hero blue airbox "X"

[Zeroflat24]

so I bought a hero blue airbox a few months ago for my bolt. it has the black X on it. I pulled it off and the glue the used to hold it on is insanely tough. what the hell do I use to take it off? I tried goo gone and 'oops' already.

 

[anrkizm95]

http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/Buell-Firebolt-XB12-XB9/Removing-the-X-from-the-City-X-airbox

http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-For...2Ss-CityX-XB12Scg/xb9sx-airbox-cover-question

 

[snrusnak]

There's no way you'll be able to get it off without knowing exactly what the "glue" is. If you can find out exactly what it is, I can ask my brother and wife what to use to get it off(he's a chemical engineer and she's a chemist)....I'd bet they'd have an answer, they've gotten me out of pickles like this in the past.

 

[Zeroflat24]

i have no idea what the glue is, i just know its some nasty ****. its so hard it actually sliced my thumb open when i peeled the "X" off

 

[cpatt]

There's no way you'll be able to get it off without knowing exactly what the "glue" is. If you can find out exactly what it is, I can ask my brother and wife what to use to get it off(he's a chemical engineer and she's a chemist)....I'd bet they'd have an answer, they've gotten me out of pickles like this in the past.

its like superglue. it has that Cyanoacrylate stuff.

 

[WALLSXB]

Good luck getting it off without scratching the crap out of the airbox!

 

[snrusnak]

I'll ask and let you know what they say...

 

[Zeroflat24]

So after much wet sanding, buffing, and polishing I just decided to put the X back on the air box cover. The adhesive they used actually changed the color of the plastic under it and looked like ****. If you want a hero blue air box cover, don't buy one of these thinking it will just pull off!

 

[snrusnak]

Sounds like there was a chemical reaction between the "glue" and the plastic airbox, causing a lot of heat which would slightly melt/change the color of the plastic. Epoxies and resins will do this. I'll still let you know what my brother says to use since I've already emailed him the question...

 

[Zeroflat24]

yeah let me know id be curious to find out

 

[snrusnak]

Just talked to my brother about this (apparently he never checks his email). I asked him what to use to dissolve cyanoacrylate and he responded "a knife". (he has a good sense of humor).

Really though:

He said to try the following, and in the following order: Nail polish remover, paint thinner, muriatic acid which is a weak hydrochloric acid(HCl), Caustic which is sodium hydroxide(NaOH) which is a really strong base(my brother thinks this can be found in products like the two part liquid plumbers that you have to mix the two tubes of liquid together...he said he thinks one of those liquids is a weak caustic).

He said realistically none of these will probably work, and if the stronger ones do they would destroy the base material...

ALSO THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:

He said if you do this do it in a ventilated area, and wear gloves, cover your arms, etc... as if you mix acids and bases it can cause very deadly gases such as hydrogen cyanide gas in this case, which is one of the most deadly chemicals on the planet and can kill you, take your skin off, etc....

 

[Zeroflat24]

Yeah I have a good bit of experience with most of those chemicals. And while they may dissolve the glue there is also a high probability my hero blue air box cover will turn into a pile of blue goo I appreciate the heads up though!

 

[snrusnak]

Yeah well that's basically what he said. He actually said "it will probably melt the metal behind the glue" and I said "it's plastic" and he said "oh yeah don't bother it won't turn out good" lol.

Just thought I'd post what he said haha.