Dissolving epoxy and/or polyimide
 

Seems there are some people here who might have an answer to this.
What can be used to dissolve cured epoxy?
What can be used to dissolve a thin film of cured polyimide.
Unfortunately, the maker of the polyimide thought I was nuts for
wanting to dissolve it and told me that nothing will dissolve it.

OK, if nothing dissolves it, what will de-link it? Will UV light do
it?
Could strong UV light be used to soften epoxy so as to be able to get
better adhesion to a later layer?

Dissolving epoxy and/or polyimide
 

"Frogwatch" wrote:

What can be used to dissolve cured epoxy?

Not much.

What can be used to dissolve a thin film of cured polyimide.

Not much.

OK, if nothing dissolves it, what will de-link it? Will UV light do
it?

It will damage it.

Could strong UV light be used to soften epoxy so as to be able to
get
better adhesion to a later layer?

No, but 24 grit paper and elbow grease will improve the mechanical
coupling of old and new.

Lew

Dissolving epoxy and/or polyimide
 

On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:16:43 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

Seems there are some people here who might have an answer to this.
What can be used to dissolve cured epoxy?
What can be used to dissolve a thin film of cured polyimide.
Unfortunately, the maker of the polyimide thought I was nuts for
wanting to dissolve it and told me that nothing will dissolve it.

OK, if nothing dissolves it, what will de-link it? Will UV light do
it?
Could strong UV light be used to soften epoxy so as to be able to get
better adhesion to a later layer?


I'm not sure what you are doing but common paint remover which is made
with lye, I believe, will softer polyester. Not sure about epoxy.
However it is probably not something you want to use as it is
difficult to control. I discovered this fact by attempting to remove
some paint from a hatch cover. Suddenly things got soft. I scraped off
the softened resin and washed it several times with water and the next
day it found that it had re-hardened.

Cheers,

Bruce

Dissolving epoxy and/or polyimide
 

On Mar 25, 7:12*am, Bruce wrote:
On Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:16:43 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch

wrote:
Seems there are some people here who might have an answer to this.
What can be used to dissolve *cured epoxy?
What can be used to dissolve a thin film of cured polyimide.
Unfortunately, the maker of the polyimide thought I was nuts for
wanting to dissolve it and told me that nothing will dissolve it.

OK, if nothing dissolves it, what will de-link it? *Will UV light do
it?
Could strong UV light be used to soften epoxy so as to be able to get
better adhesion to a later layer?

I'm not sure what you are doing but common paint remover which is made
with lye, I believe, will softer polyester. Not sure about epoxy.
However it is probably not something you want to use as it is
difficult to control. I discovered this fact by attempting to remove
some paint from a hatch cover. Suddenly things got soft. I scraped off
the softened resin and washed it several times with water and the next
day it found that it had re-hardened.

Cheers,

Bruce

I have tried every gawdawful chemical I can think of up to and
including Hydrofluoric acid. I do not want to touch the metal surface
underneath.

Dissolving epoxy and/or polyimide
 

In article , sails.man1
@verizon.net says...

"Frogwatch" wrote:

What can be used to dissolve cured epoxy?

Not much.

What can be used to dissolve a thin film of cured polyimide.

Not much.

OK, if nothing dissolves it, what will de-link it? Will UV light do
it?

It will damage it.

Could strong UV light be used to soften epoxy so as to be able to
get
better adhesion to a later layer?

No, but 24 grit paper and elbow grease will improve the mechanical
coupling of old and new.

Lew

Yup, I didn't see the original post but Epoxy, when used and prepared
for properly will do a fine job without softening the under layers of
resin. Like I said, you are not going to get a chemical bond, just do
the mechanical bond with care and you will be fine. You will get full
use of all of Epoxy's wonderful properties. No need to get all star wars
on it;)

Scotty

--
For a great time, go here first... http://tinyurl.com/ygqxs5v

Dissolving epoxy and/or polyimide
 

Frogwatch wrote:
Seems there are some people here who might have an answer to this.
What can be used to dissolve cured epoxy?
What can be used to dissolve a thin film of cured polyimide.
Unfortunately, the maker of the polyimide thought I was nuts for
wanting to dissolve it and told me that nothing will dissolve it.

OK, if nothing dissolves it, what will de-link it? Will UV light do
it?
Could strong UV light be used to soften epoxy so as to be able to get
better adhesion to a later layer?

Methylene Chloride will definitely soften both.

Brian C