How to remove tubular glue from a carbon rim

I've changed my mind several times on tubulars from really liking them to thinking that any benefit you get from them is simply not worth the hassle. The thing I dislike most about tubulars is removing the glue. This is a nasty process involving toxic chemicals and way too much of my time. Well, I was reading pelotoneast a while back and saw a post from someone who had used a paint remover called Jasco's Premium Paint & Epoxy Remover. There was not a lot of detail about how this compared with Goof Off which I have used for a while, but the thread did stay that the fumes were not nearly as bad. I needed to put on a new tire this weekend so I thought I would give it a shot and was really suprised at how well it works. I thought I would do a really quick "how to" on the process.

First, buy a can of Jasco's Premium Paint & Epoxy Remover (I found it in the pain section at Lowe's). I also used a fabric brush that you can get at any craft store. A wheel truing stand, gloves, eye protection and a mask are also good ideas. I got a little of this stuff on my leg and it does not feel good. I would hate to get it in my eye.

Place the wheel on the stand and with the fabric brush, rotate the wheel slowly and get a nice thick coat on the wheel. The nice thing about this being a paste is that it does not fall off of the wheel like Goof Off, Acetone, or a less viscous liquid. I immediately followed the first coat with a second until it was on very thick.




Let the wheel stand for about 10 minutes and then wipe the glue/paste off with a rag. This one application took about 95% of the glue off (I was using Mastik One). After wiping there were still some small spots with glue so I did one more application and let it stand about 5 minutes. I wiped it off and there was not more glue on the rim. There was however, some of the glue/paste residue in the spoke holes. I took a medium size zip tie and spooned it out on to the rag. Wiped it down one last time and then washed the wheel with soap and water. Probably 35 minutes start to finish.

I mentioned above that I got a little bit of the paint remover on my leg. This did burn, but I sprayed it with a nearby water hose quickly and it seemed to neutralize it. Just and FYI, you may want some water nearby.

Overall this was the quickest, cleanest, and easiest glue removal job I have ever performed. I am not sure if the brand of glue had anything to do with it or the duration of the previous glue job, but I can say I am more open to tubulars than I used to be as this was not bad at all.