I'm removing my interior for....many reasons, anyway, I have two questions:

What purpose do those "plugs" in the floorboards serve? Can I weld them shut or what? I'd prefer to cut a square hole, and weld in sheet metal, I get the idea this is moisture trap....(well, when there is no goop above it, which brings me to my next questions:

How do you remove the "goop" over those plugs? I've used a heat gun, and a scraper/flat blade screwdriver.... What about the remnants, that you can see in the picture?


laquer thinner? acetone? paint stripper? shotgun? It seems impervious to chemicals...

The reason why i'm removing this is to lay down some dynamat (peel n seal to be specific)....

Thanks
-J

 

I used a scraper. Took forever! From what I understand, the plugs are for the factory's use. Once they dip the shells at the factory I guess they become drain plugs and they patch them up.

 

hmm, ok. The scraper is working for me, but the little bits around are impossible to get... I hoped there was a chemical I could use... I hope to paint it, then peel-n-seal it, so I want the paint to stick....

any other thoughts?

 

did you try scraper with a heat gun. I bought the gun from harbor freight for 10 (or maybe even 9) bucks. Worked well for that one job.

I'd would also like to know what those plugs are actually for.

 

yep, that's what I did, limited success.
Somebody has to have done this before, all the people that put down dynamat on the floor had to remove this gunk, as it held in a good section of carpet underlay...
or is it just supposed to be a big PITA with a scraper?

 

I used a screwdriver and a scraper (the ones you get at the auto shop for removing gaskets). If you heat it, it gets real sticky, so your best bet is to do it when it's cool outside or work out of direct sun. After you get most of it off (it's not easy) then use some brake cleaner to spray it down and take a rag and wipe it. Some will come off and some will smear, but do it a couple times and it should shine right up.

 

brake cleaner ? k, I have a can of that junk, i'll try that and BRB.
thanks
-J

 

hmm yea, that brake-kleen didn't help much... neither did laquer thinner...
I think i'll try some acid of some kind, maybe a squirt bottle of muriatic acid perhaps?

any other ideas would be much appreciated before I go wreck anything

 

ur gonna like melt a hole in ur floorpan sooner or later with all these chemicals lol

I just had my carpet out yesterday, just replacing it but i noticed them didnt pay any attention. Man i shoulda taken a picture my floorpans looked brand new so shiny and white i was impressed.

 

judging from your pick it appears you are refering to the factory seam sealer. if that is the case your only hope is to keep chopping at it or grind it out

 

I do not believe he is talking about the seam sealer.

I just remembered something from when I did this a few weeks ago. I pressure washed the inside of the shell before I removed the glue and it was much easier after that. Maybe it's water soluable?

 

Well there is that black sealer, at the "seams", i'm guessing that's the seam sealer? that stuff came of kinda easily...
This stuff is orange-ish, and has an arrow to it in the pic...

hmm, maybe hot water? or maybe that's just another heat thing... I'll try my steam cleaner on it I guess, can't hurt..

-J

 

you wont be able to get it off chemically.

if this is being painted afterward, you can use a wire wheel on a drill or a rotory tool... the 3M pads also work well, but clog eventually.

there isnt a easy out.. scrape the majority off, then get the rest with the drill.. then re-paint and go on...

 

hmm, damn, yea, that's what i'll be doing now... I hope I don't clog my wire wheel on a drill though, that's annoying...

 

Try the tool and parts cleaner from crappy tire. Tall blue can. That stuff will lift paint. Most powerfull stuff I have ever seen in a rattle can. Don't know if it will work for this stuff but you can make use of it for many other things if it doesn't.

 

huh, never heard of that... remember a brand name? is it by permatex? I'll give that a shot, thanks... I'll report back, I imagine SOMEONE would like a better solution to this then the gasket scraper, boy that sux...

 

I still think your best bet is to grind out/or smooth down with wire wheel. worse case senerio you gind down to bare metal. you have tried mult chemicals without any luck. If you are going to lay down dynomat or something similar you should be ok once you smooth out the seam sealer, filler, or whatever you got there.

does this mysterious compound remind you of caulk?

 

searched google for that, came up with

http://www.ottawaprelude.ca/yabbse/i...;threadid=3295

anyway, not sure if they're talking about the exact same goop or not, but pure acetone seemed to be the only thing that really helped, but i'll give that stuff a try first, then some acetone... (i've tried laquer thinner with very limited success...)

 

Mastercraft. Great stuff. I use it for all kinds of things. TB and brake cleaner ect have nothing on this stuff. It evaporates like brake cleaner so cover it up after you apply it with some tinfoil or something so it can really set into it.

 

Knotted wire wheel on an angle grinder rips right through the stuff like it wasn’t there.

Wear eye protection, gloves and no loose cloths (I once caught a shirt in one… by the time I managed to stall it with my gloved hands I managed to rip all my belly hair off)

 

I used the knotted wire wheel on an angle grinder awhile back when i ripped my goo up and man it made short work of it. I've now went all the way around the car getting rid of the stuff. I'm gonna weld it like the guys that did the infamous japanese camaro.

 

that's what I usually do putting roll cages/bars in, it's much less work then futzing around with a screwdriver/scraper, and if you don't get the stuff out it starts a nice fire and contaminates your weld bead...

 

*** damn! I got myself a knotted wire wheel, 5/8 -11, 3.5" diameter, max rpm 11,500rpm. Fits a 4.5" angle grinder perfectly. Ran me $38, but it's very heavy duty, and it'll last a long long time.
Theres a pic of the one I bought. In a word: Awesome. That did make short work of it, just chewed right through it, and didn't clog at all, just tossed bits of goo everywhere... but a quick vacuuming and that stuff came right up... Plus if you hold it in place for a while, or put some pressure on, you can lift your rust, take off paint, and leave a nice smooth shiny surface for painting

Now to hit it with some Rust-Not, and peel-n-seal. Thanks!!!

 

The cup brushes like that work OK, the normal knotted wheels work even better, they work faster and are easier to control in tight spaces, especially with an overpowered anglegrinder (I’ve got an 8.5A rigid and milwakee). If you try hard enough you’ll remove actual metal with them also.

 

damn! learn something new every day.... Well, after $60 worth of wire wheels (one for the drill, one for the bench grinder, now a $38 one for the angle grinder), I have more then I need, but for next time, i'll keep that in mind

 

right angle grinder with a wire wheel,
thats what worked for me, but that was on the 68 camaro and the goop was pretty dry and hard.
later and

GB

rick