Kubota Doubles Down on Stupid; my Solution to Glue on Plastic

[Suburban Plowboy]

The fenders on ZD326 mowers are fragile, and it apparently gets worse with age. The fenders on my used mower were very brittle, perhaps from the sun, and when I applied modest pressure to one to remove it, it split.

The new fenders (might as well make them match) arrived with bubble wrap GLUED to them. I kid you not. Someone somewhere thought the world needed bubble wrap with glue on the back, and Kubota wraps its fenders in it.

My fenders were covered with spots of sticky glue after I pulled the bubble wrap off. Pulling it off is no fun, because it sticks so well. You could actually break a fender pulling too hard.

Removing the wrap took a while. Then I had to get rid of the spots of glue.

Acetone: no. It eats the plastic. Better plastic stands up to acetone, but never mind.

Rubbing alcohol: works slowly.

Goo-gone: works slowly.

Lighter fluid: faster than the above.

Lighter fluid plus alcohol: faster than the above.

Turpentine: works fast. Doesn't seem to harm the plastic.

I cleaned my fenders once to remove visible glue and then again to remove whatever residue was left. The turpentine diluted the glue, so when I cleaned the first time, I was still spreading diluted glue all over.

It is incomprehensible to me that Kubota would ship a plastic part with glue all over it, but there you go. I know other people have had this problem, so I am posting this for future Googlers.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Kubota also ships the fenders without the nylon inserts that hold the screws. You need 4 per fender, and the number is K3211-55420.

You can save the inserts from the old fenders. Just shatter the little wells they sit in. A vise does this very quickly. The inserts pop out unharmed.

 

[etpm]

Kubota also ships the fenders without the nylon inserts that hold the screws. You need 4 per fender, and the number is K3211-55420.

You can save the inserts from the old fenders. Just shatter the little wells they sit in. A vise does this very quickly. The inserts pop out unharmed.

You would do well to soak the nylon parts in water for a week before installing them if you can, they will be less likely to crack if you do. Speaking as a machinist who has made many parts from nylon that needed soaking.
Eric

 

[Hay Dude]

Both my only 1+ year-old Kubota ZD1211-72’s “Kubota” decals are peeling off.
Soon, other than the orange paint, you won’t know who the manufacturer is.

My older Kubota’s decals never displayed this decal peeling behavior.

 

[SPYDERLK]

The fenders on ZD326 mowers are fragile, and it apparently gets worse with age. The fenders on my used mower were very brittle, perhaps from the sun, and when I applied modest pressure to one to remove it, it split.

The new fenders (might as well make them match) arrived with bubble wrap GLUED to them. I kid you not. Someone somewhere thought the world needed bubble wrap with glue on the back, and Kubota wraps its fenders in it.

My fenders were covered with spots of sticky glue after I pulled the bubble wrap off. Pulling it off is no fun, because it sticks so well. You could actually break a fender pulling too hard.

Removing the wrap took a while. Then I had to get rid of the spots of glue.

Acetone: no. It eats the plastic. Better plastic stands up to acetone, but never mind.

Rubbing alcohol: works slowly.

Goo-gone: works slowly.

Lighter fluid: faster than the above.

Lighter fluid plus alcohol: faster than the above.

Turpentine: works fast. Doesn't seem to harm the plastic.

I cleaned my fenders once to remove visible glue and then again to remove whatever residue was left. The turpentine diluted the glue, so when I cleaned the first time, I was still spreading diluted glue all over.

It is incomprehensible to me that Kubota would ship a plastic part with glue all over it, but there you go. I know other people have had this problem, so I am posting this for future Googlers.

Check out WD40. Often works well. I lay on a paper towel and wet it with WD and give it 10-15m to soak.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I didn't try WD-40 because it is similar to Goo-Gone.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

A guy who works on Kubotas says the answer is soapy water. I still have my bubble wrap, so I tried it on a piece, and it seems to work. A wet paper towel got me nowhere, so I had no reason to think soapy water would do the trick, but it looks like it does.

He also said he pulled the bubble wrap off quickly and easily, but it I had to pull very hard to get it off my fenders. My mower came out in 2007, so it may be that my fenders have been sitting in hot warehouses for 15 years or more with the glue getting harder.

While I was trying to figure this out, I used AI and made the bot search twice. It came up with nothing useful.