Panels have oily marks all over them.

[Fraser]

hi everyone. Looks like I have made a big mistake:
I put my solar panels up and when I did, I covered them in black plastic because the manual said not to connect or disconnect under load. The plastic had left oils marks on the panels. Looks awful. I have washed them off with just water and nothing. So I used some soapy water and nothing. Now I’m looking at isopropyl alcohol. Any ideas if this will work? it won’t be as a spot treatment as the whole and all the panels look crap. The panels have black frames would it damage them? Any ideas would be great. What a nightmare.

Many thanks for any help in advance.

 

[45North]

hi everyone. Looks like I have made a big mistake:
I put my solar panels up and when I did, I covered them in black plastic because the manual said not to connect or disconnect under load. The plastic had left oils marks on the panels. Looks awful. I have washed them off with just water and nothing. So I used some soapy water and nothing. Now I’m looking at isopropyl alcohol. Any ideas if this will work? it won’t be as a spot treatment as the whole and all the panels look crap. The panels have black frames would it damage them? Any ideas would be great. What a nightmare.

Many thanks for any help in advance.

Got a photo?

 

[Dr. Dickie]

When you say, "oil." Did the plastic have oil on it?
Removing an oil film should not be a problem; however, if it did not come off with soapy water it doesn't sound like oil.
I wouldn't think IPA would hurt (since the surface of the panels is glass), whether or not it works depends on what the "oil" actually is..

 

[MarkSolar]

Is it possible the plastic melted? Can you scrape it off with a razor blade.

 

[Fraser]

When you say, "oil." Did the plastic have oil on it?
Removing an oil film should not be a problem; however, if it did not come off with soapy water it doesn't sound like oil.
I wouldn't think IPA would hurt (since the surface of the panels is glass), whether or not it works depends on what the "oil" actually is.

When you say, "oil." Did the plastic have oil on it?
Removing an oil film should not be a problem; however, if it did not come off with soapy water it doesn't sound like oil.
I wouldn't think IPA would hurt (since the surface of the panels is glass), whether or not it works depends on what the "oil" actually is..

Thanks for your reply. I mean it looks like oil. That blue slight purple shine. Like oil on water. It was brand new plastic to keep the sun off the panels. I wonder if they had a light oil on them to stop the plastic sticking. The plastic didn’t feel oily or sticky it was just plastic. But when I took the plastic off you could see the marks are worse where there had been a crease in the plastic.

 

[Fraser]

Got a photo?

I will try get one tomorrow. Camera doesn’t do it justice. Thanks

 

[Fraser]

Is it possible the plastic melted? Can you scrape it off with a razor blade.

Thanks for your reply. It wasn’t that hot here few weeks ago when I finished putting them up. But the marks have got worse as it’s got hotter this last week. So some residue is baking on and making it look awful. I don’t think I can scrape them without doing more damage.

 

[Pyrofx]

Acetone

 

[GVSolar]

Whatever solution you choose to use - test it on a small area and wait for it to fully dry. It may be of value to test several methods in this way - plain soapy water (if oil) - acetone - alcohol - or the commercial product used to remove tar and road oil. Good luck.

 

[labeeman]

Whatever solution you choose to use - test it on a small area and wait for it to fully dry. It may be of value to test several methods in this way - plain soapy water (if oil) - acetone - alcohol - or the commercial product used to remove tar and road oil. Good luck.

Or charcoal lighter.