Carpet Glue Removal

[William P.]

I have a twofold problem with old carpet glue. I have a '63 Roadster with fairly decent replacement carpet. I removed the carpet and pad because I wanted to put a "thermo / noise" barrier under it. It appears that most of the rubber backing from the original carpet was not removed prior to the replacment carpets installation. Some of it has turned to "powder". Some hasn't. The second problem is that the replacment carpet appears to have been glued in place using some "liqued nails" type adheasive. I have removed most of the old rubber backing and the glue by scraping it off. Howerver some still remains. I assume the rest will need to be scrubbed off using some type or types of solvent.....

My question is ........What solvent(s) works best for this situation ????

[James W.]

Re: Carpet Glue Removal

I have a twofold problem with old carpet glue. I have a '63 Roadster with fairly decent replacement carpet. I removed the carpet and pad because I wanted to put a "thermo / noise" barrier under it. It appears that most of the rubber backing from the original carpet was not removed prior to the replacment carpets installation. Some of it has turned to "powder". Some hasn't. The second problem is that the replacment carpet appears to have been glued in place using some "liqued nails" type adheasive. I have removed most of the old rubber backing and the glue by scraping it off. Howerver some still remains. I assume the rest will need to be scrubbed off using some type or types of solvent.....

My question is ........What solvent(s) works best for this situation ????

William,

Go to your local NAPA store and ask for 3M Weatherstrip Adhesive remover which comes in a one quart can. If you are doing the entire carpeted surfaces you will need multiple cans. This is what I use to remove the residual glue from the fiberglass floor pan surfaces on my Corvettes when replacing carpet. This product works great on the orginal and the aftermarket carpet glues and will not harm the paint if it comes in contact with it. I usually use the scotchbrite pads apply and scrub off the old glue and old rags wetted with the adhesive remover to wipe it down after the glue is removed. Another handy tool is either a putty knife or a plastic bondo paddle to help scrape the old glue off after it becomes soft.

I'm not familiar with the Liquid Nails product you describe so if it doesn't work you may want to go to Home Depot or Lowes to see what is recommended to clean up a product such as Liquid Nails. I hope this information helps you in some way.


Best Regards,

James West