Removal of Strain Gage Adhesives
A fairly common question that is asked of our Field Design Engineers and Technical Sales Managers is, “How do you remove the strain gage adhesive when the strain measurements are complete?”. There are several answers to this question, with the correct answer depending on your situation.
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Don’t remove the adhesive. If permissible, peel the strain gage off and leave the adhesive on the test article.
If you must remove the adhesive, for whatever reason:
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Carefully scrape the adhesive using a scraper designed to safely hold a single-edge razor blade.
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Abrade the adhesive using silicon carbide paper.
If scraping or abrading are not permissible:
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Use a solvent which will dissolve the adhesive.
Micro-Measurements does not sell a solvent for adhesive removal, but over the years, we have recommended a couple of solvents. For cyanoacrylate adhesives (M-Bond 200), a product called Golden West Super Solvent is effective. For any of the solvent-thinned epoxies (M-Bond 600, M-Bond 610, M-Bond 43B, M-Bond 450) and solids epoxies (M-Bond AE-10/AE-15, RTC Epoxy, M-Bond GA-61, Epoxylite 813, and M-Bond A12), a product called Miller-Stephenson MS-111 is effective.
As with any chemical, follow the solvent manufacturer’s instructions and safety recommendations. It would be wise to first check with the solvent manufacturer regarding material compatibility and test the solvent on a sample of the material to which the strain gage adhesive is attached. For composites and any organic materials, I would not recommend using a solvent.
For more information about removal of strain gage adhesives, contact a Micro-Measurements Applications Engineer, Technical Sales Manager, or independent Sales Representative at mm@vpgsensors.com.
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