Thread: Removing Titebond III from cotton

Titebond 111 is waterproof don't like your chances, have you tried soaking for several days or a week

I don't think that water in any form will do it. I was hoping for a more exotic solvent.

At AWFS a few years ago, I had a conversation with Bob from Franklin Technical Support. (I can't remember his last name.) I asked the same question. His answer was, "Once TB III has cross linked you aren't going to get it out." IIRC he did suggest soaking the material in water, dish detergent and ammonia for a week or two. He said that it may soften the TB III to the point where you can scrape it off but you'll never get "OUT" of the material. In other words, the material will always be stiff.

That's what I was afraid of, but I remain forever hopeful.

There is a surefire method to get it off in three steps.

Place shirt in battery acid until totally dissolved.
Neutralise acid and dispose of properly.
Buy replacement shirt and avoid getting more glue (or battery acid) on it.

No, I never said it was cheap.

I always wear daggy old end of life clothes when mowing, working on machinery, doing woodwork etc so they can get tossed if need be afterwards. I also have a dedicated work clothes washing machine to go back in the barn when I can get it re-erected. That way, I don't clog or damage the nice household washer with shavings, odd nails, screws etc that were left in pockets, solvents etc. But I do have the luxury of being retired and not having to wear prescribed clothing at work.

Obtain replacement garment. Claim cost on tax return for work clothes.
Keep damaged garment for next glue up, paint job, welding job or oil change when if it gets dirty or damaged it will not matter.

Sounds like Titebond III is like paint. Once dry it does not come off clothes.

I've got a similar problem with a few pairs of work shorts and shirts.
I've since realised the old blokes wore leather aprons for a reason...

You could try soaking the glue spots in vinegar. Not sure if it will work, but it can soften Titebond if joints need to be broken. May not work if the glue has gone off for a while.

What about breaking it up with a large punch? It won't get it off, but it might be less scratchy if it's in lots of little bits instead of one bit

You might try hitting the glue with a burst of cheap hairspray. The cheaper hairspray has a high level of acetone. I’ve found that a heavy squirt of hair spray on the affected part, leave it for a while and then soak under warm running water gets a lot of stuff out. There’s another product on the market called “Goofoff” that is really good for getting glues, paint and such out of fabric.

TT

Id go straight for the paint stripper . Just fold up part of the shirt and soak as little as possible .
Rob

Originally Posted by Bohdan

I managed to get some Titebond III on my cotton work clothes and after it dried I find the hard patches irritating.

I'm sure that one of the solvents out there will disolve the glue.

Hot washing has not done anything to the glue so I am hoping that someone out there has solved this problem.

Well I went straight to Titebond and asked them. This was their reply-




Hi Gary,

If Titebond Wood Glues are accidentally spilled on clothing, it is important to immediately wet it with water and keep it wet until all adhesive is rubbed off of the clothing. Do not put the clothing item in the dryer until all adhesive is removed. Heat will melt the adhesive into the fabric and it will be permanent. Titebond II and Titebond III if allowed to dry will not release from fabric. A mixture of Acetone/Water/Vinegar will soften the adhesive but will not dissolve it. Scraping the softened adhesive should remove a majority of the adhesive. Hope this information helps.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Thank you,

Ronisha Byrd
Technical Service Specialist
Franklin International
614-445-1343".

An update to my experiments to remove Titebond lll.

Tried PVC priming fluid, a mixture of MEK and acetone which almost instantly turned the hard glue into a soft rubbery gunk without disolving or spreading it.

This gunk looks like glue that hasn't hardened and scrapes off with your finger nail, leaving the fabric clean.

May even be usfull to remove the glue from timber if you get some where you don't want it and it dries on you.

I also tried to clean an artist’s brush that I use to spread the glue. With normal PVA the brush washes out with water and lasts a very long time but with Titebond lll I noticed that you can't wash the brush completely clean and the bristles progressively become 'shorter' as the glue in the base of the bristles dries and becomes hard.

I dipped the brush in the PVC primer and a layer of gunk came off at the base of the bristles but the brush was still hard.

I left the brush dipped in some solution for several hours and it completely softened. After a good wash in soapy water I now have a 'new' brush.