71oldsS

I know there is no easy way to do it but what would be a good way to clean up the underside of my car. I'm sure scraping, grinding wheel on drill attached works, is there form of degreaser or chemical that helps break down the 40 year old gook. Also is sand or bead blasting an option? what to put on bare metal once this stuff is cleaned off. POR seems to be a big hit with a lot of you guys. all suggestions appreciated. this is not a frame off so i will be on my back during this fun part, 2 weekends ago was control arm removal. sending those out to lever family for a makeover.

oldstata

I wouldn't sand blast it hurts lol unless you have body armer and it really is not cost affective. I just did my wheel well and I ended up scraping the goop off with a gasket remover tool ,it was very easy but mine was dry and cracked

RAMBOW

I have not tried this myself, bt have read about it several times. Go to your local grocery store and buy some dry ice. Lay it out on the inside of the floor board and let it melt/evaporate for a while.

Go under the car and scrape. Its supposed to litterally fall right off in chunks.

Dry ice is cheap, so id give it a go.

Doc350s

Been through this with my 73. I used a propane torch to warm up the "40 year old gook" and it came off easily with a putty knife. It seems to be a waxy tar type of undercoating. I've also used POR-15. The bare metal needs to be worked either by sandblasting or sanding to give the surface something to hook up with. Metal prep may also be required. If you don't prep it properly one scratch and you can peel it off. I used a industrial steel epoxy for the whole underside and inside of the panels followed up by truck bedliner. All done with the body up on sawhorses away from the frame.

Pacecar

I have used a heat gun to soften the undercoating and then scrape off with a putty knife or a gasket scraper for the tighter areas. You can buy a heat gun at Home depot or Lowes pretty inexpensive. It comes off in good sized sections this way

ELY442

I agree with Doc350s. I use a propane torch and it comes off like butter. You don't have to "BURN IT OFF" just "WARM IT UP" and scrape it off.
If POR-15 is a little pricey for you then go for Rustoleum. I use a gallon of black Rustoleum and it came out very impressive.
I did nothing for the bare metal. I just paint over it. If the metal has a smooth finish, use a rough sandpaper so the paint can have a bite to it.

bennie442s

Recently I just did this fun job on my 70. I tried many different methods including: stripper, heat, and sandblasting. In my opinion the fastest method was stripper. Make sure you have very good gloves and protection for the skin! The stripper worked for getting the big stuff off, for the smaller areas left over I used the heat gun/propane torch. Finally, once it was all off I sandblasted the floors to make them super clean! We epoxy primed the floors and then covered in a 30% gloss black Dupont Emron product. I have included pics of the floors in primer and final paint. Check out my build thread if you want to see the before and during pics: https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...nvertible.html

J-(Chicago)

Buy a needle scaler. Works like a charm.

oldstata

I guess I should clarify .I scrapped of gook then sand blasted the wheel well for prime then plan on reapplying some type of under coating

BILL DEMMER

torch and a putty knife, worked great.


bill

gearheads78

this....