How to get a styrofoam liner out of a helmet
Message ????
STYRO LINER REMOVAL (HGU-68/P and 84/P)
TOOLS: 12"-18" Metal Ruler, 1 ¼" wide x 2/64th" thick
Products Engineering Coorporation-Black Chrome finish 4R Ruler (or similarly made ruler)
STEP 1: Slide ruler between liner and helmet shell using a side to side
motion and slight downward pressure. Either insert ruler on the wearer’s left or
right side. I find it easier for me to use the right hand side. With and 18" ruler I
slide it in approximately 2 ½" to 3".
STEP 2: Grasp ruler and placing pressure with your thumb on the liner and
with your free hand gently pulling the nape edge roll away from the liner use slightly
pull and push on the liner which will loosen it up and start sliding out.
STEP 2A: If by yourself a little harder to do but you can cradle the
helmet with the top towards you and using your right hand pulling on the ruler and liner
and using your left hand to pull the edge roll away from the liner. With two people one
person can gently pull both sides or gently push in both sides while the other works on
pulling the liner out.
From right to left: STEP 1, STEP 2 and STEP 2A as described
above. © Spanky
* HGU-55/P - It is a bit harder to remove the liner due
to the fact that the foam inside the edgeroll is denser and the leather is wrapped tighter
making it more difficult to roll the edgeroll away from the liner and it actually forms a
lip the liner is almost snug against. I found out the hard way trying to take my
originally styro liner out of my issue HGU-55 and breaking the liner.
Spanky
Message 106:
Steve, I had the same problem too, but my styrofoam liner was not glued at the inside. To
make glue weak I use a kind od fuel what seems to bee the same stuff to refill your Zippo
lighter. This stuff don't damage the styrofoam but in most cases it will make the glue
weak. Good luck, Sven Scheffers
Message 105:
Didn't try naptha. What is it? I seem to remember somewhere that there was something that
could be used. But I don't remember if the life support guys were concerned with the
styrofoam liner ie break it out of the hemet and use this solvent to clean up the glue
left in the helmet.
This solvent is not mentioned in conjunction with the liner, but rather in the removal of
edgerolls, etc. Available at your nearest True Value store. As for APH-5 vs HGU-2, they
are slightly different-- the APH-5 has a cutout for the comm cord, but both are 3-piece.
Won't a HGU-22 assy liner fit?
Rich Mays
Message 102:
That seems like good advice (the hair dryer suggestion from Terry). Heat is frequently a
useful tool to use whenever one wishes to de-adhere adhesives on mixed media composites
involving materials such as fiberglass and polystyrene or polyerethane foams. Christopher
T. Carey
Message 100:
Steve, If you use a hair dryer(at least 1500 watts) to warm up the inner liner and then
really heat up the outer shell, you should be able to work the linner loose from the
shell. It will probably take more than one heat cycle to get it done. Terry
Message 96:
Most solvents that work on adhesives also work on particular foam of the styroplasticene
type. The best solution I can come up with is working a long, thin flexible blade of some
sort between the shell and the foam liner and gradually working it loose by increments,
mechanically. I'd hate to think of using a chemical solvent to de-adhere the foam, for the
potential damage it would do. Cheers, Chris
Message 93:
Anyone have any ideas on how to remove a styrofoam liner from a flight helmet without
breaking it up? Is there anything that works on the glue without damaging the styrofoam?
Thanks, Steve