Dissolving? adhesive.

May 11, 2012 5 Replies

I have several used pairs of tail lights for the old Rover. All damaged slightly. Having a clear out, it occurred I could make one good set out of the lot, as the damage - chips and cracks - isn't all in the same place. The outer consists of four parts - red foglight, white reversing, red tail light, and amber reflector/indicator. All glued to themselves and a one piece plastic lamp holder/mounting plate. All the plastic is pretty brittle, so force isn't really an option. Any ideas about how to 'unglue' them?


Score with a sharp knife to make the crack run about where you want it?

Depends on what sort of glue it is. You could try some gentle heat by wafting past a hot air gun to see if it softens.

Failing that, cut through with a small burr on the end of a mini drill / dremel etc.

No need for such drastic action. Clean the rear view mirrors.

What's your postcode?

I will keep clear of any Rover rear ends when visiting.

Regards

HN

I'm pretty sure they are normally solvent weld, so it's down to cutting: junior hacksaw, dremel, multitool?

Personally, I suspect the sections will be solvent welded and that you don't stand a hope in hell of getting the sections apart cleanly. Anything that will dissolve the "adhesive" will also dissolve the plastic. Hope I'm wrong but I doubt it.

Tim

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