Yet another tube glue removal thread. (promise I read a lot of articles / threads)

[gurk700]

Ok here's the thing. Got the front wheel factory spanking new looking in an hour + change.
Rear wheel however has been a nightmare. 5 hours and counting. I'm just over half done. It looks like there's more than just the glue in there. When I took the tire off, I think some of the tire came out and got stuck to the rim.

Here's my process: wet rag with goo gone. Lay it in rim bed for an hour or two so goo gone really gets into the glue. heat the glue up just a bit with a hairdryer. "sand" it down with a 120 grit sand pad thing. Then work on it with a scotch brite that's also soaked in goo gone. Lastly get a softer rag and clean up what's left. It's been working. Just very slowly. Front wheel just took a rag with goo gone. No soaking, heating or sand pad necessary.

Been on tubulars for a while but removing glue for the first time. I have accepted it's gonna take long and it's gonna take a lot of persistence and patience but here's my question:

How do I avoid this in the future? Why would it be so hard to clean rear wheel and not so much the front? Too much glue used? Type of glue?
I'm now considering using tub tape with the new tires but on the other hand I wanna "do it right" too. If I have a flat within 1000 miles after all this though I might jump off a bridge

[1415chris]

There will be no need to go through the removing glue process after 1000 miles unless you're going to do this distance over few years
Sorry no idea why you had such a pain with the rear wheel, different glue maybe.

[sungod]

i only bother removing glue if it's really built up over several tyre changes or if there's sign of separation from the rim

schwalbe remover is the best i've found so far, though it still takes a while to take effect on multiple layers of old glue

[mattr]

The rear might have had tape on it, rather than left over tyre.
Or, worst case, tape and glue. That'll be a right shit to remove.

I've used white spirit and acetone before now, both take it off (slowly) but the most useful things were elbow grease and a plastic butter knife.

[dj97223]

Now that you've started, you have to finish. I found using a screwdriver or similar edge is useful for pushing off glue from a carbon rim bed. Just make sure you press at a shallow angle to avoid gouging or scraping the rim bed.

[Kayrehn]

Flat screwdriver to pry the glue into clumps and pluck them out. Takes maybe 2 hours but strangely satisfying. If you do want to go the chemical method, I recall someone here saying the effeto mariposa remover works like magic.

[11.4]

1. Effeto Mariposa remover does work faster and doesn't evaporate as fast as the alternatives. The best out there, though nothing makes it easy.
2. Heat. Put the rims out in the sun for a couple hours if that's enough to make them warm. Put them next to a space heater. Use a hair dryer on low setting. Obviously, don't do this if you've put any flammable solvent on the rim already.
3. Scrapers. Get a scorp from www.woodcraft.com or other woodworkers' supply. Or use a grinding wheel or file to reshape a chisel or scraper that's about the width of the tire bed. You can also simply cut foot-long lengths of galvanized electrical conduit, scrape off any burs on the outside, and put a crutch tip over one end. Then the other end makes a very nice scraper. You just cut off a couple inches when it gets all gunked up and repeat. This conduit is cheap and throwaway. This is usually my favorite simply because it works as well as anything else and I don't have to clean it up afterwards.

But generally, cleaning the rim off shouldn't be a frequent action. You build a better, stronger glue base after a couple tires have been on the rim. Excessive water, dirt, or mixed glues are the things to avoid, so cross wheels do need more care, but also you can use additional techniques there such as sidewall sealants to prolong the glue life.

[gurk700]

Good thing I asked! I honestly thought not cleaning 100% wasn't an option. I'll still finish it though as I've so little left.

One thing I found out after I posted though. I left the goo gone in there for about 20 hours to soak this time instead of 30 mins - 1 hour. This made the glue reaaaaaally soft. I took out huge chunks with ease.

I'll definitely try effeto mariposa too next time. Thanks for all the suggestions. Some of them are methods I've heard for the first time.

[audiophilitis]

Schwalbe makes a similar product (tubular glue remover) that works -- if you're in the US and can find one. Found a shop that had them a few years ago and stock piled - I think I bought 10 tubes. Not sure what the shelf life is on these but when I used a tube last month, the consistency was different and didn't seem as potent but still did the job.

[UpFromOne]

Be sure to get all the Goo-Gone off. If any at all remains, it will reduce the adhesive effect of new glue.

+1 for Effeto "carogna" glue remover

[victorduraace]

Use big piece of silicone/ rubber and roll it like pencil rubber over the glue. It will soften and roll off the rim sections really quickly. This one is common beer/brewing plug.