Restoration Questions

[Pops1967GTX]

Need help & opinions on removing vehicle undercoating. Tried a few spots and finding it to be a nightmare with conventional tools, sanding etc.Is this worth my time?

 

[dla4567]

I took mine to a sandblaster. other than that, mineral spirits, torch(risky), patience, angle grinder with wire wheel(messy).?

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

Take it from someone who has fought this battle,you don't want to try to sand it off. What I found works , though with lots of effort, is to soften the crap up first, then scrape with a stiff putty knife or chisel. I raised the front of the car about 3 feet in the air and blocked with cinder bocks, then fired up the torpedo kero heater and shot it under the car for about 30 min. The undercoating was loose enough to scrape off in long strips. Once the material starts to get hard, climb out, set the heater back in place and go again. Of course with this method have the gas tank removed and make sure the car is blocked as to prevent it from falling off jack stands. I have also had luck with using solvents like brake clean to soften the stuff up but tends to make it gummy and a messy proposition. After scraping the bulk off, I used a wire wheel, dust mask and goggles required,and a high speed drill to get the nooks and crannies. I did my car over a period of 2 months, working on it a couple hours at a time, a few nights a week.I had my car totally apart and found the task to be worth the effort although I did eventually POR 15 the undercarriage and then shot it with rubberized undercoating.I drive my car a lot. Good luck and don't forget the cold ones while waiting for that stuff to soften up!

 

[snakeoil24]

Use a propane tourch and scrap the big chunks, If you use a cigar heater you risk a big body warp so I would stay away from that idea. Once you have a large portion of the Under coating removed, then you deal with the left over. I soak rags with Mineral spirts and apply allowing to stay wet with plastic covering the rags. Then a wire brush with rags following right behind.

 

[welder47]

A air chisel on low air pressure with a blunt tip works great. Or a needle gun works well but takes longer. The vibration more than anything knocks it right off. Some of that stuff is almost dried out and falls off easily. Wont ding the steel if your careful.

 

[Coledavis01]

Eastwood offers a product that they claim will loosen it enough to easily scrape it off, I haven't tried it but always been satisfied with their products before.
Called "Undergone" only negative I see is it does mention that the undercoating must be soft enough to leave a thumbnail imprint...my Bee sure didn't have that after 40 years of being on there!

 

[5.7 hemi]

Get a cheap electric heat gun, it will soften the factory stuff then scrape with a putty knife. Your arms are gonna get huge,lol!!

 

[68sportsatelliteragtop]

Use a propane tourch and scrap the big chunks, If you use a cigar heater you risk a big body warp so I would stay away from that idea. Once you have a large portion of the Under coating removed, then you deal with the left over. I soak rags with Mineral spirts and apply allowing to stay wet with plastic covering the rags. Then a wire brush with rags following right behind.

The use of a cigar heater will not get the floorpan or skin of the car anywhere near hot enough to warp any panels. I guess if you set the heater against the body panels you could have a problem, but I was assuming commom sense would keep that from happening.I take it you have the car on a rotissorre to put solvent soaked rags on it long enough to soften it up.

 

[6pktgo]

Undercoat Removal

I found the best way to do this job is, carefully with a small propane soldering torch. Use a medium heat and hold the flame about 6-8 inches away from the coating to be removed. DON`T stand still with the flame!! This coating is asphalt based and will catch fire if you hold the heat source still. Keep it moving & do about a 6 by 6 area at a time, so as not to get the behind panel over heated. Warm a 6 by 6 area & putty knife scrape it clean. Once you have done a few areas you will get the feel of it. It`s really not that bad.

Just a couple of important pointers, #1 - ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher readily available and #2- if you plan on driving this car on the street ,then you`re best to leave that factory coating in your wheel wells. Nothing can replace the toughness of this coating to protect against stones.
My two cents , Hope this helps.

 

[Donny]

Or, you could get it Media Blasted off! I hear that works pretty good! LOL

 

[bbeep69]

I've heard that Easy Off oven cleaner works but have never tried it myself. I may try it on some undercoating in the trunk of my car.

 

[mac68]

i have tried all of the above and they all work,but nothing works better than a pnuematic needle scaler,you can get one at napa the part # is- npt 61050 they cost 167.00 bucks but its money very well spent,if you go this route you will see what i mean. if the temp is cooler the undercoating is harder and chips right off. helps to have a higher cfm air compressor.

 

[adamst56]

It also depends what kind of coating it is and what condition the car is underneath it. My brother just finished doing a 70 Trans Am that he wanted to save and protect the red oxide coating. He used a heat gun (like for shrink tubing) and a stiff plastic putty blade (s). After about 100 hours he had it all removed wiped the car down with some solvent and had a dealer fresh original finish even still showing some blue overspray from the paint job. Won best in class in Autorama for restored. You can't do that with media balsting or many other methods.