What's the easiest / best way to remove 3M adhesive gum that's left after removing EVA pads? I had to remove some EVA pads a couple of days after applying them. They came off fine, but most of the adhesive is left on the board (glass + epoxy). It sticks too well to be removed with adhesive tape, and the area is too large for rubbing with finger tips.

Glitz goo and stain remover from Bunnings worked best for me.
It was more affective than solvents and thinners and didn't affect the paint.

Too expensive.... turps and let it soak for ages then plastic scraper and lots of rags
Can take ages

As Mark said, cover with a rag, soak the rag with turps, allow the turps to soften the adhesive and then wipe off.

I remembered a tip from a local shop owner to use a rubber disk on a power drill to remove sticky stuff. Ordered some from Amazon and tried them out today - works really well.

Next question is how low I can go when vacuum bagging an EPS core. I recall something about too much vacuum causing the foam to get crushed, but forgot the details. How low can I go safely? I'm using 2 lb EPS.

Could work a bit less effectively than solutions above, I use oil (any type) to remove sticky residue. Just saturate the area and scrape.

Thanks for all the suggestions. A complication is that the laminate is not intact and needs repairs. Not sure I'd want any solvents to get into the core while removing the adhesive. IIRC, hydrocarbons can impair epoxy polymerization, which could create bigger problems later in the repair - especially with stuff that does not evaporate well, like oil.

CRC Stuff Off ...

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boardsurfr said..
Next question is how low I can go when vacuum bagging an EPS core. I recall something about too much vacuum causing the foam to get crushed, but forgot the details. How low can I go safely? I'm using 2 lb EPS.

I have made 2 home built boards both using 1 lb EPS core. I kept the vacuum at about 20% but not more than 40% vacuum - I found that suggestion somewhere online, and had no problems. See at about 10mins into foil board video below (between -0.2 to -0.4 on the gauge). You may be able to do more vacuum with a 2 lb core, but doubt there would be any added benefit, and it may even be worse...could wick away too much resin? Others may have better ideas/more experience?

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JakeNN said..
CRC Stuff Off ...

At $20 a can? How much area of proper gummy reside does it do? I get 1.5x SUP's out of my $5 turps.

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Mark _australia said..

JakeNN said..
CRC Stuff Off ...

At $20 a can? How much area of proper gummy reside does it do? I get 1.5x SUP's out of my $5 turps.

I tested a 6 options to remove sound insulation glue from a new 2024 Toyota headliner interior roof and that was the best:
metho
white spirits
isopropanol spray
De-Solvit
CRC Peel Off
CRC Stuff Off

but maybe the other dude can test x6 options for his different scenario/glue.

I ended up using the rubber wheel and isopropanol and rags. Both worked, required somewhat similar time and effort, and had different drawbacks. Perhaps the hardest thing was to remove the glue completely, since both wheel and scraping where prone to leave some sticky spots - not a problem if you just want to slap new EVA pads on, but not good if you want to put epoxy on top. Not a fun job. I think I'll go back to contact cement or E6000 for pad installs in the future, since that seems to be easier to remove.