Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
- morrisey0
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Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Like the 40+ year old stuff that is really really really on there???
I usually just go with hot water and Dawn, and manual scraping, but I am always on the lookout for the laziest means of doing anything .............. so I am hoping someone knows of a secret technique to remove this old stuff in a matter of minutes instead of me waiting for hours.
What you got??
I usually just go with hot water and Dawn, and manual scraping, but I am always on the lookout for the laziest means of doing anything .............. so I am hoping someone knows of a secret technique to remove this old stuff in a matter of minutes instead of me waiting for hours.
What you got??
I build RCs like people would have done back in the '90s ..................................... if they had 3D printers.
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Propane Torch-Burn it offmorrisey0 wrote: ↑Tue May 13, 2025 7:18 pm Like the 40+ year old stuff that is really really really on there???
I usually just go with hot water and Dawn, and manual scraping, but I am always on the lookout for the laziest means of doing anything .............. so I am hoping someone knows of a secret technique to remove this old stuff in a matter of minutes instead of me waiting for hours.
What you got??
Boiling water - Boil the parts
Heat gun and a scraper
- juicedcoupe
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Ronsonal lighter fluid.
Let the foam soak it up. Old tape takes a little longer but it still comes off clean.
Let the foam soak it up. Old tape takes a little longer but it still comes off clean.
Always looking for new and interesting ways to waste money.
- GoMachV
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
if I have trouble the first thing I do is soak in wd40 for a while- like overnight
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
I also use WD40 on exceptionally dry tape and adhesives, but I will resort to a Wagner heat gun as needed.
- R6cowboy
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
I'm sure it's been mentioned. Spray old stubborn ass tape with WD-40, let soak for a few minutes, rub-a-dub-dub with your choice of diglets or thumb, rinse and repeat until all gone. This has made the crustiest of crusty many decades old servo be gone in no time. Clean the WD-40 residue with dish soapy water and voila.
-Jerry-
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
I use regular naphtha/zippo lighter fluid.. let it soak in, then scrape off with a plastic razor blade or your fingernail.. It’s great for cleaning a lot of other things off too and doesn’t attack paints. Goo-Gone/Goof Off works too, but is really hot and will remove paints and attack plastics.
-Brad
- R6cowboy
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Goo-gone is nuclear sh!t, has no business being used for anything r/c related in my opinion. I'll never make the mistake of having that stuff in the r/c room again and accidentally using it.BattleTrak wrote: ↑Tue May 13, 2025 8:55 pm I use regular naphtha/zippo lighter fluid.. let it soak in, then scrape off with a plastic razor blade or your fingernail.. It’s great for cleaning a lot of other things off too and doesn’t attack paints. Goo-Gone works too, but is really hot and will remove paints and attack plastics.
-Jerry-
- THEYTOOKMYTHUMB
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Let your thumbnail grow out and pack a lot of patience. 

"The world looks so much better through beer goggles: Enjoy today, you never know what tomorrow may bring."
Ken
Ken
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Bestine. It's basically lighter fluid without the oil. Available at art stores or at Amazon. Dries quickly.
Bestine is a brand name, BTW.
Bestine is a brand name, BTW.
- mtbkym01
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Not sure what name it would have outside of Australia, but I use Shellite
From Google
Shellite is also known as Solvent X55. The flashpoint of is <0°C making it highly flammable, with a boiling range of 50-135°C. The product is characterised as fast drying, low residue as a contact cleaner, and is a relatively weak solvent so it will be unlikely to affect the surface of most materials.
I also use it to clean surfaces prior to sticking ESC’s down
From Google
Shellite is also known as Solvent X55. The flashpoint of is <0°C making it highly flammable, with a boiling range of 50-135°C. The product is characterised as fast drying, low residue as a contact cleaner, and is a relatively weak solvent so it will be unlikely to affect the surface of most materials.
I also use it to clean surfaces prior to sticking ESC’s down
- Dangeruss
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Re: Anyone have a "magic sauce" for servo tape removal?
Bah, just rub on it with your thumb until the tape comes off... then spend three days saying...


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