removing tar

echocanyons · echocanyons's Garage

I am in the process of stripping my 356 to the metal before I replace the floorpans.
I have two sets of questions.
The first:
Is there a preferred floor pan from the companies out there or are the all the same and are they galvanized?
I understand that occansionaly some fabrication/cutting is required is this so?

The second:
Is it OK to use chemicals ie: acetone based products to remove the Tar and soundproofing from the bottom and interior of the car?
If so should this be washed afterwards and if so with what?

I am asking this on the 914 board for lack of feedback on the 356 board.
Thanks in advance,

Kelly

captjm · 07-11-2001, 08:49 PM

I have used a twisted wire brush head mounted on an electric Makita grinder. It takes it off and makes a mess. Another way I have found by accident is to burn it off with a propane torch and putty knife. I was patching in a piece of metal using a wire feed welder when this stuff caught fire-- It then just scrapes away with ease then. I would only use a torch if the car was stripped down to body only and fuel lines, interior ect. were out of the vehicle., extinguisher nearby... work small areas.. ect. at your own risk with adult supervision ect. ect..

Good luck-

John Rogers · 07-11-2001, 10:19 PM

A couple of years ago I can remember going to San Diego Motor Sports and seeing Chris with a small propane torch and wide outlet heating the tar and sealant and then scraping with a putty knife. He used to heat it till soft and the scrape and then do it some more. Seemed to take a really long time as I remember and was very messy but not as messy as a wire brush and the splatter. He was removing weight for his 914 race car and it was worth the effort. When I had to do some floor pan welding I just heated and removed where I was going to MIG weld. Good luck.

roadtrp204 · roadtrp204's Garage

When I steam cleaned the underside of my 914, lots of the undercoating came off. It made a big mess of the driveway though. Pelican doesn't seem to have a catalog for the 356 but there is a suggestion to contact them for 356 restoration. Another source that I am familiar with is www.restoration-design.com I am affiliated with a body shop and see all the crap that some companies pass off as replacement parts, the rear floor section, longitude support overlays, and door sills I recieved from this company were in my opinion as good if not better than oem. The floor section I recieved was galvanized. The quality of the door jam I recieved from Tweeks is not even worth mentioning.

------------------
Chris
75 914 2.0L

LHAYES · 07-12-2001, 07:14 AM

I had to get the undercoating of a baja bug I was working on and found that your standard heat gun works pretty well. I waved the gun back and forth for a minute or two and then applied a putty knife and it came off in chunks. Word of caution...it gets real hot real quick, wear thick gloves and keep the fire extinguisher next to you.

echocanyons · echocanyons's Garage

How about chemicals for stripping?
I have some acetone that I may use and I want to know if it is safe and if I should wash the surface afterwards?

Thanks

bowlsby · 07-12-2001, 12:38 PM

For asphalt based tar, why not use paint thinner...I'm not sure if acetone would work, it might.

Paint thinner being oil based, will leave a thin oily residue, but that could be cleaned up with a degreaser...simple greeen etc...or soap and water.

But I'd think you'd want to use a heat gun to scrape off as much as possible first, then clean up with paint thinner.

Acetone is much harsher and I'd stay away from it if possible.

PeteD · PeteD's Garage

The problem with using a chemical strip is what to do with the resulting mess, read "polution". Just letting it run off on the ground would not be a very responsible approach of course.

It reminds me of a cartoon I saw as a kid where the guy goes into the hardware store to buy some paint stripper. The fellow behind the counter offers up a pint can of stripper and a gallon can of something to go with it. The caption reads, "This can (the smaller) is for stripping the paint, this one (the larger) is for cleaning up the mess".

What about taking the whole thing to someone with a (very) large dip tank and letting them handle it. They should be set-up to properly dispose of the used chemicals and, assuming the dip solution is compatable with the metal (and they don't mind the tar on the bottom of their tank), you sould end up with a very clean chasis.

echocanyons · echocanyons's Garage

PeteD,
I agree that the dip tank would be the best alternative but I dont know of any local(SLC Utah) or even within a good 1000 miles.
How do they dip a chassis anyway? Do they use a crane and chains?
The main reason I dont want to scrape the tar is the scrape marks in the chassis and even with scraping there is residual tar left on the chassis(Ive scraped most of it).
Would plastic media blasting remove the rest of the tar.
one more question:
Does plastic media blasting remove rust?

Thanks for the feedback.

Kelly

SteveStromberg · 07-13-2001, 07:26 AM

My buddy Kenny had a guy bring a Pantera to him for paint, it had some surface rust and some blisters. The owner thougth that he would send it to Redi-Strip to remove the paint and rust. The car came back well about half the car came, the was not much left as the rust was removed and there were NO floors, one threshold was gone, the windsheild frame and many other areas were swiss chesse. the owner just gave up his car was not worth fixing.Steve

John Rogers · 07-13-2001, 09:36 AM

Try the site: http://www.beadblast.com/ for a run down on the different types of blasting. I would be very hesitant to use a blast method due to the amount of waste produced. If you had the room a shelter could be made and sealed and then the blasting done inside with you wearing an air source. This might work in Utah but I doubt anyone could try it in SoCal anymore without the EPA being called? I'd use the heating/scraping method, good luck.

07-13-2001, 12:36 PM

A while back I read a post that said they poured diesel fuel in the floor pans of the 914 and let it sit overnight. The next day it came off really easy.

I haven't tried it.

Jon906 · 07-14-2001, 05:04 PM

See August 01 issue of European CAr, with M-Benz on cover. They went thru must options and show results. Used wire burshes, chemical, blating, Uranium-235, etc. worth reading.

Blake Meredith · 07-15-2001, 05:06 PM

If you are talking about the tar on the inside of the car, the cleanest way is to use dry ice. Break the dry ice up into small piece and lay it on top of the tar and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then take a hammer and tap on the tar. It should come up in big pieces.

WOODPIE · 07-15-2001, 07:12 PM

Blake

That idea sounds just great...it's about the cleanest way I can imagine, anyhow. Don't know if you remember me; you built the bottom end of a 2.0 a couple years ago for me. It's still running very well!

Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze old tires when they are recycled into crumb rubber. Could it be that some resourceful person has found a way to apply this technology to cleaning/reconditioning items? It would seem like a very clean and non-toxic way of solving some sticky problems.

Ed