Hi everyone. I need to replace the deck pad on my Sunova Carver. (NOTE: fantastic boards, junk deck pads… way too soft). The foam pad will peel off with gentle heat, but all the glue is left on the board. How the heck do I remove the glue? It’s stuck hard-as. I’m not sure if there is any chemical that will dissolve the glue WITHOUT melting the surface of the board. Cheers for any tips, Mark.
Rapid remover. I do graphics for a living, it’s the only adhesive remover that actually works
Hey - thanks. Do you know for a fact that it does not melt epoxy or damage the fibreglass? Cheers
Yeah I’ve used it on surfboards both poly and epoxy many times. Spray it on, let it sit for a minute or two, scrape it off, don’t be shy with it, needs to saturate into the adhesive
Stay away from alcohol, that thins epoxy, though most production boards are clear coat finished
I haven’t yet this but maybe a adhesive eraser wheel
Those work too
Apparently Sunova pads are the worst to remove because they have holes to prevent pad bubbles. I know others have really struggled with them.
Not sunova, but I removed a really stubborn one with a razor blade, goo gone, and a lot of elbow grease. You need to let the adhesive remover sit for quite a while to loosen things up. The best tip is to be SUPER careful in the initial removal and try to get as much of it off in a big piece as you can. removing the little remnants after that initial peel are the worst part, so go very slow on the initial removal and try to minimize the remnants. Really annoying job.
Just pulled the pad up on a newer sunova foil drive board to run my older assist plus kit. The adhesive for the pad is more of a resin so I think sanding is the only option.
So did you sand yours, Mike?
I did, the results are not pretty. Hopefully the pad you’re replacing with covers up all the nasty work.
Far out. The new pad will NOT cover the whole area… so it looks like peel… soak with adhesive remover… scrape… sand… paint… new pad. Holy moly that’s a lot of work.
Try Sticky Bumps wax remover citrus base. Don’t know what’s in there, but it’s the only thing that removed the adhesive from my Amos pads which were impervious to Googone, paint thinner, heat, etc.
MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone)
Rub on with a wetted paper towel/rag, slide a flat razor to remove the goo.
I have removed quite a few deck pads, astrodek and stickers this way. Works great.
Yeah that’s not a good idea lol I’ve had have chem burns from my surfboard glassing days MEK will destroy just about anything it touches if it sits in there long enough, it’ll 100% damage epoxy and melt eps foam. Thats really gnarly stuff, only takes a few seconds on your skin to give you chem burns and even a tiny drop will do it
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Take it for whats its worth. Works great. But you can’t pour it on.
Mineral turpentine will soften the adhesive which you can then just scrape off but be careful not to use it on areas where there are cracks or holes in the board as it will eat the foam if it gets inside the board.
I know several people who have removed the Sunova pads via various methods at this point. No definitive easy way to do it. Time and patience slowly scraping it away while watching a movie seems to be the most common I’ve heard.
For your future Sunovas you can always ask them to skip the deck pad. I’ve gotten several that way now and will keep going down that road for the foreseeable future.
Wouzel… awesome! I’d love to know from people who have actually done it with the Sunova ‘Nuclear-Grade’ Adhesive… 1) what actual product did they use to soften the glue, and 2) did they ultimately need to sand some of it away? This is way more of a mission than I ever expected 
Mark.
From my buddy when asked how he did his Carver deck pad:
“Mineral spirits, plastic scraper and a lot of elbow grease!”