Pulled the CRT out of my RCA CTC-68 tonight (weak & has cataracts.) After removing the mounting band, the ears (or tabs) that mount the tube to the cabinet would not budge - they were solidly glued to the tube with some thick double-stick fiber tape. After pondering how to pry these off without damaging the tube (and myself) I gave a few chemicals a try.

Liquid Wrench and WD-40 did little or nothing to soften or dissolve the adhesive.

I wound up having success with aerosol Brake Parts Cleaner. I dribbled the stuff around the tabs twice in five minutes. I worked an old curved scraper knife (don't know the proper name for it) into the glue in the meantime. You'll want to try to keep the knife as close to the tab as possible, as the glue came off the metal easier than the glass. All the tabs came loose in three to ten minutes.

I also sprayed some brake cleaner in a rag to keep the knife clean and get the residue off of the tabs. If you have sensitive skin you will want to wear nitrile gloves while fooling with brake cleaner. And do this in a well-ventilated area of course.

P.S. - Gumout carburetor cleaner worked pretty good too - I tried this on the first tab. The brake cleaner just worked somewhat faster.

Generally, I just put pressure on those for a minute or so, and they'll ooze off. Kind of like tearing a heavy piece of taffy. Definitely, I'd never use any type of prying tool. Although I need to add that it's probably been 10 years since I did that, so the gooey tape is 25% older now...

Charles