I am in the process of redoing the ol' S10. It has some black crap on the firewall and in the door jambs. I finally put 2 and 2 together and decided it was rust protection. I think the black plugs all over the truck gave it away. I was removing it with a wire wheel and it leaves a residue that I use brake cleaner to clean it off with.

I was wondering if anyone has run into this and what they used to clean it. If I can get the brake cleaner to stay on it long enough, it will wipe off. So I have to believe that there is some kind of cleaner that can remove this junk.

Thanks,
Tony

I am assuming this maybe is undercoating? Is it kinda rubbery and smears when you sand or grind on it? Maybe it had some rusty areas and someone loaded those areas with undercoating or just shot on that in place of taking the time to properly prep and paint. I've ran into that before, may be easy for them, but makes a chore for the next guy. I've had best luck using kerosene soften and a putty knife remove the majority of it, and then wipe again with kerosene or lacquer thinner. Others heat with a heat gun and scrape. Any way you look at it, its a messy and not a very fun job.

worth a try, my first choice:

borrow mama's can of EZ-Off oven cleaner and test a small area....75% (?) chance it will work great

WARNING! its going to strip it to bare steel

plan B is follow Kenseth's instructions....if brake cleaner will cut it it is oil based

i used mineral spirits/ paint thinner to do it... softened it and scrapped it out, then wiped with a clean rag and more spirits. if it is hard undercoating/noise deander, i was watching a friend chip it out with a chisel... he had to use dry ice to freeze it first then chipped it out very little residue after that because it kind of froze the rubbery stuff. i have also used easy off... but that stuff burns if you get it anywhere on your skin.... i'll stick to the mineral spirits. at $3 a gallon it's cheap.

Good stuff to try. I am going to get some mineral spirits and try that. I don't think it was put on to cover rust. The areas that I have cleaned are perfect under it. I think it is probably a Ziebart type rust protection. There are little black plugs in the door jambs and along the back of the cab. I will try to get a couple pictures and update when I get some cleaner.

Tony

Not saying it was necessarily put over rust, just saying I've seen it done before by the quick and dirty shops. Quick and easy to grab some spray can of undercoating and bomb it to cover up or in place of painting. And why would they spray the firewall and jambs with the stuff? These areas are normally painted on an s10. I can see use of a rust proofing material inside panels, doors, rockers, wheelwells, ect, but this is not normally sprayed on the exterior parts of the firewall and jambs, unless its just a small spot that they happened to get some on.

jvsapp,
good point, EZ-Off is lye based (same as you use to "hot tank" clean an engine)...wear gloves and glasses

I bought a wall paper steamer and after 2 seconds of steam it scrapes off.

Not quick, not super easy, but easier than most, faster than most, less expensive than most, and no fumes, and no chances of the car going up in flames.

Steve

yeah i had glasses on, and spraying the underside of my car to paint it, the wind caught the ezoff spray and i got a face full... running for the water isn't fun when the face is burning, and it spotted my glasses with areas it ate into the scratch proofing.

but it did help clean it all up... here are before and after pics of my nova.

Is that a heater delete car? Looks like it's ready for a 327 , Bob

Wheres the other bank of cylinders? Looks like some very nice work you are doing there jvsap

yup, here in hawaii, heater delete cars are dime a dozen. if you can still find them though... mine is going to be a family car...