I’m cleaning up a couple of my older rides and pulled the tatty old helitape off. I’ve been left with a seriously sticky residue, I’m sure I’ve never had such a persistent mess previously. It just doesn’t want to wash off with warm water, and when I tried IPA the sticky simply grabbed the cloth and pulled the surface layer creating an even bigger mess.
I’m hoping to avoid scraping as the paint is good. Experimental dabs with car polish and window cleaner haven’t really done much.
Anyone got any tips? I’ve seen vegetable oil suggested online but this sounds like it’ll simply make a sticky mess worse?
Gt85/wd40
I’d seen that suggested too. Neither are a product I usually have any use for but I may need to buy a small can. Is silicone spray likely to be useful or is it specifically the petroleum base in the wd40 that does it?
Goo Gone is brilliant for removing decal residue. £7 on Amazon.
You could buy all sorts of chemical solvents to do the job but...cigarette ash!
If you don't know a smoker then the fine ash left behind after a BBQ should also work. Sprinkle the ash over the mess and rub in firmly with your thumb. You may need to top up on the ash depending on the amount of glue but with a bit of rubbing it'll turn into a dirty ball of gunk that will simply lift off.
Baby wipes. They pretty much remove anything
Halfords Citrus Degreaser Aerosol....
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-maintenance/bike-cleaning/bikehut-degreaser-400ml
Only thing I really buy from Halfords regularly. Bloomin handy stuff and I use it for various DIY jobs and even just for cleaning around the house.
Aha. I’ve got a litre of super concentrated Fenwicks FS1 in the cellar I think. I’ll try that before buying anything new!
Meths, and if that doesn’t work: Goo-Gone.
Update. Combination therapy seems to be the answer to ‘how can I fix this with stuff I have in the house’.
Liberally dab 3-in-1 oil all over affected area, stand and then remove with baby wipe... (neither was effective by itself)
Would heating the tape before removal work ?
Asking as my old Niner has its lovely round tubes fully wrapped.
Orbital sander.
Failing that, White Spirit. Use it all the time for tape and sticker residue.
Heat can help. I didn’t have any handy. This residue was completely insane. It was more like the entire adhesive layer had remained. IPA didn’t touch it. Didn’t have any mineral spirits handy (although did consider Shimano brake oil!). Possibly the oily impurities in white spirit or meths would make a difference over clean IPA. The oil seems to have softened the adhesive so it’s no longer trying to grab whatever I try to clean it off with. This was Paragon helitape that had been on the bike at least four years.
Lighter fluid