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By texasmark1 - 13 Years Ago
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Working on son's Mercury; its "remove the old undercoating and see what's really there" time; I've read about using mineral spirits, oven cleaner, kerosene, heat... you name it, someone makes a point of saying its the best thing since sliced bread, so I'm coming to my most trusted source... give it to me straight, I can take it... is it just plain old elbow grease, a scraping tool and the next month or so on our backs chiseling away at it?? open to all suggestions! thanks,Mark
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By LON - 13 Years Ago
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Mark , Option #1 .Hire a high pressure steam cleaner . Option #2 .Hire a sand blaster . Option #3. Lay on your back for a week with a scraper ,get dirt in your eyes ,ears ,mouth ,nose ,bash your head ,skin your knuckles ,cuss & curse then wish you had picked option #1 or 2 .I seem to do it with every car I rebuild ????? Trust me , go for #1,or 2 .It may cost some dollars but it is worth the money in the long run .My opinion . Lon
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By Glen Henderson - 13 Years Ago
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Lon with the rust that we have over here, a high pressure cleaner would most likely blow some of the panels out. Mark give the kid a good scraper, wire brush and good safety glasses and let him have at it. Get you a nice comfortable chair and a cold drink and give advice. That way he will learn for himself that a nice ride did not just happen overnight. Another option, buy a few snacks and soda and tell him to invite his friends over for a party. You will be surprised at how much of that crud they will scrape off for food.
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By hjh - 13 Years Ago
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Texasmark1 The best way I have found to remove undercoating. Use a weed burner, they are used to burn away weeds near fences ect. Buy them at farm supply stores like Tractor Supply here in Ohio. The use propane like a gas grill uses. A lot of common sense is involved , like not laying directly under the area your working on and be careful if you`ve sprayed any flammable material on it .Rember the carpet on the floor. Scrape it off or brush or sometimes just drip off. Good luck, but it does work. Cost of the size you would use,should be $50 to$75. hjh
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By texasmark1 - 13 Years Ago
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Glen, I like your suggestion best of any I've come across! Esp the idea of having his friends over and making a day of it! No solvents, nasty smells, heat/fire, etc... yep, I believe you have hit a homerun! pics might be fun too! Mark
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By suede57ford - 13 Years Ago
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Use a needle scaller avaliable from Harbor Frieght. It was posted on the H.A.M.B from Iamflashman, you could search it. Also posted on 57fordsforever. He also has it on a video link on his Flicker page.' The needle scaller removers the old undercoating quickly and easily.
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By texasmark1 - 13 Years Ago
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YIKES! that needle scaler looks frightening! watched a few youtube vids on it... like what I see; I just wonder if it might possibly damage metal that was not too strong, in other words, kind of rusty... also, would it work on a coating of grease, road grime and undercoating... cause that's what the underside of this 63 is like. thanks,Mark
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By 'GB'ird - 13 Years Ago
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I use a hot air (paint stripper) gun for the heat and a good solid scraper, don't like the idea of a naked flame around an old car. If the underseal is rubberised and I'm guessing it is, I don't think sand blasting will get it off. High pressure steam cleaning will shift the loose stuff but not the firmly adhering areas. Richard
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By Glen Henderson - 13 Years Ago
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Mark, the needle gun works good, we used them at work stripping paint, rust and crud from military equipment being preped for paint. I don't have the HF gun yet, but I am going to get one. You will need some hearing protection to go along with the eye protection.
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By paul2748 - 13 Years Ago
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Definitely a paint heat gun. I did the underside of my56 Tbird and it softens up the undercoating real good.
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By slumlord444 - 13 Years Ago
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Heat gun and sharp putty knife. Also works for stripping paint. Would not use open flame. Have to be careful with heat gun because you can catch car on fire with it also.
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By petew - 13 Years Ago
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Go on ebay and buy a cheap air powered gasket scraper . The combination of the brittle old undercoating attacked with that vibrating scraper causes the stuff to come off in big chunks revealing clean metal underneath. I did that on my 55 Tbird and it worked like a champ Pete
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By Rono - 13 Years Ago
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I used a right angle, front exhaust die grinder with coarse abrasive discs and that worked really well. Wear safety glases and a dust mask. Rono.
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By skygazer - 13 Years Ago
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petew (10/15/2011)
Go on ebay and buy a cheap air powered gasket scraper
I second that. I've had best luck with an electric Wagner paint scraper... the original undercoating (1955) is so brittle that it comes off in chunks when the power scraper is at the right angle, exposing the paint underneath. For tighter areas, I use a small air powered needle scaler. The needle gun will chip the paint, however.
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By texasmark1 - 11 Years Ago
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back to this topic, I've stumbled across a workable solution.
torch attachment that screws on the little propane bottles used for Coleman stoves and lanterns!
turns the undercoating, and in our case, probably some roofing tar, into soft peanut butter-consistency goop that scrapes off with a paint scraper.
still a messy job but works well. this thing had it on the reverse side of both bumpers and all over the undercarriage...
what a mess!!
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By 56_Fairlane - 11 Years Ago
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I'm so glad I don't have any undercoating on my car. I do have some old caked on grease on the front suspension. A heat gun and various flat tools has made the removal process fairly easy.
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By LordMrFord - 11 Years Ago
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Very good machine when you have scrape stuff. Coating, paint, skin...
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By ian57tbird - 11 Years Ago
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Did it say to use it for that in the instructions? Ouch.
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By LordMrFord - 11 Years Ago
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ian57tbird (11/12/2013)
Did it say to use it for that in the instructions? Ouch.
If you assume that product is not working properly, try it to your hand before using it to your Ford's priceless floor.
...or did I read right?
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