[trepidation]

Hello esteemed gents, and ladies wherever you are.

On one of my many incomplete projects I am scraping off this lovely insulation from the floor of my car. It appears to be an asphalt based material. I usually use a map torch to heat it up and scrape under it with a chisel or a wide metal scraper (looks like a putty knife).

There's plenty of residue left however, and it's kinda sticky. I was wondering if any folks had some recommendations on getting rid of the last of it. I would imagine that media blasting would be the best way, however I don't quite enough air compressor for that one.

is there a common chemical item I could try on this, that I could just pour on and mop up? I had considered turpentine, but wasn't sure if it would be better than anything else.

[gto_ron]

I've had good luck with lacquer thinner and brillo pads. It's still tedious, messy, and flammable.

Ron

[302 Z28]

Or wait till it's really cold outside and scrape it off with a putty knife.

Vince

[anglipop]

The last post was nearly there. Get some dry ice, break it up into small chunks (engineering term), sprinkle generously on top side of floor / panel/ part, then whack (advanced engineering term) with a hammer just hard enough to break off the the undercoating. Watch you don't whack too hard - we all know what happens if you whack too hard ...

[Old Fool]

Originally Posted by trepidation

Hello esteemed gents, and ladies wherever you are.

On one of my many incomplete projects I am scraping off this lovely insulation from the floor of my car. It appears to be an asphalt based material. I usually use a map torch to heat it up and scrape under it with a chisel or a wide metal scraper (looks like a putty knife).

There's plenty of residue left however, and it's kinda sticky. I was wondering if any folks had some recommendations on getting rid of the last of it. I would imagine that media blasting would be the best way, however I don't quite enough air compressor for that one.

is there a common chemical item I could try on this, that I could just pour on and mop up? I had considered turpentine, but wasn't sure if it would be better than anything else.

Naptha works well

[1ownerT]

I have found that the cleaner Purple Power when used straight will soften and remove some undercoating and it won't be flammable.

[trepidation]

for the remaining stuff, I do plan on trying the dry ice approach... though it seems like potential for an equal mess. Finding the stuff seems to be more tricky these days, no doubt because of litigation.

I tried some stuff I found at the hardware store, goof off. It works, but takes a lot and is expensive. I will try some naptha and see how it goes. I do have some laquer thinner, so I will try that tonight.



for a brief instant I told myself maybe I can just upgrade my air compressor and get a sand blaster, then I flipped over to the NT site an looked at the sand blasters. yikes.

[302 Z28]

I would not like to use anything that is flammable. Try and explain that when you have to call the fire department.

Vince

[fireboat]

sandblasters don't work well on undercoating. It seems to be soft enough to absorb the impact energy of the abrasive. Of course, I don't have a mega dollar sandblaster to know for sure.
I haven't had much luck with any method except for elbow grease although I found that some paint removers when covered by saran wrap for a day to keep it moist, will soften the undercoating.

[anglipop]

The dry ice disappears - it's not like regular ice melting and leaving water. The only mess left will be cold, hard chunks of undercoating. If you can sweep them up into a dust pan before they thaw, they won't leave a mess either. Try a small piece of dry ice to see how it works ... then you will be hooked!

[trepidation]

Originally Posted by anglipop

The dry ice disappears - it's not like regular ice melting and leaving water. The only mess left will be cold, hard chunks of undercoating. If you can sweep them up into a dust pan before they thaw, they won't leave a mess either. Try a small piece of dry ice to see how it works ... then you will be hooked!

oh, no, I meant from the stuff shattering but still sticking to the floor... kinda like cracking the top layer. never know until I try though, just gotta find a source.

[redsdad]

Originally Posted by anglipop

The dry ice disappears!

It actually sublimes. Same thing with naphthalene (moth balls). At atmospheric pressure, it goes directly from a solid to a gas. So, there are two reasons to be careful with dry ice. First is skin damage from direct contact. Second is asphyxiation. Dry ice is carbon dioxide. If you are in an enclosed space as it turns into a gas, the CO2 level is going to rise. Chances are slim, but I would only do it in a well ventilated area. O/W, it should work fine. I just use lacquer thinner.

[willys36@aol.com]

Use lacquer thinner and lots of blue paper towels. Works fine. Don't over-think the problem. And what ever you do, crank up your carbon footprint. CO2 is NOT a pollutant except maybe between Algore's ears.