Remove glue residue

[MX7fun]

Colleagues,

I want to remove an older leading edge tape on my horizontal stabilizer. When I pull it off, there is a lot of glue residue. On a small surface, I tried the 'Goof-Off' product and it works well - the glue comes right of leaving the paint on...

Has anyone of you used 'Goof-Off', a paint thinner/remover, in aviation? Anybody know if it is non-corrosive? Other concerns?

Regards,
Dominic

[a64pilot]

Yes,
I have used it. I am unaware of any problems with it. It is I believe a lot kinder than most of the alternatives. You are lucky it will get the tape glue off. I had to buy a 3M product from aircraft spruce made just for removing the leading edge tape on my wings. Not even acetone would remove the glue. The 3m product was expensive and removed the paint as well. I would not use it on fabric!
I would wash the fabric with warm soapy water to remove any Goof- off residue that might be remaining after the job just to be sure though.
I don't know about your experience with the protective tape, but to me the tape caused more problems than it prevented.

[MX7fun]

Thank you for your quick answer. You are probably right, the tape probably caused more problems than it was useful. I think that the former owner flew to Alaska quite often, landed on unpaved gravel runway and wanted to protect the horizontal stabilizer.

Is there an alternative to leading edge tapes when flying in and out of gravel strips? I am not aware of.

By the way, I contacted Valspar Architectural (manufacturer of Goof-Off)Technical Support with the following question: "Can I use Goof-Off for cleaning steel (not stainless steel)? Will it cause corrosion or is it non-corrosive?" Their answer: "Goof-off is a powerful thinner and can cause discoloration on various surfaces. Although we can not say it will not harm the surface, no complaints for steel have been received. As always we suggest testing first before using in a large area."

[a64pilot]

For me off airport, most of my real problems have been caused by the grooves in the tires picking up rocks and throwing them into the flaps, bottom of wing and into the back of the prop. I have one mark on my stab. I think the protective tape would be fine, but I also think it should be removed periodically or you will have to do as I had to to get rid of it. Recover and repaint. You weren't getting that crap off of fabric, I couldn't get it off of metal. It had been on there that long