help removing rubber cement

[mkriegs]

I just made my very first attempt at a splash anno on a chunk of scrap aluminum and I couldn't be happier with the results, except for one thing, I can't get the rubber cement I used to mask to come off of the workpiece. I've tried scraping it off, I've tried steel wool, I've tried heating it off with a hair dryer but this stuff has a death grip on my workpiece. I let the rubber cement dry for around 10-15 minutes each time it was applied and right now I'm letting it dry out more to see if that will help.

I'm a little wary to start using solvents to remove the leftover cement since the part has yet to be sealed and I'm afraid it might remove the dye that I just spent almost 4 hours on.

anyone know how to remove this stuff or know of an easier to remove alternative?

EDIT - I was thinking of putting the part in the oven to try and bake off the cement but the bottle says flammable and I don't know if that's only while it's wet or if it's flammable while dry too.

[starns]

i rub it off by hand.

[mkriegs]

EDIT - ^I tried that but it would just ball up and wouldn't come off, must be the brand name I'm using or something. I picked up some liquid electrical tape from menards and tested it out on an already anodized piece of aluminum, so far it looks promising.

well, I got the rubber cement out with gasoline and it turns out gasoline doesn't mess with the color too much, here's a picture of the final product:


(the red is much deeper in person)

in person you can see some flaws where something somewhere along the line messed with the unsealed dye and there's also a couple of really faint fingerprints in there.

[acidrain]

Next time, seal it first, then remove the rubber cement with lacquer thinner, then seal some more.