REFLECTOR:Removing Spraylat on windows

[Dennis Martin]

Duct tape wouldn't work on my windows.  My hangar  has a translucent 
roof, so baked on very hard in the summer.  I found steam was the 
easy way to get 5 year hardened Spraylat off my windows. (Doing 
inside windows?  This is the only way I found that worked).   Why 
steam?  Spraylat is water-based latex, so if you rehydrate it with 
steam, it will get pliable and behave like rubber again.  Here's my 
procedure:

1) Rent a gallon-plus steam machine (for removing wall paper) from 
your local Ace Rents.  Most all rental shops have them.    I 
experimented with a cheap (1 qt. steamer), but it had to cool down 15 
minutes every time I added water.  IMPOSSIBLY SLOW.  Try to rent it 
the night before; it may take you all day to do the inside windows.

2)  Caution:  Adding water to reservoir can be hazardous unless you 
release  pressure carefully.  The machine I rented had a heavy cast 
iron cap.  To add water, I kept my face far away and used a long 
screw driver to lift the cap up slowly to release the steam.

3) The nozzle gets a bit hot - I wrapped it in a towel.

4) Start at very top of each window.   Heat it up good and then peel 
a little bit of latex back, but don't break it off.  (It goes very 
slowly at first).  The best way is to peel the latex off like peeling 
an orange - but don't break off the peeling.  As you get the peeling 
started, introduce more steam both inside and outside the peeling.

5) On my front window, I peeled back about 2 inches, and did that 
completely from side to side (about 8"-10" at a time).   Once you get 
the peeling started, you just add steam both inside and outside the 
peeling, then pause a moment to let it rehydrate..   Then peel the 
skin back.  Be sure to peel from top to bottom, and never tear  the 
skin off.

I have not removed the Spraylat on the outside of my windows, but 
I've experimented with VERY HOT WATER and beach towels.  Just drape 
the  hot towels over the window - they will slowly begin to rehydrate 
the latex.

Good luck,
Dennis Martin
Chevy 4.5 Liter FG Elite