Secret for getting paper off acrylic?

[Scott Shepherd]

I have some 1/16 cast acrylic I bought a 4' x 8' sheet of and apparently it's the cheap stuff (not acrylite). There are no markings on the paper at all and the paper is a real bear to get off (brown paper). It's stuck too well and the paper just tears into pieces. It can easily take 20 minutes to get the paper off a 12" x 24" piece of 1 side. Anyone got any tips or tricks on how to get this paper off easily?

[Doug Griffith]

What about the old trick where you peel up a corner, grab it with a clip, and then hang overnight (or days or weeks). It's a slow process, sometimes not even visible, but gravity usually does the trick. Clamp weight to the pieces to speed it up and make sure it has a safe place to land.

Cheers

[bruce cain]

I let it warm up on the heat press.

[Pete Thomas]

Try this stuff "Maskoff" it's used to remove stuck on paper mask. Works for me.



-pete

[Craig Hogarth]

I bought some a while back where the glue was stronger than the paper. It'd end up ripping in narrow strips often leaving glue behind while the paper came off. If it's the same stuff, I found that rolling the paper off works best. Start at the corner, peeling it just a bit and use your thumb to make a roll. Eventually as the paper builds up, it gets easier to roll. Not quick by all means, but faster and less frustrating than trying to pull it off.

[Barb Macdonald]

Just get the paper slightly darker coloured using a rag with some lacquer. Just moisten the paper with the lacquer thinner. Works great for older pieces that should have been peeled way back when they were purchased.

Of course, it's a lovely chemical combo to work with
HTH

barb

[Joe Pelonio]

That usually means it's old, and has been sitting on the shelf for years. The same thing happens if you store it where a lot of light can hit it. With thicker stuff hitting it with the hair dryer helps, but with 1/16" you might warp it. Other than the roll from corner that Craig mentioned there's no easy way I know of.

[Bob Davis]

I've tried all sorts of methods, but Kerosene works the best for me.
Wipe on a fairly liberal amount on a wet rag, let soak for a few minutes and the paper will come off fairly easily.
You'll need to wipe the surface again to remove the rest of the glue.

[Gary Hair]

Two people mentioned kerosene and laquer thinner - if you use either of these after you cut with a laser then you will have crazing problems. It's best to use something that isn't solvent based.

Gary

[Ed Lang]

I just tried my air hose at 175PSI which my shop compressor is set to. Blows the paper off after I start a corner. Hold air hose close and use a small tip blow gun to get a good jet of air. Hold close to the plastic surface so you are blowing under the protective sheet, not down at it.

Or, just give all of that old stock to me and I'll use it.

ed

[Scott Shepherd]

Or, just give all of that old stock to me and I'll use it.

ed

Use it for what? You'd probably glue it to your thumb

Thanks for the tips, I'll have to figure out which one is the best for me with all those options.

[David Brasfield]

Try vegetable or mineral oil. Rub it on the paper and let it sit for a while. Then regular dish detergent to wash it off.

David

[Ed Lang]

Use it for what? You'd probably glue it to your thumb

Thanks for the tips, I'll have to figure out which one is the best for me with all those options.

I already have plenty glued to my fingers, how do I get it off?

It is hard to take someone who has years of experience getting Tightbond glue on them and just wiping it off to using this water thin Weldstuff that causes finger prints to become a "feature" on clear acrylic. But I am still trying!

[Larry Bratton]

Scott:
Did you get that unmarked stuff from PP? I got some black 1/4" extruded with that plain brown wrapper on it, and it was undoubtedly the worst acrylic I ever worked with. I told my salesman to NEVER ship me anymore of it, whatever it is. When a mfg doesn't put his name on it, I would say beware.

I too would like to find an easier way to get the paper off. If you find one, let us know.

[Scott Shepherd]

Yes Larry, from Piedmont. My sales rep and I have an understanding- he doesn't sell me non-brand name plastics unless I ask for them.

This order wasn't something that was stocked and was passed to another location out in the midwest. Looks like it's the made in Mexico stuff.

I finished what I needed to do, so I'll come back in the next few days and try out a few of the mentioned methods.