undercoating removal

[Benjamin C.]

I have the body off of my 54. The last nasty job, before paint, is to remove the undercoating. Someone completely covered the underside. Probably thought it was going to rust. Any suggestions?

[Craig O.]

Re: undercoating removal

I had exactly the same thing. you will find a few different methods I'm sure, this is what I used: be patient and attack a small area at a time. I used EASY Off oven cleaner ( heavy duty) cover any places with plastic that you don't want exposed to over spray. wear a painters mask rated for chemicals, this is a must and watch your skin this stuff burns. put it on liberally, let it work, the thicker the under coat the longer penetration takes , you may even have to scrape what is loose and reapply. use a hard plastic scraper. once you have all the heavy stuff removed wipe down with naptha then use a grease cutting product like simply green. good luck.

[Dave S.]

Re: undercoating removal

Craig,
There is lots in the Archives on this if you can get into them. I used Kerosene with excellent results. Seems like you are not concerned with adjacent paint surfaces but if you are the kerosene will remove asphaltic based paint like frame paint. It is a nasty job for sure.

[Rob M.]

Re: undercoating removal

Careful application of heat with a small torch or heat gun will soften the undercoat. Work a small area with a putty knife. I found that this works well on reasonably flat surfaces.

[Dick G.]

Re: undercoating removal

Like previously mentioned, I also used plastic putty knives. Lay out lots of visqueedn. Nasty filthy job. Remember, the use of some products may enter your fiberglass body and get trapped and show up later attacking your new paint job. Thouroughly wash both sides of the body. Hopefully removing all cotaniments. One of final cleaners I used I bought at Menards (cheap) called Big Orange. It is a heavy duty citrus cleaner. Worked fantastic. After all is washed and dry, wipe down entire car again, top and bottom,with acetone; do not saturate. Let car dry thoroughly. Fans, sun, etc.. Regards DG

[Bert L.]

Re: undercoating removal

Some mindless creature not only applied thick black asphaltic undercoating to the underside of my '60 early in it's life, but also went as far as to include the underside of the hood. Soundproofing!.....quiet little base motor. Removal is a long, very messy and distasteful process. Most of the previously mentioned techniques and solutions were employed with various degrees of success. This task is not for the feint-hearted, much perseverence required.

[Clem Z.]

Re: undercoating removal

please make sure you use the proper safety equipment, gloves,mask etc when using these chemicals to prevent having your next of kin sell the corvette to pay the funeral bills.

[Rick S.]

Re: undercoating removal

I used a citrus paint remover that sounds similiar to what Dick Gutman describes but it was from Home Depot. What I had was the underside sprayed with undercoating. I used a heat gun to heat it up prior to scraping off as much as possible then using the citrus paint remover, then a water clean up. It took me 3 months to get that crap off and almost wore out my right shoulder socket. Not fun but a great satisfaction when done. I did this as a body on project over the winter.

[Mike G.]

Re: undercoating removal

Benjamin:

I removed a heavy layer of undercoat from '65 underbody in about 3 days.
If you don't already have an industrial heat gun -get one. Heat an area about 1 square foot at a time. Be patient, let the heat do the work for you. Scrape with a wooden or plastic implement, like a bondo paddle.
Repeat this step if necessary.
When you've gone as far as you can with mechanical removal, switch to chemical. Kerosene. Spray it on, let it work a little, then scotchbrite it off.
If you're arms are getting tired, you're not letting the heat or kerosene work for you enough...