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Tar removing tool for the shoebox floorpans

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Finnrodder, Oct 7, 2011.

  1. Finnrodder
    Joined: Oct 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,970

    Finnrodder
    Member
    from Finland

    So,i did some homework on hamb,how to get rid of the factory tar on shoebox floor pans.
    Shoebox guys know how painful this crap can be,i havent wrestled with this issue much,because there wasnt much tar left on my floor pan ruins...
    Anyway,i found some answers for the tar issue.
    And i had to try it and it really works!
    I guess some of you guys know this trick,so nothing new to you.But i wanted to share this one with the guys who doesnt know it.
    So here it is:

    1.Pick up the crappiest air chisel bit you have

    2.Pick up about 2" wide steel plate

    3.Weld the steel plate to your crappy chisel bit(I made a notch to the plate,fitted the bit to the notch and welded it by tig.It should hold it)

    4.Make the sharp edges round,so they wont harm the floorpan metal when you are hammering the tar of.

    5.Beat the shit out of your floorpans...literally:D

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  2. chaddilac
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,031

    chaddilac
    Member

    Dang you got them pans clean!!!!! :D
     
  3. Finnrodder
    Joined: Oct 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,970

    Finnrodder
    Member
    from Finland


    Haha!

    Damn smartass,they are on the fuel tank...Which i bought as tar free:D
     
  4. chaddilac
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,031

    chaddilac
    Member

    :D

    Can you show us picks of how well it works? Just curious!
     
  5. Blue One
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 11,476

    Blue One
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Alberta

    No fair posting pictures of the tool on brand new floors you just installed :D
     
  6. Finnrodder
    Joined: Oct 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,970

    Finnrodder
    Member
    from Finland

    Nope,its fuel tank,technically not a floor;)

    [​IMG]

    But the fenderwells(or whats left of them)are now cleaner than on that pic..
     
  7. nickleone
    Joined: Jun 14, 2007
    Posts: 471

    nickleone
    Member

    The non professional rally car builders, the ones that buy old Volvos and race them use Liquid Nitrogen to remove the tar etc. With protective clothing etc you blast the undercarriage and then wack it with a chipping hammer. It falls off like ice off the side of the car.

    Nick
     
  8. CrkInsp
    Joined: Jul 17, 2006
    Posts: 513

    CrkInsp
    Member
    from B.A. OK

    Try "Dry Ice". Then a hammer for easy removal.
     
  9. Old Buzzard
    Joined: Sep 29, 2007
    Posts: 15

    Old Buzzard
    Member

    We use a cheapo air putty knife from Northern Tool. It doesn't have the hard hit and stroke length of a air chisel.
    Where it's too thin to rattle off, we use a propane torch w/ a paint stripper nozzle.
    Once off, some old rags and a gallon of mineral sprits.. looks great!
    I took about 2- 5 gallon buckets of that crap off the underside of my 6T5 Hemi car..Took a day to do it. [On a roto.]
     
  10. Ralphies54
    Joined: Dec 18, 2009
    Posts: 774

    Ralphies54
    Member

    Just use a soft flame from a propane torch. Warm the metal slightly and it will peal off easily with just a stiff putty knife, easy as pie. I've done several cars that way. After the bulk of it's off then soak a rag in kerosene and wipe it down to bare steel. Guaranteed to work!
     
  11. 48SuperConvert
    Joined: Jan 17, 2011
    Posts: 107

    48SuperConvert
    Member
    from Seattle

    I used a 5" wire wheel on a hand held grinder for the big areas. It made quite a mess of my garage with tar flying everywhere...but id did come off easily and fast. Then to finish I wiped it down with kerosene.
     
  12. [​IMG]
    Harbor freight "air scaler"....works great for removing tar, undercoating, rust, etc.I used it on my shoebox frame,inside the doors, quarters etc.....
     
  13. brandoni
    Joined: May 19, 2009
    Posts: 70

    brandoni
    Member

    Ive done this for years. Works great.
     
  14. rickkane
    Joined: Oct 20, 2004
    Posts: 255

    rickkane
    Member

    Works for me too. The tar comes off slicker than snot on a doorknob.
     
  15. Finnrodder
    Joined: Oct 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,970

    Finnrodder
    Member
    from Finland

    That dry ice sounds like a worth to try,but i am not sure about any heat treatments with this crap..
     
  16. Steve Ray
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 694

    Steve Ray
    Member

    When I had mine I just thumped the floor with a hammer and the tar separated from the floor so easily I just peeled it off in large pieces. On my current OT project I was able to strip the front floors that way in 3 minutes for each side.
     
  17. Bucksnort
    Joined: Dec 24, 2007
    Posts: 3,302

    Bucksnort
    Member

    Discovered when the master cylinder sprung a leak that the brake fluid turned the tar to ooze and just used a putty knife.
    Just happened that way.:)
     
  18. slepe67
    Joined: Jan 22, 2008
    Posts: 1,146

    slepe67
    Member

    I had a '67 Mustang that I had about 10 gallons of tar and undercaotingto scrape off.

    I used a propane torch and 1 inch steel putty knife/scraper. Worked great, until I ran out of propane.

    Grabbed my heat gun and used that. Worked better!

    Just work slowly and heat and scrape as you go.

    Might work better if you wait till it gets COLD out (If it's not already in Finland???)
     
  19. Finnrodder
    Joined: Oct 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,970

    Finnrodder
    Member
    from Finland

    Nope,not yet.Its getting colder at the next month...I guess.
    January and february are the coldest months usually in here where i live.March sucks too,but i am going to be 2 weeks in Florida then,so that doesnt count:D
    My plan is to get the trunk sheetmetal work done soon.So,i guess i wont wait till january..
     
  20. repairmanrod
    Joined: Jan 6, 2007
    Posts: 77

    repairmanrod
    Member
    from colorado

    I work for a rental company that rents Cold Jet dry ice blasting units. The unit uses dry ice pellets for a media. We had some ice left over from a rent so i brought the front clip from my 55 Chevy second series pickup to work and tried to remove all the under coating. I used about a hundred pounds of ice and removed the under coating down to the paint without damaging anything. They are too expensive to just rent for a job like this but you may find a blaster in your area that can handle the job. We demo'd the unit for the City of Denver on one of their tar trucks and same thing there. Removed the tar without damaging anything.

    Rod
     
  21. bobscogin
    Joined: Feb 8, 2007
    Posts: 1,789

    bobscogin
    Member

    Quit complaining! You're lucky to have a shoe box that still has floor pans!!:D

    Bob
     
  22. i use a heat gun and putty knife. comes right off.
     
  23. Finnrodder
    Joined: Oct 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,970

    Finnrodder
    Member
    from Finland

    Yes,i have the floor,after i fabricated new floor pans.There was not much left of the factrory floor.

    [​IMG]

    I used that same method on quarterpanels.That is a good way to get rid off that tar crap.
     
  24. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    I'm building a driver and not a show car I scrape and wire brush any LOOSE stuff but I'm afraid that I wont be able to do a job as well as the factory did 60 years ago. If I have to use an air chisel to get it off after 60 years it's on there good enough for me. I use rattle can undercoating mostly to clean it up for looks afterwards.
     
  25. lawman
    Joined: Sep 19, 2006
    Posts: 2,665

    lawman
    Member

    This is the only way I have used. It work's great.
     

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