Had no problem removing the thick factory sound deadener from my 38 doors, trunk lid, floors and front kick panel areas. I found slight heat from a heat gun and a scraper took care of the thick stuff and then letting varsol sit on the remaining for a few minutes allowed the remaining to be wiped off with a rag. This left me with bare shiny virgin steel.
The inside of the roof has me scratching my head a bit. I've pressure washed it to remove all the thick cellulose layer and I'm left with clean 1/4" checkerboard of tar/rubber about 1/8" thick on the entire inside of the roof. It's soft and sticky when warm and almost as hard as a hard candy below 70F. Can't pool the varsol on it to dissolve it chemically and effortlessly like the other panels lol. Considering some heat from the heat gun but concerned with the sheer size and turret shape that I might warp the roof. The tar gets soft in the hot sun but hard to time it and this heat is everywhere rather than one spot as it would be with a heat gun.
Any thoughts on removing this? I'm tempted to leave it since it's healthy and all tar I've removed has zero rust underneath. Maybe just spray it with a fresh coat of similar when I get to the point of adding new deadener to the roof. I'd prefer bare and shiny metal to start fresh without degradation but it's hidden with the roof liner and it appears solid and good condition.
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
I had them same stuff in the doors of my 32 Olds. Under it is beautiful like new steel so I just removed the loose heavy paper and left the tar. If it kept the steel that nice for 85+ years, why take it out?
I had mixed thoughts about saving it. The metal was fantastic underneath it but unless it's removed and you check, it's possible to miss some nasty decay that will cause problems later. I'd really like to find a spray on product that is as good as the original 80 year old deadener. Since the outside cellulose layer would flake if touched, I also had concerns with it flaking and contaminating prime/paint leading to more work, plus difficulty replacing any damaged or adding additional on top of the old stuff.
Between pressure washing the cellulose layer off and plastic beadblasting overspray, 95% of the roof deadener came off. See picture. Of course in this position, I can simply pour some paint thinner into the roof like a giant bowl and it dissolves the remaining tar very easily. It's also very convenient to do under dash work in this position lol.
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
