Re: REFLECTOR: Window coverings

[NMFlyer1@aol.com]

On window coverings:

  I recently installed my rear windows and windshield.  The Duct tape left
quite a bit of residue on the plexi.  I got quite a bit of info here on the
reflector on how to get that off, so I conducted an experiment. 
Mineral Spirits:  Worked the best out of what I tried, fairly quick and didn't
gum things up.  Cleaned the Mineral spirits off with "de-solv-it" and running
water.  

Desolve it:  Worked ok, but slow and kind of gummy.  Seems to do really good
at cleaning off the last little bit of mineral spirits and such. 

Alcohol:  Tried denatured and Isopropyl. The Denatured worked a bit, but
seemed to take several applications. The Iso didn't work at all.  Reference:
Sandia Labs has done some work with alcohol on "Plexiglas" and said that if
there are any scratches in the Plexi,  that the alcohol will cause some really
bad exaggeration of the scratches.  One Plexiglass Model they built exploded
when wiped down with Denatured alcahol!

One thing did help:  Having the sun shine on the duct tape for long enough to
warm it up really cut down on the residue left behind.  

My advice: If you have yet to cover your windows for cutting, cover the window
with "professional blue removable masking tape" Then cover that with duct tape
for the strength against abrading.  These 2 steps make the tape come right off
without leaving ANY residue, while still giving plenty of protection while
sorking.  I'll be using spray lat on the inside once the windows are
completely installed, spray lat and blue tape on the outside.
Note:  All experiments were done on cuttings off of the original windows. 
I hope this saves some time for future window installs.  Happy building, see
you at S&F

Kurt Winker
173 FGE
Alum 4.3L Chev.