Remove under coating any recomendations

I tried numerous ways to remove the undercoating and I settled on a hot air gun with a putty knife as the easiest. Then I came back through with a wire wheel on a die grinder to polish the last of it off.

The remnants can be removed with any good solvent, M.E.K. methyl ethyl ketone is a good strong solvent, use with care and in good ventilation.

Julian

I do it the same way as Julian.
From what my experience is, is this the best way .

Simon

Do you use a metal scraper or hard plastic? If metal do you have to worry about gouging the metal under the coating?

I'll be startimg this process soon too.

I essentially followed the same method as Julian. The thicker material with a heat gun and scrapper (various metal). Used kerosene to soften and scrape some areas. No way around it, it is a dirty job. I emphasize Julian's comment regarding open air, good ventilation.

My undercoating was so hard and brittle I was able to remove most of it cold using a thin spring-steel scraper and a chipping action. Surprisingly little damage occurred to the original paint. I did the final cleanup with (I think) lacquer thinner. It is a long and tedious job.

My big tip: don't even try to do it without removing the engine first off. You'll save more time than it takes to pull the deck lid (remove hinge pins only) and the engine with ZF attached. I agree with the Bed liner approach. I used paint and it's far less durable (my trunk pan scratches it easily). It's a tough job, but worth doing.

Like Mark, I found working with it cold to be easier and less messy. Chipping with a flexible steel scraper and flat-bladed screwdriver often times removes the undercoating cleanly, especially over painted areas. Any remaining undercoating was removed with either a drill or angle grinder with various wire attachments and cleaned up with lacquer thinner.

I removed almost 40lbs of undercoating on my Porsche 944 race car using a cheap Harbor Freight Oscillating Multi Tool, and lots beer... Still a PIA but fastest method I've found.

HF - Oscillating-tools

No first hand experiance but I've read that dry ice works really well.

Hi.

I removed the hard undercover with high presure cold water cleaner 240bar with turbo jet noesle
I Think i get around 90% off with only using High presure water.

Kjeld

If you're not trying to save the paint underneath. Needler (needle scaler) is a miracle worker.

I've tried everything mentioned here besides the pressure washer, and the needler was the winner hands down.

Again, it will damage underlying paint, but not the metal.

From what I have seen on Youtube the needle scaler is the way to go.
I am going to due the bottom of car.The engine bay is already done . The under coating it soft. I am no sure if it will work good on the soft under coating . I ordered a Intersolram unit. What do you think about spraying lizard skin sound proofing . I put Dynamat on inside of car but still looking to make cabin quieter .

Not sure about lizard skin in engine bay but i was told it was the best bet for in canin installs


How far is chester from bridgeport, ct?

I am 1 hour and 30 minuets from bridge port CT. I my dad live and attended college in Bridge Port . If interested we can meet at Bear Mountain state park one Wednesday over the summer .They have a big car show .

U have a pm

The needle scaler works good on some parts of under coating. On the thicker and softer areas it's not working. The scraper works better .This is a lot harder job then I thought it would be. I Just purchased a heat gun, hope it makes things go faster .

Hit it with a torch and burn some of the "oils" out, then go back with the needler.

The worst and messiest job I have ever done on a car!!!

Heat Gun and Scraper: I used a heat gun and scraper, like Julian, which is how I removed most of the stuff. Note that the scraper will not slide smoothly on the metal beneath to cleanly lift off sheets of the undercoating because it hides a multitude of manufacturing sins - weld splatter, rough edges, etc. And be aware that you will burn yourself with that heat gun - at least I did on several occasions. Then you'll need to thoroughly wipe out all the spot weld dimples and crevices with lots of lacquer thinner, as well as rub down the entire surface to remove the remaining undercoating film.

Wire Wheel: I also tried a wire wheel on a die grinder - that only threw crap all over the garage, and in my hair, ears, clothes, etc.

Torch and scraper: I also tried a torch to heat the stuff and scrape it off - this is fine if you like noxious fumes and inhaling carcinogens.

If I were to do it again, I'd use aircraft stripper. A friend and his daughter stripped his entire engine compartment in about 4 hours one evening to prep the car for paint. I thought I could save the paint beneath, but it was a mess by the time I was done. Aircraft stripper would have been much faster and easier I think.

The torch and scraper worked the best, The heat gun takes way to long to heat up under coating. Has any on tried acetone to remove what is left .
I was thinking of painting the bottom of car red.How much do you think the under coating cut down road noise. I was thinking of painting bottom with lizard skin . but like the look of paint.

One owner a few years ago solved the soft-area problem by using dry ice. But he still had the spotweld dimples etc to clean up. There just isn't any 'easy way'....

wire wheel on a 4" right angle grinder and charcoal lighter fluid, its the same as solvent
squirt it on and let it sit until it soften up the whale on it. their no easy way.

The angle grinder with a heavy wire wheel works great, but very messy . The torch with I think it's call Napp gas in yellow can work very good too .I purchased a stud welder a couple years ago to pullout dents and never used it .The thing works great I pulled out all the dents in the under body. I am thinking of painting bottom to match the body color . wHAT DO YOU THINK.

With the undertray body-colored- especially the sides that are visible without getting underneath, the car may end up looking chunky; that's why they had a black painted undertray from the factory. If you can, find a photo that you (or someone else) can play around with on Photoshop before you do something expensive you ultimately won't like.

Here's a couple different looks....

Lower Body Treatments

under coat removed and painting done

Never seen the underside painted other than black. Looks like a lot of work and a nice result.

Jerry Brubaker's green 74L is painted underneath and it shines just as well as the topside!

Bill you didnt waste anytime!! I get started next week.

Has anyone used Lizard Skin for the engine bay?

There are several threads that talk about using it.

On the subject of dry ice. I thoroughly researched it and while it sounds great because it sublimates, and leaves nothing behind, it's more of a cleaning process than stripper. It's not going to get tough undercoating, rust or anything tough like that off. It will remove grease, dirt, and general crud, but you're not going to get near bare metal. In addition, in my local there is a 500 lb. minimum order at $1.50 a lb. and it only lasts a few days. The equipment is also expensive to rent, IF you can find someone near you that has it.

In short, it's not very attractive.

If you want to remove under coating fist thing is torch and scraper then buy a needle scaler and wire brush for drill. I found the one where the wire comes out the front worked good . Also a must buy angle grinder with thick twisted wire wheel .Took about about a day to take off under coating with torch , one day with needle scaler and one day with wire wheel.I the spent one day to paint. i used self etching primer and paint.

some pics trying to find out what size pics should be

painted

I had problem when working on car in my garage.
Now my car is getting new window and paint job.
Thank god for inshurence