So looks like I need to do some emergency welding on my 1/4 panel... the lower section between the rear of the door and rear tire is cracked all the way through, and the crack in the inner wheel well- which looks like it's part of the frame integrity- has moved a LOT. I'm going to weld that crack shut by drilling a hole at the narrow end of the crack, and bracing the big end (the rust hole that the crack started from) with a short piece of 1/8" steel.

But is there a good way to remove undercoating that I can buy locally? I know Eastwood Company sells a chemical that melts the undercoating away, then you use a scraper to remove the undercoating. But is there something that the local Pep Boys would sell? Or should I just hit the area with a grinder or wire brush? I think I'd use brake cleaner to remove the rest of the residue. I'd rather not use gas, since I'll be welding

And I can't decide on a way to weld that half a car onto my Firebird. I'd like to take the whole thing, but I keep running into stumbling blocks (the roof has multiple metal braces, how would I get into the "inner" areas to weld, when I cut the car I lose my rear subframe = nothing to put a jackstand under, how will I weld the floorpan underneath the rear seat because the guy's very neat cut turned "sloppy" in that area, etc). So before I get to welding the full half of car on, I need to patch my car so I can still drive it.

Thanks! I plan to do this welding Saturday...

 

Removing undercoating sucks regardless of what chemicals you end up using. Try a variety and go for it.

S.

 

I am not really sure about which undercoating your car has, If your talking about the Factory stuff... I have NO Idea, but there was some crap that a previous owner put on my formula, I used some Kerosene and a brush, wiped it off. I also oused some Quick & Kleen (Citrus Extract) that removed it as well..

either way it was kind of messy... Good luck

John

 

Yuck, so I'm screwed no matter how I look at it, eh? Darn. I'm pretty sure it's the factory stuff... it's pretty hard, feels like a rock... can't even dent it with my thumbnail. Hey how "required" is undercoating anyway? Could we just spray an epoxy paint? Or is undercoating still the best?

 

I'd use undercoating.. It has to be slightly flexible so it doesnt chip away from driving etc... POR-15 would be my choice. Whatever chemical you decide to use, use protective gear!

 

Yeah, that por-15 is great stuff; used it on my 3.73/posi/disc axle... and it has no chips in it for the 5 months I used it (before the posi blew). Maybe I'll give it a shot; but that'd be a LOT of por-15 for the wheel wells. I just hate how the wheel well undercoating always turns gray from dirt and salt and dust. I've painted those wheel wells (with regular flat black spray paint) three times already.

 

heh

 

heh...
I keep a can of semigloss Black paint handy for painting my wheel wells before shows...

John

 

I used varsel...it works great.

 

If you're looking to remove the rock hard factory crap, warming it with a torch (don't use the pencil tip unless your feel like wasting alot of time) and then using a small metal putty knife or chisel (around the 2" width range) to scrape it off (while still warm/hat)works semi-well although still time consuming. The 'residue' then wipes off fairly easily the rest of the way with laquer thinner or similar product.