Definitive Interior Floor Strip-and-Paint Thread

[Ds1]

I've been searching this topic out here and there for months but never been able to nail down a good tutorial. Maybe I'm just not farmiliar enough with paint work.

I have the carpets out of my 911, new RS carpets and jute backing reading to go, and all the sound deadening stripped. I'm not fully stripping the windows and headliner and all that but I want to finish the floor in Gaurds Red like the race car guys do while I have the carpet out.

Aircraft stripper? Which kind?
Then just POR15 over it and paint? Is it really that simple? I have no rust thankfully but isn't there some fill that has to be done to get that silky smooth new finish?

In process pics win, as always.

[Sicklyscott]

Originally Posted by Ds1

I've been searching this topic out here and there for months but never been able to nail down a good tutorial. Maybe I'm just not farmiliar enough with paint work.

I have the carpets out of my 911, new RS carpets and jute backing reading to go, and all the sound deadening stripped. I'm not fully stripping the windows and headliner and all that but I want to finish the floor in Gaurds Red like the race car guys do while I have the carpet out.

Aircraft stripper? Which kind?
Then just POR15 over it and paint? Is it really that simple? I have no rust thankfully but isn't there some fill that has to be done to get that silky smooth new finish?

In process pics win, as always.

What shape is the floor in now? Glue residue? Was it painted red from the factory? Aircraft stripper is nasty stuff, if you go that route wear long sleeves and pants plus eye protection and do it outside with good ventilation. When I have done floor stripping in the past I used a wire wheel attachment for a drill.

As for refinishing, you'll never get the smooth look unless you spray it. I've done PO15 on a previous car with both a foam roller and a brush, both had little bubbles in the finish. It was very well protected but not exactly show quality.

Also POR15 has different finishes depending of if you're going to use a top coat or not, make sure you purchase the right one.

Now since I've spent many hours doing this in the past and found very little return on my efforts, why are you doing this? If the carpet kit covers all is it really worth that level of effort?

Good luck and keep us posted with pics!

[tirwin]

Look up nineball's interior thread. I used the same stripper. It's orange and smells like a creamsicle. Don't remember the name. Then I'd use a good quality degreaser like Marine Clean.

I wouldn't use POR15 if you're planning on installing carpets unless you are trying to cover rust. If you just want a clean surface to work with, just mask off everything you don't want paint on and use rattle can primer/paint.

[nineball]

Originally Posted by Ds1

I've been searching this topic out here and there for months but never been able to nail down a good tutorial. Maybe I'm just not farmiliar enough with paint work.

I have the carpets out of my 911, new RS carpets and jute backing reading to go, and all the sound deadening stripped. I'm not fully stripping the windows and headliner and all that but I want to finish the floor in Gaurds Red like the race car guys do while I have the carpet out.

Aircraft stripper? Which kind?
Then just POR15 over it and paint? Is it really that simple? I have no rust thankfully but isn't there some fill that has to be done to get that silky smooth new finish?

In process pics win, as always.

POR15 needs to be applied directly to bare metal, so if you want to go that route you have a lot of work ahead of you stripping the floor bare.

take a look at this (post 9) and you will see what i used to strip/clean the floor. i also used the same stuff on my targa bar (leaving it sit much longer) and it worked like a charm. it's available at home depot.

it seems like everyone else has done it, so why not me... (interior)

[Tremelune]

If you wire-out the sound-deadening, I assume you'll wind up with bare metal. I would think you would want POR15 to protect against rust in the future...?

[Ayles]

I may have been lucky, but the asphalt (or whatever is) chipped up in big chunks. I cleaned up the remaining residue with citrus strip. Leaving behind a very clean floor. This would probably paint up nicely but since its going to be covered by carpet why bother.

[Ds1]

So that citrus stuff is called "Citrus Strip"? Sounds like a better day than aircraft stripper.

I know I'll never see underneath the carpet, but I like to do stuff "while I'm in there" and the matched interior floor looks great as well (and more importantly) I want it to be sealed up. I was able to chunk out the sound deadening so I don't have tons of glue residue but I do have plenty.

