Safety Guidance

WEST SYSTEM Safe Removal

How to remove unwanted WEST SYSTEM epoxy

Whether your epoxy is uncured, cured or non-curing, it can be removed from your structure. Usually heat can be used to make the process easy.

How to remove uncured or non-curing epoxy

Scrape as much material as possible from the surface using a stiff metal or plastic scraper – warm the epoxy to lower its viscosity. Clean the residue with a cleaning solvent, remembering to provide adequate ventilation.

Allow solvents to dry before recoating. After recoating wood surfaces with epoxy, brush the wet epoxy (in the direction of the grain) with a wire brush to improve adhesion.

How to remove fibreglass cloth applied with epoxy

Use a heat gun to warm and soften the epoxy. Begin in a small area near a corner or edge. Apply heat until a putty knife or chisel can be slipped under the cloth. Grab the edge with a pair of pliers and slowly pull up the cloth while heating just ahead of the separation. On large areas, use a utility knife to score/cut the glass and remove in narrower strips. Resulting surface texture may be coated or remaining epoxy may be removed as follows.

How to remove cured epoxy coating

Use a heat gun to soften the epoxy. Heat a small area and use a paint or cabinet scraper to remove the bulk of the coating. Sand the surface to remove the remaining material. Provide ventilation when heating epoxy.

Safety warning: curing epoxy can be a fire hazard

Large volumes of curing epoxy can become hot enough to ignite surrounding combustible materials and produce hazardous fumes. Place containers of mixed epoxy in a safe and ventilated area away from workers and combustible materials. Dispose of the solid mass when the cure is complete and the mass has cooled. Comply with the local disposal regulations.