undercoating removal

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by dhutton

I use a propane torch and putty knife. Heat it just enough to soften it. Make sure the gas tank is out of the car.

Don

What Don said.... and this is assuming the car is stripped of interior etc... in other words -- you're down to a bare body. It's also well worth doing this on a body rotisserie! Then you can stand - the crap doesn't get on you - and when you get low on the body you just sit on a 5 gallon home depot bucket and work away. You'll need a few different sized scrapers - and sometimes the more flexible ones work and sometimes you need them a bit stiffer -- so beg or borrow or buy some different versions. I take them to the Burr King and take the sharp corners off them so they don't dig in to the metal.

Make sure you have a couple fire extinguishers right there at your feet -- or use a 5 and have a couple rags in it with water because sometimes the tar stuff catches fire a little bit.

You just heat a small area at a time and scrape away. Seems daunting - but it doesn't take all that long and is really satisfying when you get all that nasty old stuff off.

Also helps if you bribe your friends with beer...

[RdHuggr68]

Thanks everybody for the suggestions, I tried a spot yesterday and it is still real pliable so I will probably hit it 1 hour a night and see how it goes. Greg, the beer sounds like a good idea when can you get here!

[dhutton]

You never know what you are going to find under that undercoating. Here is what I found under the factory undercoat of a friend's 68 Charger R/T once I removed it. The trunk floor was a completely different story thanks to a leaky back window.

Don

[Vince@Meanstreets]

like a time capsule.

[smhigh]

A friend had a guy come out and blasted the entire undercarriage with dry ice!

Worked fantastic!!!

http://www.dryiceinfo.com/cleaning.htm

[Roberts68]

All the ideas mentioned are proven, nobody has mentioned oven cleaner yet.
The stuff is toxic and nasty but usually gets mentioned when undercoating removal is brought up. It works, but you do not want that junk dripping on your tender parts. ( We are made primarily of tender parts when it comes to things intended to dissolve charred organics. )

I used it up in my rear wheelwells and the stuff wiped out like melted butter compared to smearing, melting and genereally gumming up with wire wheel efforts.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by Roberts68

All the ideas mentioned are proven, nobody has mentioned oven cleaner yet.
The stuff is toxic and nasty but usually gets mentioned when undercoating removal is brought up. It works, but you do not want that junk dripping on your tender parts. ( We are made primarily of tender parts when it comes to things intended to dissolve charred organics. )

I used it up in my rear wheelwells and the stuff wiped out like melted butter compared to smearing, melting and genereally gumming up with wire wheel efforts.

using an acid product doing overhead work is never a good idea. plus acids will leach out and cause rusting.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Originally Posted by smhigh

A friend had a guy come out and blasted the entire undercarriage with dry ice!

Worked fantastic!!!

http://www.dryiceinfo.com/cleaning.htm

interesting. disco ball and laser lights included?