removing the original interior floor insulation

rsporsche

rsporsche

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guys,

i want to remove all of the original insulation material on the interior floors / tranny tunnel of my coupe - i presume that it is original. i am wondering if an air scraper or air needle scraper would do the trick. want to get it done cleanly and fairly easily, not spending a lot of time with a mallet and a hand held scraper. any personal experience / recommendations would be appreciated.
 
While I don't have personal experience removing this tar material, I've read of and seen others use dry ice to chil the material allowing it to be removed with less effort than when it's warm. Be sure to have good ventilation as the CO2 will tend to displace oxygen in closed spaces.
 
Having done this… I will tell you it is not a fun job.

I used a combination of a dull air chisel and a cold chisel. I tried heat… don’t do that. Makes a mess. When I got most of the pieces off I used a heavy wire wheel on a grinder. Which makes an incredible mess. After that solvent to clean up the leftovers.
 
I have just completed this. I dont think fairly easily is a possibility. The material is like asphalt and better attacked when cool - dont use heat. If cool the material can be pryed up and off with a 1 inch chisel and a flexible paint scraper will find and slide under the many air pockets. Afterward I used a spray on adhesive remover and scotch brine pads. It's pretty clean to the original primer now with some light surface rust in the troughs of the floor pans.
 
Supporting everyone else's comments cold is better. Pick a cool day, wear safety glasses and hit it with a scraper. Impact is better than slow scraping as it does tend to fracture into pieces rather than smear.
For cleaning I used cut up t shirts soaked in acetone with good ventilation.
 
While others have not had good luck with heat, I found it works wonderfully
.get the torch out, follow its path with a scraper, clean with lacquer thinner.

You can then shoot the clean surface with a product called lizard skin, or if you want to use something a little less expensive just use U- POL, which can be tented in any color you like. It leaves a texture finish like a truck bed.

Alternately, I have a product I’ve been using under the hood and in the interior called b-quiet that comes in a roll sheet.

Come on by and take a look.
 
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Don’t forget to use some expanding foam to smooth out that awkward hump in the transmission tunnel. The carpet lays down much easier.
 
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I used the scraper to just pry off the pieces that were not, or not well attached. Some pieces just crack off

I then tried wire-wheeljng but it's just sooo messy. Your wire wheel just heats the stuff up, and it flings those sticky parts just about anywhere, and they stick to anything.

I had pretty good results with a vibrating multitool as we call them equipped with a sharp thin blade. It heats the tar just at the edge of the blade, then and curls it up. Doesn't work well in (the few) concave sections, as my blade if flat.

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I used the lizard skin ceramic coat and sound control products on mine. Time will tell if it is worth it. Very easy to spray. Not comfortable to kneel on (particularly in shorts).
 
I used a manual approach a few years ago when I did my interior. A chisle and a hammer. It works, but the going is slow, the upside is that my upper arm strength was improved!

I second the recommendation by @eriknetherlands, get a multi-master (fantastic tool for any number of projects around the house anyway) and a chisel or scraper blade and off to the races. I used it on the undercoat working upside down a couple of years ago and again, upper arm strength improved (in my mind anyway) and it did a great job of cleaning the surface.
 
that's pretty cool. i did the passenger floor (rear) yesterday with a chisel and hammer. PITA for sure. i used a air needle scaler to clean up the metal a bit more.
one thing i am curious about with the dry ice video is how well it would work with the asphalt type material that is in our insulation.
 
Been there done that on plenty of S-Chassis drift cars and restoration projects over the years. The best solution I've found when removing sound deadening or insulation, no matter the type, is crushed up dry ice in bags that allow it to conform to a shape. That combined with patience! You must let it stay for a while to really allow the glue to contract and break that bond. Once ready to remove, scrapers and rubber mallets to lift and break up work well. If you get stuck on transitions and curvy spaces, tape the bags to the area or prop them up with the most direct contact/coverage you can get! Good luck!
 
I can tell you from experience having built several race cars, the dry ice method is by far the easiest and cleanest way to go. You will still need some additional cleanup, but it will be much easier.
 
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