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PDP-11/10 Console Faceplate

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desertdweller

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I recently purchased a PDP-11 control panel and need to remove the console faceplate (which is apparently glued in place). Any suggestions on how to remove without damaging it would be greatly appreciated!
 
It is held by 6 mm strips of double sided sticky tape. My faceplate was almost falling off when I got it. To remove the old sticky tape I gently heated it and then pulled it off. I expect if you gently heat up the assembly with a hairdryer, the faceplate will just slowly and gently peel off. The key word is "gentle". You could also use a few drops of kerosene in places where the sticky tape won't yield to gentle pull. I used kerosene on my 11/05 faceplate to get the residual glue off and it didn't attack the paint or the plastic.

Instead of a hairdryer I used a temperature controlled hot air nozzle on my soldering station set to 100 degrees C. Even with 100 degrees C I was very gentle and didn't stay on any spot for longer than a second.
 
Can confirm that kerosene and other thin oils won't hurt it. I removed very persistent sticker goop from one with WD-40. I was worried alcohol would attack the plastic and perhaps produce a noticeable shiny spot.
 
glitch said:
Can confirm that kerosene and other thin oils won't hurt it. I removed very persistent sticker goop from one with WD-40. I was worried alcohol would attack the plastic and perhaps produce a noticeable shiny spot.
Click to expand...
I first tried alcohol on a tiny spot and immediately wiped it off and it definitely took a little of the paint off. I did the same with kerosene and it did not attack either paint or plastic so is completely safe. This was for a low-profile 11/05 made in San German Puerto Rico. There is a small chance that other DEC plants used different plastic and/or paint.
 
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Both were tested and approved by the relevant BellSouth testing folks as safe for removing stuff like old adhesive.

But, as always, it would be prudent to test it in a non conspicuous spot, if possible, before conducting an all out frontal assault.
 
I've had Goo Gone (the orange stuff, not the similarly named Goof Off which will totally dissolve *many* plastics) soften and smear paint on stuff like screen printed front panels and resort to WD-40 often for that kind of task, of course spot testing as with any cleaner! Totally a case-by-case thing, I think the last thing Goo Gone affected paint on was a HP 59309A digital clock (tested first on the switch panel, not the plastic panel). WD-40 didn't bother it but completely removed the two layers of sticky office/packing tape adhesive someone tried to stick the broken color filter together with!
 
thunter0512 said:
It is held by 6 mm strips of double sided sticky tape. My faceplate was almost falling off when I got it. To remove the old sticky tape I gently heated it and then pulled it off. I expect if you gently heat up the assembly with a hairdryer, the faceplate will just slowly and gently peel off. The key word is "gentle". You could also use a few drops of kerosene in places where the sticky tape won't yield to gentle pull. I used kerosene on my 11/05 faceplate to get the residual glue off and it didn't attack the paint or the plastic.

Instead of a hairdryer I used a temperature controlled hot air nozzle on my soldering station set to 100 degrees C. Even with 100 degrees C I was very gentle and didn't stay on any spot for longer than a second.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
Thanks all for the info! I should have mentioned that it is an 11/10, though I'm certain that the processes stated are all relevant to removal. I have restored a few other PDP control panels where the faceplate was positioned in the rear of the control panel and just slid behind tab-mounts. I assumed it was the same on the 11/10, though I was more surprised by how firmly attached it is - I mean that sucker is on there! I plan to follow thunter0512 recommendation by flipping the panel over and sweeping the back of the panel with a heat gun until the tape starts to release (assuming it's still held by the original tape and not re-glued at some point!) alongside with using Goo Gone to help facilitate.
desertdweller said:
I recently purchased a PDP-11 control panel and need to remove the console faceplate (which is apparently glued in place). Any suggestions on how to remove without damaging it would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
 
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