Glue removal from patches

[DennyB]

I was recently given a sack full of WW2 era American shoulder patches, some are pretty rare but the problem is that they have at some time been affixed to a display board by what may possibly be Elmer's Glue. Does anyone know a safe way to remove this semi-clear type of glue without damaging the patches?

[Craigob]

IN the past i used to get the patches glue side cover it with some paper and iron over the paper.. the hot iron melts the glue and sticks to the paper..

craig.

[Lee Ragan]

Plain old tap water will melt Elmers Glue. In many cases you can rinse the patch under a running fawcet and rub the glue a bit & it will disappear. Put the wet patch on a clean towel & let it air dry. It should be fine in a few hours. If it trys to wrinkle, a gentle ironing will take care of that.

[DennyB]

Thanks

I appreciate the help. I know there is not much interest in American patches but there is a theater made 12th Armored Div patch (my father's unit) a CBI patch and a bullion embroidered SHAEF patch that are interesting and worth the time to clean. Thanks again
Denny

[pbuchh7715]

Denny,

Don't discount interest in US patches; there's plenty of people out there who like them

I agree with Lee. I often soak full embroidered patches in warm tap water to remove scrapbook residue, including glue. This also helps shrink holes from SSI removed from uniforms or sewn to other fabrics.

I would NOT recommend doing this with bullion or tinsel thread SSI. You might be able to pick away at the residue but you would be better off leaving alone. If it's a nice patch, you're not going to scare off a die-hard SSI collector.

Also, be careful using the soak method with "woolies". The end result can be an odd shaped patch because of shrinkage though as Lee stated, sometimes a iron can flatten it out.

Best,

Pete

[Carson]

Interesting thread.

Does anyone have any suggestions for removing double sided carpet tape adhesive from embroidered patches? The adhesive is more chemical base and water does not work. Only on the reverse, but any suggestions would be appreciated!

Regards,

The dummy who used double sided carpet tape on modern Fire Dept. patches....

[Nick VR]

I would leave the glue on them as they are part of an original era patch...

[Seigfried]

Does anyone know a safe way to remove this semi-clear type of glue without damaging the patches?

Have you tried freezing them and then snapping off the glue - or using a hairdrier to melt the glue (better than hot water I would think)?

[DennyB]

Soaking seemed to work

I soaked them in water and it removed most of the glue. I then laid them flat to air dry, this seemed to work out okay.
Thanks for the advice.
Denny