Dried-on glue on plastic pipe

moneyistooshorttomention

A workman has had to replace an outside section of plastic pipe in the plumbing outside my kitchen window (as part of my just having had a new kitchen installed).

I've just realised that he let the glue he used to connect old and new sections of that pipe drip down onto another plastic plumbing pipe underneath it and not mopped it up.

It's set hard - right onto the recently-done paint on the pipe (part of having recently had the whole outside of my house repainted). Not sure if I've got any leftover paint to cover those bits of glue.

First and foremost though - they are quite sizeable "bumps" of glue and need removing (in order to get the pipe back to being smooth).

What can be done to remove this hard lumps of glue please?

Aylesbury_Duck

Do you know or can you find out what the glue he used was? Then we can advise what solvent would be appropriate. Don't start chipping away at it, it could end up coming away with part of the pipe it's attached to...

moneyistooshorttomention

Thanks. I've just left a message asking which one it is.

I am wondering whether another possibility is asking a man if he has any razor blades or a stanley knife - and the glue could be scraped off and then a bit of sanding with mild sandpaper?

ST1991

Sandpaper would be my first option, might take abit of elbow grease and even if you don't get it 'all' off at least it won't look so bumpy to paint over

27cool

If he was joining plastic pipe it was almost certainly not glue. But a upvc solvent which softens both the fittings before sticking them together. It is not removable unless you abrade it away. As suggested above.

moneyistooshorttomention

27cool wrote: »

If he was joining plastic pipe it was almost certainly not glue. But a upvc solvent which softens both the fittings before sticking them together. It is not removable unless you abrade it away. As suggested above.

That sounds like it could be what it is to me from what you say then.

It gave me the clue I needed to start googling for something that will remove upvc solvent and I came up with an entry on another forum about a poster finding something similar had "wonders worked" on it when they used Everbuild PVC1S PVCU solvent cleaner. One quick check on Amazon later and thinking "Well - worst case analysis is this stuff will come in handy anyway for cleaning the pvc windowframes/doors this house had when I bought it" and, hopefully, it will do the trick for the purpose I've bought it for. At the least - hopefully my windows/exterior doors will come up looking new.

So I've ordered a bottle of it.

Ruski

That's a solvent based cleaner - not a remover of solvent cement

Russ

moneyistooshorttomention

Ruski wrote: »

That's a solvent based cleaner - not a remover of solvent cement

Russ

Ah!

Whoops!

Hmmm....didnt think the lumps look like hardened cement. Must go and have another look at them.....:cool:

Ruski

Cement is a term for something that has adhesive qualities - not necessarily the type that you are thinking of!

Your diagnosis is correct, it's the 'glue' used on the pipework above it

At least you'll have sparkly window frames

HTH

Russ

Wookey

Pare of any large lumps with a stanley knife or wood chisel (carefully) once the bigger lumps are whittled down finish it of with coarse sandpaper.