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Old Undercoating


ReeNerf

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Some insanely nasty paint stripper might work.  I used some gel deck stripper ('Super Remover') on the interior of my car and it turned the tar in there into mush that wiped right off.  It even worked better than aircraft paint remover actually...  You'll want to be very careful though, it eats through regular rubber gloves in about 5 minutes, and burns skin in seconds.  Face protection, layers of clothing, painters mask, etc are all necessary.  

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There really is no easy way. Be prepared to spend a lot of your time underneath your car if you dont have a rotisserie. You can avoid bulk of the harsh chemicals by using a heat gun and a scraper. Heat up an area and the scraper should cut through easily. Use mineral spirit, scotchbrite pads and rags to wipe up what's remaining.

 

It's a labor of love...

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Buy a couple sets of these:

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-twisted-wire-cup-brush-60482.html

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-crimped-wire-bevel-brush-96191.html

 

Use the 3" twisted cup first to get the majority out, then use the regular wire wheel for a cleaner result. 

I tried the paint stripper method on one wheel well with a friend helping and it took half a day. I went and bought the above and got the other wheel well done by myself in less than 2 hours

 

Wear masks and safety glasses. Those wires shoot out occasionally and prepare to get super dusty. 

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There really is no easy way. Be prepared to spend a lot of your time underneath your car if you dont have a rotisserie. You can avoid bulk of the harsh chemicals by using a heat gun and a scraper. Heat up an area and the scraper should cut through easily. Use mineral spirit, scotchbrite pads and rags to wipe up what's remaining.

 

It's a labor of love...

 

I did exactly this.  It is truly a labor of love.  Have some good music playing and a few glasses/bottles of your favorite drink on hand and have at it.

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Buy a couple sets of these:

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-twisted-wire-cup-brush-60482.html

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-crimped-wire-bevel-brush-96191.html

 

Use the 3" twisted cup first to get the majority out, then use the regular wire wheel for a cleaner result. 

I tried the paint stripper method on one wheel well with a friend helping and it took half a day. I went and bought the above and got the other wheel well done by myself in less than 2 hours

 

Wear masks and safety glasses. Those wires shoot out occasionally and prepare to get super dusty. 

 

 

 

HF angle grinder good enough for those? Im also needing to strip my undercoating before i paint it, and tried my air compressor with an air die grinder /wire wheel, and my air compressor just can't keep up with it.

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HF angle grinder good enough for those? Im also needing to strip my undercoating before i paint it, and tried my air compressor with an air die grinder /wire wheel, and my air compressor just can't keep up with it.

 

I would assume a HF one would work fine. Mine is a DeWalt though.

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You end up spending more money using harbor freight wire wheels than a name brand. The wires fly out of theirs so fast, so make sure you wear glasses. I was grinding a large area and it took 3 harbor freight wheels to do the same amount of the area as 1 I bought from the welding shop, and the good one removed material faster. The good ones were about 2 times the price of harbor freight but lasted 3 times longer and works you less, so they end up being cheaper in the real world.

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My findings were based on one wheel well so I would imagine you are correct Socorob. I got hit in the nose and it was not a pleasant feeling. However that is to be expected of any wire wheel and safety precautions should always be taken.

 

I would also recommend always buying quality tools when you can. It just so happened that I came accross these wheels at HF and figured I would give them a try.

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I like the dry ice idea. I've never tried it on undercoat, but it works amazing on interior sound deadener, sounds like it's worth a shot. In the past I've used a heat gun and scraper, followed by wire wheel and lastly a scrub with gasoline. It's a hateful job. 

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After first trying the oven cleaner method only end up with gooey, caustic sludge, I changed gears and picked up a barely used Snap on "crud thug" from ebay, as well as a cheap needle scaler and pneumatic chisel set from Harbor freight, and last but not least finished off with my Makita electric drill with 3m round scotchbrite wheel . The first needle gun only lasted a few hours and was replaced with another that is still going strong. The chisel set, with multiple shaped and sized ends ended up stripping out from it's oh so nice quality, and now only has one head option. The China freight tools were purchased with the complete understanding that they would most likely be disposable tools. The Crud Thug is a workhorse of a wire wheel tool, unlike the cheap wire wheels you can buy from Home Depot that end up breaking and sending little wire shards back at you at high velocity.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you're talking about something sprayed on the under side then I have no idea, but if you're talking about the rubberized stuff inside on the floors then a wire wheel will do nothing but make a giant mess. I tried it before moving on to dry ice, which is IMO the ONLY way to go. There was still a little leftover undercoating in isolated spots and I still hate it when I accidentally hit one with a grinder disc or wire wheel while I'm cutting or grinding welds. Makes a huge mess and sprays all over.

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