Anyone who has done boat repairs knows all about “removal.” At some point in the boat’s lifetime, something was installed with copious amounts of adhesive, usually 3M’s 5200. Now, that thing has to be removed and the 5200 is doing exactly what it promised to do: adhere. Usually, the removal process requires cutting, scraping, sawing and swearing.
Un-Hesive ($14.95 for an eight-ounce spray bottle) is a product designed to remove adhesive without the cutting, scraping, sawing and, hopefully, without the swearing.
We tested Un-Hesive by putting a blob of 3M’s 5200 and a blob of BoatLIFE’s Life Seal on a clear plastic panel. We also used the Life Seal to adhere a block of wood and a piece of Starboard to the plastic. Finally, we used the 5200 to stick a block of wood to the plastic. We let the adhesives cure for 24 hours and then started our test.
The documentation from North Star Products, the US distributor of Un-Hesive, indicated that the area to be de-bonded needed to be above 73 degrees. This wasn’t a problem during our summer test, but a winter project may require a significant effort to raise temperatures to that level. The instructions said we should spray the product on generously and then let it sit for 20 minutes.
After sitting in the late afternoon sun, we found that most of the Un-Hesive had evaporated. We started by trying to removing the 5200. Both the blob and the wood came loose easily and cleanly. The Boat-Life also came up easily, but not as cleanly. While 5200 is a polyurethane adhesive, the Life Seal is a silicone-polyurethane mix and it appears that the silicone made a difference.
While it is not clear how well the product would work on material stuck on for years, or on various other surfaces one might encounter, it worked well in our test. That’s why we ave it an 8 on our DIY Rating System. If a project requiring adhesive removal is in your future, Un-Hesive may be part of your tool kit.
PROS: Un-Hesive did what it said it would do.
CONS: Weather may cause some difficult limitations.
–Frank Mummert