removing old headlining glue ??

captainslarty

captainslarty

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Hi all.

we are in the process of removing the old foam backed headlining on Ruddles and replacing it. The foam has, as normal !, disintegrated over 27 years.... what we are left with is a mix of glue and glue with embedded foam dust... yuk...

Tried acetone, no go, hardly touches it..

scraper is difficult cos the inside of the grp is not smooth...

any cunning plans ?

Joe n Jayne
 
personally I would use a twist knot wire brush [stainless steel, if you can get one] mounted in a slow speed angle grinder/polisher plus dustmask, goggles, hooded boiler suit and an industrial vacuum cleaner.

A rotten job whatever you do!
 
[ QUOTE ]
slow speed

[/ QUOTE ] Because high speed tools generate enough heat to melt the old glue and spread it out rather than removing it.

Frankly I gave up and, apart from small areas that I wanted to completely clean off in order to bond wooden pads for fixing ply panels, reckoned that what I could not get off with reasonable effort could safely be left.
 
Same with me. If the old adhesive wasn't going to come off easily then I assumed it wouldn't do any harm leaving it! Two years later and there is no sign of anything detaching. Mind you, I didn't have any dusty foam mixed in with it - it was just slightly soft adhesive.
 
I will replace the headlining in few week, what do you suggest I should be putting up; cord carpet?, any other material? nothing too expensive

Thanks in advance
 
You can get a 3M wheel a bit like a bath scourer pad that does a good job. You have to get rid of the glue, because the thinners in the new stuff will activate it agian, and it really messes up the ability to get the lining even
 
I saw a recommendation in one of the magazines recently - I think it was PBO - that Autoglym Grease Remover was good for the job. The name "Autoglym" probably means that this is rather more expensive than JimC's "HMG Paints" option above. However, Autoglym products are generally available in most car accessory shops.
I have no personal experience of this product but will need something to do the same job shortly.

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Another idea!

I don't know if this would work but what about trying Stabilizing Solution? This is the stuff builders use to bind together friable surfaces so as to form a stable base for painting or rendering. I used it years ago on an old brick wall and it worked ok. You had to brush off all the loose material and then paint the stabilizing solution onto the surface. The vapour given off was pretty unpleasant, as I recall.

Probably best to "try on a small area first", in case it melts fibreglass!
 
In the days when I had access to it, toluene would always shift it without being a serious health hazard. In Holland I could buy some stuff called 'Wasbenzin' which seemed to be largely toluene or xylene plus light hydrocarbon solvents. If you can't buy toluene in UK, and I guess you can't, you could try a bit of gasoline. Cellulose paint thinners contains some toluene but it also contains some aggressive polar solvents that might damage plastics and other substances. Try with caution!
 
If you are planning to glue the new headlining directly to the GRP or whatever, it is important that you do remove all the old stuff otherwise you will get lumps showing on the new stuff. I didn't find anything chemical that would touch it and had to scrape and wire brush it -- a vile job. Agree about the slow speed on the grinder / drill otherwise it just melts it into the wire bristles. Of course if you are putting in covered panels you don;t have to be scrupulous about getting off all the old stuff. The good thing about panels is that you can stick the lining on when working in the open and juggle the panel to a perfect fit without covering everything in nasty adhesive or getting high on the fumes.
 
Had a similar problem on my 15 year old boat recently. No idea what the headlining was glued on with, but none of the usual "sticky-stuff" removers were effective. Answer (don't laugh): pan scourers (those green dishwashing thingies from Tesco), lots of Cif (aka Jif) and plenty of really hot water.

Worked a treat!

Ron.
 
[ QUOTE ]
toluene would always shift it without being a serious health hazard

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry toluene is a serious health hazard. In a confined space it can be deadly. Good ventilation is vital and I would also strongly recommend wearing an "organic vapours" mask. To put a figure on it the 8 hour occupational exposure limit is only 50ppm. It is also highly flammable, with a flashpoint of 4C.

The same precautions apply when using a contact adhesive which contains toluene as the solvent.

The same comments also apply to gasoline (petrol) and to xylene, which has the same occupational exposure limits as toluene. With flashpoints around 27C the xylenes are less flammable though.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The good thing about panels is that you can stick the lining on when working in the open and juggle the panel to a perfect fit without covering everything in nasty adhesive or getting high on the fumes.


[/ QUOTE ] In fact you can use a water resistant PVA wood glue. That's water based so no dangerous fumes at all. It is what Hawke House suggest.
 
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