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View Full Version : Removing blutak from rough side of burl?



rsser
13th March 2005, 11:24 AM
In http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=15601
I used blutak pressed into the crack on the rough side, and filled from the top with coloured epoxy.

Naively I expected to easily peel the blutak away, but there's a good deal now pressed into the grooves and pits - about 1 cm wide and 15 cm long!

I found that Shellite and Citrus Solvent will dissolve the stuff but it's going to make a mess in the process.

Can anyone recommend an alternative? Freezing and wire brushing it out?

DanP
13th March 2005, 01:33 PM
Try a toothbrush.

barnsey
13th March 2005, 02:48 PM
Bloody BluTack

Only thing worse is chewing gum.:eek:

They both always wind up where you don't want it to be and then it is a pain in the neck to get rid of :mad:

Hate either substance in the house/workshop :mad:

Jamie

Robert WA
13th March 2005, 07:32 PM
My wife says that eucalyptus oil does the trick.
If, as Barnsey says, it has the characteristics of chewing gum, then make it go brittle by putting alcohol, meths, on it and blowing it to cause fast evaporation, then just pick it off.

beejay1
13th March 2005, 08:23 PM
You could try using more bluetak, warm it up into a ball and dab it repeatadely into the surface and it might pick up the residue, just like sellotape on fabric to pick up hairs and fluff.

beejay1

http://community/webshots.com/user/eunos9

mic-d
13th March 2005, 09:20 PM
Try it in a plastic bag in the freezer O/N to make it brittle. Seems to be good for chewies on fabric... just a thought...
Cheers
Michael

rsser
14th March 2005, 09:28 PM
Thanks all for your good ideas.

In the end I wimped out on the freezing idea - fearing it would worsen another crack and some checking.

I did put it in the fridge tho and that made it a bit easier to pick out the bits. That was taking forever tho (started to feel like a conservator of a piece not yet made!) so I hand wire-brushed it for a bit, and then got impatient and rotary wire-brushed it. That did a good job of getting it out along with taking the tops of the pimples. Oh well, it was meant to be a rustic piece ;-}

Next time I'll get a syringe (without the needle) and inject the glue from the bottom. Or else tape it all round (for safety) and use thick glue from the top and turn it away by turns.

maglite
14th March 2005, 11:52 PM
You could try a product called DESOLVIT. Available in a 250 ml squirt bottle or the 750 ml spray bottle.
Yes it is a Citrus Solvent... tho not as harsh as some on the market.
You will find that there isnt a great deal of mess if you apply it the right way.....let it soak ...the longer the better then use a nail brush or a toothbrush as suggested previously.Use a piece of towelling cloth to wipe up any excess residue.

When i was cleaning carpets i used the product a lot in kids bedrooms and found that after abount 5 mins of soaking it transferred itself to the cloth and left almost zero residue in the carpet.
Wether it works in wood as well i have yet to discover.........

Cheers
Steve

rsser
15th March 2005, 08:05 AM
Good call Steve, thanks.