[Gearhead forever]

I've switched over to doing sheet metal work on my project truck. I was wondering what the best way to remove heavy tar sealant and body caulk is. I was thinking about using my little disposable propane torch to warm up the tar and then scrape it off. My garage is heated, but only 10 degrees or so. (if that matters.)

[Bee4Me]

Most of it is usually so old and dried it will come off with a putty knife but I know what your asking. A torch will work but usually makes a bigger mess than you start with besides the smoke and SMELL that goes with it along with the accompanying fire.
I just scrape as much off with a knife and use a solvent,WD-40-lacquer thinner to finish it off.
The putty can be wire brushed/wheeled, but the rubber just,well,smears.
Tried parking it outside overnight and letting the weather chill it down for some assistance?

[ChrisMiddleron]

Ever try.. I forgot .. Im pretty sure its made by Klean Strip and its called Aircraft paint stripper or something like that. I stripped my whole 1972 Pinto inside and out using that and some of them 3m paint and rust remover things on the end of a die grinder.

Other then the paint stripper stripping everything off of the metal and the constant burn from it..... It works pretty damn good.

I had a real good inside shot but that was so long ago im loosing the pictures

[Gearhead forever]

Hmmm good point Bee. I dont need to make big smoke... Chris, the 3M things you mentioned....do they screw on to a rubber backing pad and resemble a scotchbrite or red colored scouring pad?

[Bee4Me]

When we installed the roll cage in the Chevelle,We tried wire brushing the rubber from the floorboard/firewall area and it just smeared and goop'd up the wire cup brush.So we ended up scraping it away and burnt the remainder off welding.
No big fire event,but the air was really rank inside the car during the welding.
3M makes a rubber finger'ed circular disk deal that's around 2" in dia. that works great for like gasket and paint(Iguess) removal that I believe he's refering to but I not sure IF it would work on the tar. The Fiber disk's your talking about would fill up with the tar quickly and be a waste of $$ I believe.
Outside of freezing the tar junk,there isn't an easy way of removing it.Just like trying to remove old undercoating,Just a major PIA and lot's of elbow grease.

[ChrisMiddleron]

Hey the 3m Paint and rust remover grinding disks I was talking about just hook-up to the end of a Die grinder. The key is to use the chemical stripper to remove most of the loose tar and then grind off the small stuff. The tar will burn up in the disk though. Sall good though. I have heard allot of good things about just heating this crap up with a torch and scraping it off but I haven't tried it yet.

[Gearhead forever]

The tar I want to get rid of is on the firewall around seams and areas where harnesses come throgh. I'd like to clean up the firewall and repaint it. Should I leave that on? Thanks again guys....

[Gearhead forever]

I used some varsol I keep in a spray bottle along with a putty knife, screwdriver and wire brush. It took about 3 or 4 applications of varsol and some elbow grease...but It came off. The wire brush got it loosened up in the nooks and crannies. A dampened rag wouldn't have worked as well, Spray was best.. I tried acetone initially, but it evaporated too fast to do any good.