Cleaing ink off PVC pipe

SDHowler

New member
I am using PVC pipe for making my open reed predator calls, does anyone know of a good way to remove the ink from the tubing? I've tried various pipe cleaners and even straight acetone. The red ink has been the most difficult to remove.

 
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Just center it on the lathe and take a light cut across...or just sand it lightly and it will buff right back. PVC will buff shiny anyways with little effort.
 
Originally Posted By: bearmanricI use acetone when at yellerdogs . Rick.


^^ this.


acetone is what i use all the time to clean the lettering off. apply liberally to towel you dont mind throwing out, wipe pipe.

no extra work necessary. This is standard application for the commercial work i do. The MFG i repair and install for uses it all the time - every installation job comes with a can of the stuff and some shop towels in the parts kit i receive.

Does not appear to degrade the quality's of the pipe or anything like that. Has no effect on gluing the pipe into fittings and such either once it dries.
 
Thanks for all your comments on the ink removal. It's the red dye or ink that is the hardest to remove. Acetone and regular cleaners take several applications. I will have to give B12 chemtool a try.
 
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Originally Posted By: ultramagClear PVC cleaner isn't taking it off?

1) i dont find it to be as effective as acetone. it tends to smear the ink more than remove it even though with enough elbow grease it does remove it eventually. its designed for other purposes - namely prepping the pipe to accept glue - than it is for removing the printing on the pipe. if you have good clean pipe and glue that isnt old and gummy you dont even need cleaner/primer much of the time. i find myself wiping pipe down with just a dry towel the majority of the time to get any solid debris (like dust) off and then just gluing without any further prep. I do keep a can of clear cleaner in my toolbag for those times i'm doing a repair and gluing a new fitting onto older pipe thats dirty/dusty/etc. i always use cleaner on older existing piping. i refuse to use the purple stuff.


2) if you're cleaning a LOT of pipe, the cost per ounce is outrageous for the stuff compared to acetone. a small can (8oz?) is like $8 around here. a quart of acetone is $6-7. so whats that? 22% of the price of the cleaner?
 
I'm not cleaning a lot of the PVC pipe. I just buy two 10' (1/2" SCH 40) white pieces and cut those into 5' sections and only clean a 5' piece at a time. The red ink smears on the pipe when I wipe it down with acetone and even with repeated cleanings/wipings, I find it hard to remove the red dye/ink.

The Art Of Making A Custom Predator Call
 
I tried the xylene, but still haven't had any quick cleaning results, I have been hoping for. I will give the B12 Chemtool a try.
 
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