tar removal
 

maybe i didnt search hard enough , but i cant find a thread on tar removal. if someone could help me that would be great.

WD-40 works well,no damage to paint.

What kind of tar?

Road tar that has splashed up onto your paint?

Or the sound deadening insulation tar on the floor of the hatch of the car? The best way to remove this is with dry ice and a hammer. Less mess, much quicker.

Or the anti-rust spray on tar that's under the hood?

shoulda been more clear , umm the sound deadening insulation tar.

does that shit really make a difference in the sound?

thanks.

I removed _ALL_ the tar from my AE86 corolla, and i tell you what its a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig job, dry ice and a hammer and chisel are definatly the best way to go. Takes a while though...

Don't even TRY and use thinners or you'll end up with a big gooooey black mess...

-Cheers, Nathan.

i did it in my MK3 supra turbo and my AWD DSM... its alot easier when its cold. when you try to heat it up or do it on a hot day, the stuff is alot stickier and harder to remove.

you need to get a wide flat blade screwdriver w/ like 8" shaft, and a hammer. then you just chisel it under the tar mat. when its cold its less flexible and should come up in large pieces. it certainly did in my supra. id say 60-70* is the best temperature to do this job. any hotter than that or if your car has been closed up and out in the sun, the interior will be too hott. quick, sharp raps on the screwdriver w/ the hammer is the best method as this likes to shock the whole peice of tar mat and break it loose. once you start hammering, youll find the best angles to hold the screwdriver and the best force to swing the hammer.

i found that a 45* angle was really good for my supra... i was able to get huge ass chunks, like anywhere from paper plate sized to 4x6" note card sized.

Dry ice is just more complication than you need... just do it on a cool day.

EDIT: i also wanna say you may find some areas of tar mat that have not totally adhered to the body and will come up Very easily. and if you are able to hammer your screw driver up under the tar mat, gently lift up on it... the Tar mat likes to 'break' apart if you try to bend it any more than, say, 15* angles. I was able to pull up my entire front floorboard tar mats in one piece by chisling up one end, and pulling Back on it rather than up and not lifting the end more than 20*.... it basically looked like a gigantic, heavy-ass tar/jute padded floor mat:cool:

Dry ice is NOT just an add complication, it works wonders on the stuff, nearly makes it peal it self off, you'll find if you use dry ice you will save alot of time..

what's the method when using dry ice? and what will i need to handle the ice? i know its not very safe if you dont know what you're doing. i want to know what i'm doing!

wear gloves. then when youre finished put the left over chunks in a soda bottle 1/2 full of water, screw the lid on, give it a good shake, then RUN. its good times trust me

YAY dry ice bombs ;)

how much weight does the tar add up to??
big difference in sound levels inside the car after?

I did mine last winter with a mallet and chisel. I'd guess 30-40 pounds was removed. It filled two large supermarket plastic bags. The car is not intolerably loud because I have my carpet still, but road noise is the predominant sound, at least until the motor gets excited.

30-40 pounds damn thats alot

if i have my carpet and put in the big insulation pad in the back temporarily (on a date or with a gurl) will the noise still be a big difference without the tar?

It didn't make nearly as much difference in noise as I thought it would. The car is only uncomfortably loud when driving over Oregon's heavily pebbled asphalt made for wet weather traction. But I also removed the black rubber mats from the bin bulkhead, firewall, spare wells, and carpet cover for the spare. I kept the large one that goes over the hatch floor, but it is easily removed for autocross events, just like the spare, jack, oil, tools, etc.

*edit* I might also add that I removed the rubber noise isolaters from the tops of my suspension springs, and have tokico hp shocks with eibach springs. The car rides harshly over any bumps. I still have stock bushings but my car is stiffer than stock, which makes it louder.

ok well today i whent out and took out the tar. its a 1990 gxl and i removed the tar under the bins and in the hatch. i am only at about 10 pounds. i mean i know there is still tar left under the two seats but i highly doubt theres 20 pounds there

Your sound level will increase alot inside. But the ice works, if all else elbow greese and WD-40 will
John

as to not start a new thread, whats the best way to get the gunk underneath a car off? all that build up over the years.. sand blaster perhaps? shall i ask tim the toolman?

I got two very important words for you:

AIR CHISEL

When I did a 1st gen last winter, I started with a good old-fashioned hammer and chisel in my cold-ass garage. After 4 hours I had finished the driver's side floor. Then I read a post just like this over in the 1st gen section, and I went back out and took out my never-used air chisel and fired up the compressor. I finished off the whole car in the next half hour, netting exactly 20lbs of the stuff.

Seriously, it was like switching from a slingshot to a AK-47. I would never even consider doing this job without this tool.

I just gave that car back to the guy I got it from, still a non-running project, so no reports on the sound/lighness effects.

Back from the dead!

I removed most of the tar in the back, but have a question, what's the best way to get those thing little pieces that are left? What would you suggest as a thinner/tar remover chemical. There's not alot to take off so it shouldn't make too much of a mess.