What's new
What's new

Fastest way to remove large adhesive labels from steel or plastic plates

JumpingG

Plastic
Joined
Oct 6, 2017
Hi everyone. I’m new to this forum so please excuse me if I posted this in the wrong category.

I have a bit of a challenge at my work. On the line I’m working at, we are tasked with removing paper/vinyl/latex labels from appx 2’x2’ plates made of either steel or sturdy plastic. Along with removing the labels, we also have to remove most of the adhesive residue before the plates go into the wash machine.

Now, latex and vinyl labels are easy. Just hit them with the heat gun, peel them off, and then use steel wool dipped in solvent to remove the glue. Paper labels on steel plates are not too hard either. Just hit them with a grinder w/ steel wire brush and it all comes right off.

Here’s the real challenge. The turnaround time for that particular station is 2:30min per plate or less. We get plastic plates with lots of glued on paper on them. You can’t use the round steel grinder brush on those (it digs into plastic and gives off a nasty kickback).

Does anyone know of a fast and easy way remove paper and glue from those plastic plates without damaging the plate TOO much? As far as the budget is concerned, getting a different grinder or some extra brushes is not an issue, but building a $1mil machine probably won’t fly.


Thank you -Andrey
 
Can you set up your production flow so there's time to presoak the plates before trying to pull the labels off? Basically, adding another station prior to the label-removal station?
 
Do you buy enough to influence your supplier to label them differently?
Like maybe bundle them in groups of 10 or 25 and just label the top one?

Chip
 
Well, let me explain some more just to give some clarity. I work at a recycling plant that accepts 275gal containers that the plates are attached to. For regulatory purposes and the safety of our employees, every container must have all the labels intact as if it was full of its original contents. So having the customer remove the labels won’t happen.

As for presiaking the labels, it may be done. Prior to the label removal, the containers go through a 5% caustic wash and it may be possible to have the guys on that station to apply some of that wash on the plate if they see paper labels on a plastic plate.

Personally I was thinking of using a grinder brush similar to steel wool or a brillo pad. Probably using a grinder where the brushes can be changed quickly. Sorry, but I’m kinda new to this particular line of work lol.
 
Not directly relevant to your label removal problem, but are these IBC's being recycled?

Actually, maybe it is relevant. Can you pressure spray the plates while they are still supported by the IBC framework? Or mount them on a quick-clamp frame and hit them with a high-pressure (maybe slightly heated, but not steam) wash to break up the paper?
 
Not directly relevant to your label removal problem, but are these IBC's being recycled?

Actually, maybe it is relevant. Can you pressure spray the plates while they are still supported by the IBC framework? Or mount them on a quick-clamp frame and hit them with a high-pressure (maybe slightly heated, but not steam) wash to break up the paper?

Yes, the IBCs are being recycled. The plates are attached to the cages and the bottle is either new or recycled based on customer specs. As a matter of fact, the very next process after label removal is the cold water pressure wash for the cage and the bottle. I’ve already tested using the cold pressure wash and the results weren’t too great. The paper tends to break up and leave little shreds on the plate.

Now, high pressure hot steam sounds interesting. We have one of those up on our drum line that we use for cleaning the machinery (though the pressure is a bit unimpressive). If I get the chance, I’ll grab a few plates tomorrow and try it out after the end of the shift.
 
I'd experiment to see what solvent works best for the labels. Sometimes it's hot water, sometimes a citrus-based remover, sometimes the 3m label remover etc. As suggested earlier, let 'em soak.

Then consider using a razor blade scraper of the sort used for wall paper (about 4" wide, double edged) to peel off the label at the glue line. If the glue is soft, it should be a fairly quick operation. If it's a water-soluble glue you might even use a wall paper steamer.

What's left should clean off pretty quickly with a powered wire brush, abrasive pad, etc.
 
If the labels are identical, why not a heat gun?

It's worked for me.

Threshold of pain is about 160f

Paper burns at 451f

Plastic melts at 350f
 
If the labels are identical, why not a heat gun?

It's worked for me.

Threshold of pain is about 160f

Paper burns at 451f

Plastic melts at 350f
Some plastics such as LDPE melt at much lower temps. LDPE melts at 230F.

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
 
Citrus based label remover + a nice scraper. But you need at least double your station time, that said, you will only need a few seconds to spray em, whilst there soaking you have plenty of time to do another few labels on other tanks. Then come back to it. Your 2:30 should be plenty of work time, you just need a gap of 5 minutes or so in that time if that makes sense.
 
I agree with Adama. I have a can of 'HG' brand sticker remover. Paint it on (or maybe spray?) and the label can be peeled off cleanly within the minute.

It might work better upon uncoated labels than others however. But certainly worth a go.
 








 
Back
Top