So, just citrus strip the glue residue, prime and paint? That would be good enough for me. I now see why POR15 would be way overkill for me since I have to rust or bare metal.

Maybe I'll just strip it and leave it like you did above. We'll see.

[javadog]

Keep in mind that the perimeter of the floor has seam sealer spread on it. It's also in the drain holes. So, if you prep the floor and paint it, that stuff will be more viisible. If you remove it, you increase the possibility of water intrusion if you drive in the rain.

Fresh paint and carpet glue might not be a happy combination, unless you use a two part paint.

My vote is clean it up (you don't need stripper for that) to remove the glue residue, asphalt residue, etc. and put the carpet in.

Why create more problems for yourself and maybe make your carpet install more of a problem?

JR

[Ds1]

Originally Posted by javadog

My vote is clean it up (you don't need stripper for that) to remove the glue residue, asphalt residue, etc. and put the carpet in.

What would you use instead of stripper? (boy this should have just been called "the stripper thread")

[jamesjedi]

I did both underbody and interior. I will NEVER do it again.

I did most of it with a wire wheel on a grinder.

Horrible job to do.

[Ds1]

Oops, just saw nineball's link. Citristrip looks like the perfect way to go, and I think you guys have won on the "strip it and just carpet it"... I forgot about the new carpet glue that will ruin my new paint anyway.

Thanks everyone! I hope to document this process a bit, too.

[brcorp]

A couple of wire wheels and a quart of acetone......

[wcover91]

I have been researching the same topic for the past few months. I was lucky and the asphalt/tar stuff came up pretty easy, breaking off in large chunks. I wiped all of the surfaces clean from residue using MEK. It worked very well.

brcorp, what did you use to paint your interior with? Is that just spray can or POR15?

[Tremelune]

A tangentially related post on my research for modern sound deadening (while you're in there):

Interior sound deadening, noise reduction, and thermal insulation

[javadog]

I have about every solvent known to man, so I generally use the least offensive to start with. If you are removing traces of the old asphalt sound deadening material, I'd scrape up any bits with a heat gun and plastic scraper, then soften the remainder with a little light oil. After wiping that up, I'd attack any glue residue with some 3M adhesive remover. Final cleanup is usually a little lacquer thinner on a rag. I try not to damage the original coating on the floor.

No way would I ever use a grinder wheel to do this.

JR

[doublebuffle]

Originally Posted by brcorp

A couple of wire wheels and a quart of acetone......

And a little time, it took me a solid 12 hours to get to this point. I hadn't figured out nineball's trick for removing the adhesive though.

[doublebuffle]

Originally Posted by Ayles

I may have been lucky, but the asphalt (or whatever is) chipped up in big chunks. I cleaned up the remaining residue with citrus strip. Leaving behind a very clean floor. This would probably paint up nicely but since its going to be covered by carpet why bother.

I found that the section where I had removed the adhesive/asphalt, I had also removed paint. I did not want to take any chances so I painted those areas too. I already have rust, I don't need more!

There are sections where I did not remove the adhesive. I'm thinking of leaving those the way they are and putting sticky insulation over it.

[Ds1]

Quote de brcorp

A couple of wire wheels and a quart of acetone......

And a little time, it took me a solid 12 hours to get to this point. I hadn't figured out nineball's trick for removing the adhesive though.

Oh man oh man oh man that looks so sweet though. What are you guys painting with? Can I just go over the floor after I strip my glue residue off and hope it looks like yours when it's done?

(I guess I just want to have a "frame off" kind of look to my car when I'm done with it, I just don't want to go so crazy that I spend 6 months on the floors.)

[brcorp]

I think I may have overdone it but the anal part of me kicked it and I couldn’t stop…. Following a thorough cleaning with a variety of wire brush wheels, I scrubbed any residual “stuff” off with scotch brite and acetone. Safety Moment - Make sure you have a mask on with a fan blowing through the car, both doors open and the garage door open - no use killing any more brain cells. A coat of primer and two coats a satin chassis black and I moved on to the next phase.

[jakz]

i cleaned up mine with a scraper then a wire wheel had tho do this little by little because i was using the car while doing the interior


painted the floor with cold galvanised compound then a rubberized undercoating