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

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

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

yblocksdownunder

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.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

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

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

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

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.

Pat Fleischman

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

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

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

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.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

Definitely a paint heat gun. I did the underside of my56 Tbird and it softens up the undercoating real good.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