Do you recycle your axles?
Title says it all. I'm struggling to recycle/reuse axles that I'm fond of. I have tried using super glue gel and epoxy, neither are easy to remove and I find myself trashing my favorite axles more often than properly being able to reuse them
I guess I'm curious if anyone more experienced than I has a good system for removing adhesive from axles without damaging the axle? Since most people in the community are fond of using JB weld, I figure someone somewhere has found the best way to remove that epoxy from a dainty fragile object such as a hot wheel axle.
Discussion
I recommend trying E6000. Takes a while to dry, but you can peel it off without much effort. Experiment first. I don't know if the solvents in it would harm plastic bases.
- I use it all the time... sticks great, flexible and easy to remove with just pulling. Disclaimer: I am not fast — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
- Wow, that sounds like it could be perfect for gluing axles. I'll have to try it out — ConMan_Customs
- A drop of your girlfriends nail polish would hold an axle in place. — alva1370
This is what I use for my axles. It holds them in place really well, but you can usually peel it off in one piece after it dries.
- You can peel off your JB weld? With pliers I struggle to. Maybe because i’m using clear weld — ConMan_Customs
- Or maybe I just need to invest in sharper needle nose pliers. It’s hard to grip the epoxy — ConMan_Customs
- I use a tiny flathead screwdriver to loosen one end of it then peel it off slowly with pliers or tweezers. I put it on pretty thick in case I have to remove it. Oh, make sure it’s JB Kwik and not JB Weld. If you’re using weld, good luck getting that stuff off! — Dog_Squab_Racing
- Oh, and I will also add, I don’t recycle axles much. I have yet to win an event, so why reuse slow wheels? I keep a ton of extra mainlines and fantasy vehicles just for the axles. But I have removed axles many times and reset them. — Dog_Squab_Racing
- Ah… yeah, you seem to have found one of my problems. I’ll start using JB Kwik instead of Weld. Oops. — ConMan_Customs
- Just an update, JB Kwik does remove super easy (and clean) with pliers, so thanks for pointing it out Dog Squab. I’m using it for my weights & axles on every build now. Cheers — ConMan_Customs
- Awesome! I’ve never had any issues with it. It holds pretty well too. Glad it’s working for you. — Dog_Squab_Racing
Acetone is industry standard to remove superglue. MEK (Methal Ethyl Keytone) is the strongest stuff I ever used to clean metal. Cured JB Weld I never tried, soak axles in MEK is the strongest thing I can think of. Good luck.