TeamTruett

What products and methods work best when removing undercoat from frame rails and underside of body?

BLee

I've had good luck with the cheap carb cleaner from Wal-mart. Spray it down good, let it soak and soften up for a bit and then scrape it off. If it's pretty thick it will take a few applications. You can do the same on the frame rails but you could also use a little heat instead of the carb cleaner to soften it up and then scrape it off with a putty knife. I took my putty knife and rounded the edges off so that it wouldn't gouge anything. After I got most of it off I used Scotchbrite pads and more carb cleaner to get it down to bare 'glass. I left the undercoating on the fender peaks. I finished the wheel wells off with a couple of coats of Krylon 1613 and everything else is bare 'glass.

Carb cleaner is pretty nasty, in fact the whole job is nasty. I duct-taped a sheet of plastic to my garage floor and also used nitrile gloves to avoid skin contact and lots of rolls of the blue shop towels. Open up your garage doors and use a fan, unless you like flashbacks.

That's what worked for me.

BL

MidShark

I used mineral spirits and paper towels on the underside of my '63. Cleaned it right down to bare glass quite nicely. There was not a lot of undercoat/grime on the fiberglass, and there was none on the frame, so it was a pretty easy job. Here is part of what I uncovered:

Scott Marzahl

Mineral spirits in a spray bottle worked out good.

Frankenvette 63

Goof-Off!

Ol Blue

I used a heat gun, wd-40 and putty knife. I held my hand on the fiberglass opposite of the heat to make sure it didn't get too hot.
Ol Blue

ricks327

My underbody was heavily undercoated and I used a heat gun and putty knife first, then mineral spirits.

tentuna

I used Agitene, no scraping or heat gun and it's not flammable, just use in a well ventilated area and the undercoating washes off.
http://www.graymills.com/SourceParts...solutions.html.
One 5 gallone pail did my frame, body and did not attack the polyester glass resin.

TeamTruett

thanks for the feedback the Agitene looks promising. I'll try the heat gun putty knife and elbow grease first

SPLITRAY

That looks like a JOB #!

Wilkinshc

It does appear to be flammable according to the information on the website:

Super Agitene® is the most effective multiple-duty cleaner you can buy. It is safe to use on metal, plastics and painted surfaces. Conforms to California Rule 66. Contains Hand-Ease®, a cosmetic-grade lanolin formulation which replaces some of the skins natural oils removed by the solvent. Available with Flash points of 110˚F (43˚C) or 141˚F (60˚C). Not to be heated. Available in 5 gallon pails and 55 gallon drums.

M5005 Super Agitene, 5 gallon pail
M5005-141 Super Agitene 141, 5 gallon pail
M8400 Super Agitene, 50 gallon drum
M8400-141 Super Agitene 141, 50 gallon drum

Regular Agitene® cleans as Super Agitene with two important differences. First, it leaves parts film-free, ideal for cleaning parts which are to be painted. Second, it will not attack varnish, allowing varnish-insulated electric motors to be cleaned without damage. Not to be heated. Available in 5 gallon pails and 55 gallon drums.

M2062 Regular Agitene, 5 gallon pail
M1700 Regular Agitene, 50 gallon drum

Chuck

Corbrastang

Heat gun and a blunt gasket scraper. After scraping slap on some rubber gloves and wipe the glass down with laquer thinner using paper towels. Then follow with a dual clear coat-it will look perfect! Ive dont two this way and they both turned out fantastic.