This Will Make You Cry; Named WWII 508th Ike

[Kadet]

I was able to rescue this very nice 82nd Ike. Unfortunately some dolt had applied a post war wing and some ribbon bars with a hot glue gun. The offending post war additions are now gone, but the rubbery glue gun mess remains. Any thoughts on removing it? The jacket has a laundry # and I'm working on an ID for it...

[Kadet]

2

[TheGrayGhost]

Put it in the freezer. Glue should solidify and chip off.

[Patchcollector]

I had some of that glue gun crap on the back of a patch,and it was nigh impossible to remove.I tried freezing it and that did'nt work too well.I worked on it,on and off,for about a month.The going was very tedious,very carefully I was able to remove it bit by bit until finally I got rid of most of it.It did damage the back of the patch,but thankfully,not the front.I don't think that you will be able to remove it without damaging the garment further.

[mslurvey]

Try ice (or dust off aerosol spray) and then scraping with a credit card.

Goof off solvent might work but I would try it on a scrap piece of material first.

Maybe a dry cleaner can work magic.

 

Great Ike by the way!

 

Mason

[Kadet]

Thanks! Yes it is a really nice jacket under the glue. truthfully, I don't know for sure what kind of glue it is. It is clear and pretty rubbery on the surface, so maybe not hot glue gun. I put the jacket in the freezer as I thought that would be the least invasive way to start

[30thguy]

Take it to a dry cleaner. I had a WW1 82nd division officer tunic that had been in a display with the arms glued to the tunic<br />I asked if they could remove it without damaging the uniform. They said they could. When I got it back you couldn't tell it ever<br />had glue on it.They have better solvents for that than you could buy. 30thguy

[Fiziwater]

Be careful with inked markings when taking to the dry cleaner. Had a mint M43 field jacket with cutter tag and dry cleaning removed every trace of ink stamped in the jacket. The tag came through okay, but talk about wanting to cry.

[Kadet]

Freezing had no effect whatsoever. Here are the ribbon bars that were on it. They actually appear to be original, and are sewn around a cardboard base material with what appears to be the same cotton thread used to attach the oval and 82nd patch (I burn tested it). I didn't notice that detail originally. You can see knots around the edges where they were once sewn to a uniform...weird. The glue that held them to the uniform is definitely modern. The naming in the jacket is the laundry # D-0880 and the name "Hall" with the number 253-6973

[Kadet]

4

[Kadet]

Another interesting detail is that the oval, which is an original WWII twill example, is sewn to the uniform over a cardboard stiffener similar to what is inside the ribbon bars. Under the glue on the oval, you can also see the holes from a pin back set of jump wings. I would say the jacket was sewn up by the same tailor, and that the ribbon bars were on it originally. There were also devices affixed to the ribbon bar with modern glue, but looking at it carefully they originally had none. I think this was just a horribly bad restoration job of an original uniform...ouch

[m151mp]

go to a local automobile glass shop and ask to buy a can of "Release Agent". this is fairly common to the trade, and not expensive. i have used it to take black primer out of seats and carpets, so i think it would work very well on this glue.

[Kadet]

Thanks. I tried acetone based finger nail polish remover on it. It definitely loosened the glue. The fingernail polish remover is very diluted acetone though, so I plan to try straight acetone on a small spot to see what happens

[Patchcollector]

From all the photos that you've posted it looks to me like your garment may have the "rubber cement" type of adhesive on it.
The glue gun stuff I had to deal with was thick,fairly clear and kind of "rubbery".
I initially thought it would be pretty easy to remove but it didn't turn out to be so.I found a sellers photo of my patch so that you can see the type of glue it was.

After the acetone loosens it,you may try using a butter knife or some other fairly dull implement and carefully scrape away the remainder of the glue.Go slow and try doing it little by little as it can get pretty tedious.

[Kadet]

Thanks...you may be right. It almost seems like some sort of silicone based adhesive. I can't believe somebody did this...but it is what it is. I also have a name I'm looking at pretty hard. TSGT Everett J Hall. He served in the 509th PIB, which ended up folded in to the 82nd at the end of the war. He was awarded the Silver Star in May 1944 and also a PH. His SSM was awarded under a 5th Army GO which is why he doesn't show up on the 82nd award listings....maybe, maybe not. I still have to dig a bit more.

[jguy1986]

Those bars are pretty similar to one I have from a 100th Division vet. Ribbons wrapped around a cardboard interior then sewn on, but I believe mine is German-made (ribbons have a different weave from most US-made types, plus with the German-made patches on the jacket it would make sense). Quite strange to see them glued on, only really seen that with ruptured ducks.

[Kadet]

Yes I think they are theater made ribbon bars. The gluing is definitely not original though because it is a clear modern, acrylic/plastic/silicone based product of some kind that is still slightly rubbery and tacky. I use many types of glue in my other hobby and recognize this as modern. WWII period glue was animal/protein based and will always be hard and brittle. It also glows a pale yellow under UV light. Modern glue does not typically glow at all. I think these bars were once sewn to the uniform because you can see the knots from the attachment points and the thread is identical to that used on the oval and 82nd patch. I think someone found the uniform, perhaps with the detached ribbon bars in the pocket, and used glue to restore it.

[Kadet]

I had some time today and took the jacket to a small mom and pop cleaners for their advice. They were very helpful, and suggested that I use "Goof Off" to get the globs of glue off. I worked on the oval for a few hours and got almost all of the glue off. Slow going but it works. When I get the glue cleaned up as much as possible I plan to get it dry cleaned to get any residuals.

[1canpara]

Nice work Andy! Patience is the word of the day and you certainly have it! I think this is going to be a real treasure once you've got all the goop off of it!

 

Can't wait to see how it turns out, especially the research on the trooper!

 

Rick

[GIKyle]

Looks like there were three stars and an arrowhead on the EAME ribbon, as well as an OLC to the Purple Heart. Those also look there were affixed with adhesive as well.

 

Kyle

[Kadet]

Yes there were...they popped off when I removed the ribbons from the uniform. I didn't realize they were glued on too. They were affixed with the same modern glue as the wings and ribbon bars, so were part of the restoration that was done. Strange, but I don't think the bars had any devices on them originally

[Kadet]

This is the modern wing that was glued in the oval, and a match for it I found online. I believe these can be found in surplus stores and at gun shows etc. With the glue removed from the oval, you can see the pin holes and wear marks from the original pin back wing

[Kadet]

6

[Kadet]

Kyle, I took a second look at the devices from the ribbon bars. The three stars, arrowhead and OLC were indeed once attached to the bars with period glue, but look to have been reattached with more modern blue at some point. You can see the original glue on the back of the devices. This is a weird Ike

[jguy1986]

Could they have been glued on originally, then as it aged and cracked everything popped off so someone else repaired it with more modern glue?