Removing CA glue from clear plastic . . . .

[Glassparman]

OK, I'm not a steady as I used to be. I accidentally let a very thin strip of CA glue fall onto a windshield.

Will the CA glue remover that is available dissolve it so I can wipe it away or will it leave a residue?

Am I stuck with polishing it out?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[Ace-Garageguy]

In my experience, CA-removers are acetone-based.

Acetone has a very good chance of damaging clear plastic parts, making the problem much worse.

[Beans]

Only options I know of are to polish it out or throw it out.  I usually end up doing the latter as I have never had success with the former.

[sidcharles]

maybe sand it smooth, use it as a buck, and vacu-form a new one?

 

[NOBLNG]

You will have to sand and polish it out. It may be easier and even better to make a new one from clear plastic sheet (or even some clear packaging). It can be done if there are no compound curves and fairly easy if it is not really curved.

[Ace-Garageguy]

7 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

You will have to sand and polish it out. It may be easier and even better to make a new one from clear plastic sheet (or even some clear packaging). It can be done if there are no compound curves and fairly easy if it is not really curved.

RE: sidcharles

You don't even really need to vacuum-form.

 

Edited October 2 by Ace-Garageguy

[Glassparman]

Thanks for all the responses. I sort of knew the answer but didn't want to admit it. I also figured someone out there (probably all of you) were much smarter than me!

[Swamp Dog]

get you some Canopy Glue (Amazon) and you want have that problem. brush it on place your windshield. with a wet brush you can clean up any on the edge. if you have a problem installing it an any of the glue gets all over it you can wash it off under warm to hot water. wipe down with something soft.  i have had to do this before with my shaking hands..

[Shark]

I'm just old school, rarely use CA glue for anything model related. Just doesn't give me enough time. Plus it can "frost" parts. As mentioned above, I use canopy glue. Tape the glass part in with masking tape and glue the untaped areas. After removing the tape, run some more canopy glue if needed.

[sidcharles]

most guys use a few different adhesives. 

the "one size fits all" mantra doesn't apply here. 

like a multi-tool or swiss army knife, attempting to use 1 adhesive for everything may result in

doing all hap-hazard and none really well.

[Big Messer]

2 minutes ago, sidcharles said:

the "one size fits all" mantra doesn't apply here. 

More accurate would be "one size fits nobody"...🙃

[NOBLNG]

Good info, although the OP never specifically said he was using CA to install the glass….just that he got some on it somehow.🤷‍♂️

Edited Sunday at 10:48 PM by NOBLNG

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 10/2/2025 at 8:40 AM, NOBLNG said:

You will have to sand and polish it out. It may be easier and even better to make a new one from clear plastic sheet (or even some clear packaging). It can be done if there are no compound curves and fairly easy if it is not really curved.

Agreed.

Most windshields are relatively easy to replace with thin plastic.

It also has the added advantage of looking more realistic as it’s much thinner than kit glass, eliminating the unrealistic refraction.

 

 

 

Steve