That’s a Wrap

It’s amazing how long it can take to do a simple job.

I bought a used Kubota ZD326 mower. I decided to adjust the rear anti-scalp wheels. This should take under two minutes. I am now weeks into it. They were seized to the deck by rust, due to Kubota’s stupid design. I had to drill one out, and I cut the other one off, along with its support, pushed it out with a hydraulic press, and welded the support back on the mower.

I also needed to replace a fender. Kubota’s plastic fenders break easily. My understanding is that they get brittle from sunlight, and the design is not strong to begin with. I applied a little pressure to a fender in order to make room so I could remove a fuel tank, and the fender split. Figuring I might as well have matching fenders, I ordered a fender for each side.

They arrived covered in bubble wrap. That seemed like a good idea, but when I tried to unwrap them, I learned that Kubota uses bubble wrap with glue on the back. This probably saves an enormous company a thousand dollars a decade in wages for cutting and applying two pieces of tape per fender.

The glue on my fenders was very strong. I had to pull very hard to get the bubble wrap loose. It took a long time because I was afraid I would break another fender if I wasn’t careful.

Great. Job finished. Right?

No.

The bubble wrap came off, but it left big spots of glue on the fenders.

I have a lot of respect for Kubota (still), so I thought maybe they used some new kind of glue that dissolved in water. I thought they might be that smart. I also thought no company could be stupid enough to ship a large, delicate product covered with glue that was hard to remove.

I tried a wet paper towel, and nothing happened.

In my experience, I have generally run into two kinds of glue. The water-soluble type, like the glue on the backs of stamps, and the kind that won’t come off without a solvent. When water didn’t work on my fenders, I started going through the solvent roster.

1. Alcohol. Worked very slowly, smearing the glue around over larger areas.

2. Goo-gone. About like alcohol. I didn’t try WD-40 or mineral spirits because they’re pretty similar to Goo-gone.

3. Acetone. Ate the plastic.

4. Lighter fluid. Better than 1,2, and 3, but not good.

5. Turpentine. This turned out to be the winner. It cut the glue quickly. I used it to clean both fenders, and then I cleaned them again, because when I did it the first time, the turpentine diluted the glue without getting all of it off. When I wiped a fender with turpentine, it cut the glue, but then the turpentine on the paper towel had glue in it, so you can see how that works.

Later on, a guy who works on Kubotas told me he used mild soap and water to take the bubble wrap off, and he says the whole process only takes him a few minutes. He claimed removing the bubble wrap was easy. Specifically, he mentioned fenders for a later model.

I don’t know what to say about that. Water was useless for me, so I had no reason to think soap and water would work. I would have used it if I had thought there was a chance, but I have removed all sorts of adhesive residue over the years, and not once have I seen a glue that dissolved well with soap and water yet resisted plain water.

As for removing the bubble wrap easily, my theory is that my fenders were hard to unwrap because the bubble wrap was old. My mower came out in 2007. The fenders I bought may have been sitting in hot warehouses for 15 years or more. A glue containing water would surely get thicker and harder over a period of years.

Before I used turpentine to finish the job, I used AI. I made it search the web, and when it failed, I made it do it over. It came up with stupid answers like vinegar. For some reason, everyone now thinks vinegar is a panacaea. It is recommended often for jobs it simply will not do. Maybe this has to do with the woke bias against chemicals that work. Better to waste your day trying to strip paint or kill roaches with vinegar than to use something Mother Gaia doesn’t like.

People also recommend Simple Green for a lot of jobs it won’t really do. I bought a gallon of it, and I found it nearly useless. The company has been sued by people claiming it’s not really good for the environment or human beings, and that’s pretty funny.

AI couldn’t find the correct answer, so you have to wonder how Kubota expected me to know it off the top of my head.

I still have the bubble wrap, and I am tempted to try removing the glue from a piece with soapy water.

I just tried it, and it seems to work. The soap makes a big difference.

By the time I was done with the bubble wrap, I had no appetite left for installing the fenders, so my wife and I went out to dinner.

At this point, I honestly wish I had bought a new $18,000 mower. My grass is a foot tall, and I still have at least 4 hours of unpleasant work in front of me, not including the time it takes primer and paint to dry, before I can mow.

After 18 years of collecting and using tools, I honestly thought I was capable of removing bubble wrap, but Kubota proved me wrong.

I find it remarkable that there is no readily-available information about this on the web. I searched. I made AI search. I made AI redo the search. It’s like no one has ever heard of sticky bubble wrap.

Now that I’ve written about it here, other people will be able to find the answer quickly.

I just wish a few other people had written about it before I did.