moschika (Feb 1, 2004)

the thing with the wire brush is that these rims are gray anodized and i didn't want to scrap that off. if they were bare metal, then i probably would have tried it.


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## SJX426 (Oct 6, 2008)

I have heard that using a BRASS wire brush will not harm the anodized finish. Have seen pics of great results with this method. Key is dry glue not tacky.


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