Undercoating

[Jerry Clark]

Hi Everyone:

The 73 I am restoring has been heavily undercoated in the wheelwells, (more than indicated in the JG ), I recall a post regarding removal of this crap a while back but the archives yielded nothing. Does anyone know of a chemical that will assist in its removal ?

As always I appreciate any advice.

Have a great weekend

jer

[Rick Garrett]

Re: Undercoating

I used a paste paint remover (Home Depot- dont remember brand) and putty knife to get the undercoating off. The paste worked well and softened undercoating, but it is a very messy job and awkward to keep paint remover from falling on your arms (almost need to wear raincoat to cover arms).

[Chuck S.]

Re: Undercoating

Jer,

Tom Barr's suggestion on 10Apr00 was to use aerosol carburetor cleaner; is that the one you're remembering.

Chuck Sangerhausen

[Iron Duke NCRS #22045]

Re: Undercoating

Mineral spirits should soften/dissolve it too and it's a lot cheaper than paint remover or carb cleaner.

Duke

[Bill W.]

Re: Undercoating

Mornin' Jerry'

You can use chemicals, but they are a huge mess. There's also the health hazard, (unless your name is Nuclear George!) I have used a combination of heat and chemicals (kerosene) with good results. Use an industrial strength heat gun and a putty knife with either a 1 or 2 inch blade, depending on the area you are working. Heat the undercoating to the point of softening, start peeling it off with the putty knife, and keep moving the heat gun in front of the knife. If you move both the gun and knife at the right speed, you can peel off a nice strip of undercoating. There is a tecqunice here that will require some practice. Start on a flat surface if you can, and work on it. To little heat and it won't work, to much heat will damage the glass. The trick is to keep the heat gun moving.

Once you have removed all you can with the gun and knife, start your final cleaning using kerosene and rags.

This was the worst job I did on my '65 fuel car, took me about 40 hours, bill

[Gary F. LeDuc]

Re: Undercoating

My 69 had Ziebart all over - Brake Cleaner worked real well....

[Jeff Gunn #29146]

Re: Undercoating and Re-Undercoating

Jerry, You probably already know this, but I just found out myself this week. The 3M undercoating in the spray can at the parts store is nowhere near as heavy as what the factory applied. I don't think the spray can stuff is any better than just spray painting it black. If you haven't already, make sure you find some heavy, thick stuff that will do some good and look original. Best of luck, Jeff


Jeff's '74 Corvette Restoration Project

[Chuck S.]

Re: Undercoating and Re-Undercoating

Jeff,

I also made the observation that aftermarket undercoating looked nothing like the original factory installed material.

Anyone tried Eastwood's "rubberized undercoating" product? Since they cater to the hobby restorer, seems like they would get a lot of complaints if it wasn't right.

Chuck Sangerhausen

[Patrick T.]

Re: Undercoating and Re-Undercoating

Chuck, I assume the factory undercoating was sprayed on. I've always used Loctite Permatex rubberized undercoating in a buzz bomb. It looks good, dries in 15 minutes and it's paintable later to touch up for a show. It's also very good for hiding things you don't want judges to see, such as repairs to restore rear fender's that once had flares. The judging manual doesn't seem to be too specific on what it looks like as long as it's undercoating. Patrick

[Jerry Clark]

Thanks One And All

These are exactly the type of ideas I had hoped to receive. Your help is greatly appreciated.

jer

[Don L.]

P.S. , One last undercoat suggestion

I think I tried everything mentioned...ended up using a hot water pressure cleaner to get the worst of it...the hotter the better. Once this dried, sprayed it well with commercial de-gunker, which seems to have a kerosene base, and then hit it again with the hotwater pressure sprayer. Finally, detailed it with kerosene, then a final hot water pressure soap wash. It was still a mess, but it ended up being a Water-based mess, and no harsh chemicals. Only works if you're in a position to get everything wet--inside/out of car, as well as garage. I was soaking wet several times but me and 61 #399 were clean as hell!!

[Mike in AZ]

Re: Undercoating

My '65 had a solid layer of undercoat on the entire underside. The process I used with great success --just as Mr. Wilhelm described. Heat gun to soften the gunk and then easily scrape it off. Kerosene is the ideal solvent for tar based undercoat. And it doesn't attack the gelcoat or your skin. I used a spray bottle to mist it on (I was working upside down) and then a Scotchbrite pad. Worked just great and minimum mess.

One tip: for both paint stripping and undercoat removal, instead of a putty knife, I used a wooden cooking untensil that I found a my wife's kitchen gadget store. Looked like a scraper to me! Could be resharpened with a sanding block and no worries about gouging.