Removing Undercoating

[Mac]

OK Guys,

I've used kerosene in the past to remove undercoating.  It was labor intense, as I had to apply it several times on the heavier build up of undercoating, then going back and rescraping many times before I was able to get down to actual metal.  The smell was terrible plus very time consuming.

That was many years ago, I'm sure that other products have since been developed.  Just not sure of what is out there and what actually works.  

Also most importantly, my current garage is attached to the house and with a wife (who thinks cars are dumb) and hates smells.  Well you can see where this is going, any and all suggestions would be appreciated on what currently works with little or no smell.

Thanks!

 Mac

 

[Parkka]

I used a heat gun on the hard parts and scraped it off. in other areas, i used a wire wheel on a drill. No. Be sure to smell whatsoever, just a mess. Be sure to wear eye protection if using the wire wheel.

 

[Mister 4x4]

I used a wire wheel stripper on my firewall and it took forever, as the undercoating material would get hot and 'melt,' effectively just smearing it around.  Powered through it eventually, but man that was a PITA.

 

[machattack]

What ever way you do it?......... its a pain in the a**

I took mine in to the local sand blaster GURU.  He blasted the undercarriage. Found a bent brand new rear fender and asked him what happened? He fessed up that he lifted the whole front of the car straight up and down with a Bobcat  to blast it Rolled the tire into the fender wheel lip. Dag Nab it.

I didnt trust him getting that close to the engine bay so I did it the hard way. Scraping, brushing, wire wheels. I then got on ebay and ordered 24 grit 2" sanding discs in bulk 100 ct bags. They were 12.87 from China. They load up pretty fast but I muscled through it and had 22 sanding discs left when done. It took me 14 hours to complete the engine bay.



photo upload site

 

[Hemikiller]

Yep, that was absolutely the worst part of the restoration of my 71. I spent three days under there dressed up like a Hazmat response team member.

 

[mach71351c]

EZ off oven cleaner works well. Spray on. Go make a sandwich. Come back wipe off.

 

[Bentworker]

Snap on “crud buster” or similar.

Other tool is a good spring steel thin putty knife. Most are junk these days, but a thin sharp spring steel one does wonders. I have one that I like, I’ll look up the brand tomorrow.

 

[Mac]

Thanks everyone.  You have given me some good suggestions.  Now if I can just work up the never to spend hours under my car scrapping, having junk falling in my face.  Hey, but this is my hobby I'm having fun..........right!!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I agree with the EZ-Off oven cleaner. Don't use off brands only the name brand. My friend that does restorations uses all the time. Lets it sit then pressure washes. It for sure does not smell good.

 

[Bentworker]

3/4” wide Warner brand “full flex” putty knife with rosewood handle. It is actually pretty fast, just glove up and start attacking the undercoating. A good choice if you have a very thick layer to remove.

 

[machattack]

Certainly any tool that will remove it as fast a possible is key to sustaining your sanity on this endeavor.

You can remove most of it but there is always that tar film to contend with. When using a tough trim paint coating they contain acetone's to etch there way into sticking to surfaces. Well....... acetone melts when sprayed onto even a tiny bit of tar residue. The paint will peel, crack and bubble immediately upon application.

Best bet on this endeavor is to sand blast it off and start with bare metal. This requires a bunch of prior work. Remove the harness at least to the firewall. Otherwise you will be needing Midlifes services.

 

[midlife]

Certainly any tool that will remove it as fast a possible is key to sustaining your  sanity on this endeavor.

You can remove most of it but there is always that tar film to contend with. When using a tough trim paint  coating they contain acetone's to etch there way into sticking to surfaces. Well....... acetone melts when sprayed onto even a tiny bit of tar residue. The paint will peel, crack and bubble immediately upon application.

Best bet on this endeavor is to sand blast it off and start with bare metal. This requires a bunch of prior work. Remove the harness at least to the firewall. Otherwise you will be needing Midlifes services.

No no no!  Keep the harness in place; I need the work! :shootself:

BTW, the Easy Off Oven Cleaner comes in a variety of formulations: the one that works the best to remove paint is the one with Lye!  I'm not lying...

 

[machattack]

Certainly any tool that will remove it as fast a possible is key to sustaining your  sanity on this endeavor.

You can remove most of it but there is always that tar film to contend with. When using a tough trim paint  coating they contain acetone's to etch there way into sticking to surfaces. Well....... acetone melts when sprayed onto even a tiny bit of tar residue. The paint will peel, crack and bubble immediately upon application.

Best bet on this endeavor is to sand blast it off and start with bare metal. This requires a bunch of prior work. Remove the harness at least to the firewall. Otherwise you will be needing Midlifes services.

No no no!  Keep the harness in place; I need the work! :shootself:

BTW, the Easy Off Oven Cleaner comes in a variety of formulations: the one that works the best to remove paint is the one with Lye!  I'm not lying...

Now how did I know you would say that, Before I wrote it  :whistling:

 

[jeff8877]

I have used a thin putty knife like was show in post above along with lacquer thinner. It cuts the grease really well and does not have the smell of other solvents so your wife may like. For sure the worst part of the restoration.

 

[donkost]

Will all of them have undercoating underneath? Or would that have been part of the "rustproofing and undercoating" sales pitch? When I did the light rolling restoration of my '68 GTO back in '80 there was no undercoating, only light surface rust on the frame, etc. Of course after all these years, previous owners could have sprayed it on, and in some cases to hide shoddy repairs like the good old metal sign floor pan repair. lol