Solvent help

[Andrew R Stewart]

Goal- To remove old epoxy or Loctite from the end caps of a set of Weyless roller drums.

I am having these rollers refinished by a local powder coater (and the durability of PC in this application will be a question, but things can't look much worse then the way the OEM finish does now). In removing the bearings and through shaft one of the drum's end caps partially pulled out of the drum's end. Si in for a penny in for a pound... I tapped off all the end caps (not hard at all to do) and find the residue of a bonding material. Brown and hard with drips running down surfaces. So this material was a liquid on it'a application. I was able to scrape (with my Swiss Army knife blade) the residue inside the steel drum's outer area enough for me to feel good about this being ready for reassembly. But the end caps are Aluminum and the residue is MUCH harder to chip off. Much harder. So my thoughts were to try a solvent.

Any thoughts or suggestions? The last set of Weyless rollers that I re bearinged (but didn't refinish) didn't have this end cap coming adrift issue so I have never dealt with this aspect.

BTW the PC guy thinks the sand blasting and paint will run about $45 including any masking needed. But now that the situation is different (I showed him the complete/assembled roller) I'll revisit him for his preference to what state of disassembly he wants to work with. Andy.

[cicli polito]

Hi Andy -

Funnily enough I just rebuilt my set of Weyless Rollers a few months back, and one of the drums also separated from the caps.

I used carb cleaner (spray type), and let it soak on for about 10 minutes. Red scotchbrite wiped it right clean. Good luck!

[Rich Beaudoin]

I have a set of Weyless rollers and never thought about re-finishing the drums.
Are they that beat-up? Mine have worn the finish away in the centers, but they still work.
I'd love to see them in the refinished state when you're done

[Michael Gordon]

I have found 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner to be a great solvent for lots of sticky stuff.

[Mark Kelly]

If the epoxy is properly cured nothing will dissolve it.

If it isn't properly cured, boil the end caps for a while: wet peel strength is where uncured epoxy is most vulnerable.

[Eric Estlund]

Powder is going to be pretty slick, and made slicker by the polishing of the tires on the rollers until you wear through it. Not sure I'd spray the rollers themselves- even with a textured or high grip powder. Food for thought.