How Do You Get Rid Of Underseal

[FarmerPug 4]

A bit of a general question here, whats the best technique for getting rid of the underseal peugeot used, although im working on a 305 i assume the same stuff was used on the 205.

 

So far ive got the drivers side inner wing area started, i have been using a heat gun and a flat screwdriver to scrape the stuff off, i tried a paint scraper blade and that only seems to work on flat bits of metal, the wire brush on the angle grinder didnt last very long at this, the heat gun and screwdriver works but its very slow and very smokey:

[Kane 34]

Just a combination of heat, scrapers and knotted wire wheel on an angle grinder really. It is an absolute pig of a job and does take time unfortunately. I spent the best part of 2 weeks under my car last winter removing all underseal and paint!

 

You could also have a go at using stripping products such as nitro-mors. Nasty stuff but does the trick at softening up old paint/underseal which makes it easier to scrape off.

 

Last resort after that is to media blast or get it dipped. Starting to push into more costly procedures so its really dependant on how must you're willing to spend

[Juttie205 123 2 Cars]

heat gun works best and if you can heat the other side of the metal the side without the underseal it just peals off in big bits

[FarmerPug 4]

A knotted wire wheel looks a lot more durable than what i have been using, its just a wire brush on the end of an angle grinder like this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-65mm-crimped-cup-brush-WIRE-WHEEL-115MM-ANGLE-GRINDER-grinding-rust-removal-/231180318723?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item35d36bb803

 

Ill try out some of them knotted ones instead they look like they can do a bit more work, i plan to get the car sandblasted, but i was told to get the underseal off first.

[Kane 34]

Try getting both the wire knotted cup and the twist knot wire wheel similar to the ones on this page

 

http://www.nortonindustrial.com/Indl-WireBrushes.aspx

 

The cup allows you to get into some areas where the wheel can't so best to have two.

 

Yeah I think the main reason for some companies refuse to remove underseal is that it is not 100% effective against the rubbery nature of underseal so can lengthen the process of removing it.

 

If you've got access to a compressor it might be an idea to get yourself a cheap diy shot blasting kit and give it a go yourself. Theres currently a pressurised kit on eBay for £80 which, from the photos, looks identical to a sealey one which retails at over £200.

 

If you do go down that route try avoiding the gravity feed ones as they don't tend to produce the greatest results.

[nick205 12 5 Cars]

Best I've found so far is lots of heat and a selection of scrapers and screwdrivers. It's a slow and tedious job!

[barry d 6]

Best I found is a small blowtorch and a good sharp paint scraper.

[welshpug 1,647]

yup, blowtorch I foubd works very well, gets the heat right through instead of just heating the surface, leaves the paint on underneath too unlike the angry bastard wire wheels.

[Biggles 65]

My experience with cheap wire wheels is they're crap and all the wires fall out pretty quickly. Buy a good quality one and it'll last massively longer.

 

Whichever way you do though, removing underseal is a pig of a job.

[FarmerPug 4]

Thanks, it seems like ive got a few enjoyable weeks ahead.

 

The rust on the 305 (with the exception of the tailgate and rear doors) seems to be because the underseal has got hard and cracked letting water in, does the 205 have as much rust problems? My dad drove a couple of 205 diesels back in the day and it was always a good car for rust resistance, my mum had a metro of the same age and it was dissolving away.

[jackherer 543]

205s are pretty good for rust, I've seen 305s in horrific states so I can say fairly confidently that they are quite a bit worse.

[MikeC 10]

Had duck oil recommended to me on here, and it does work a treat.

[welshpug 1,647]

scuttle panel on mum's 305 was shot on one side in 1993 ish, glovebox was full after a bit of rain!

[JeffR 51]

I was told that dry ice is the way to remove the underseal (after I'd spent weeks with a heat gun & scrapers and a garage filled with smoke).

 

For that to work I think you'd need the car on a rotisserie though.

[FarmerPug 4]

The 305s rust but they seem to go in specific places, the scuttle drains block up rust forms and then the glovebox becomes a water feature, the tailgates on every one ive seen rust and then leak, the front lower valence is bad, the tow hook doesnt have any structure behind it so pulling on it just deforms the full valence.

 

As for a rotisserie its definatley something worth making soon, i dont fancy sitting under the car while scraping the underseal they dont look like they are too hard to build, i see the 405 track day thread on here and the rotisserie used there looks like a good job.

[Ron_Jaegers 10]

You can take a look at my project thread how I did this. I removed _all_ the underseal from the entire car, inside and out. Really the worst job I did on the car so far, or maybe ever. Of course nearing the end of the horror I discovered the best method: get a good angle grinder, best is with stabilization and rpm-control, and a big knotted wire-brush attachment (pictures, again, in my thread). To get really inside the seams I used a small screwdriver and heat. If you go this route be sure to wear decent protection for your hands, eyes and lungs!

 

Afterwards I had the car media-blasted and epoxy-primed. I don't know if the company did not try hard enough but they removed next to none of the small patches of underseal that were still on the car. I think it will pollute their blasting-media. Also at places the underseal is so thick I doubt it can be blasted off, seeing its purpose is to be elastic and absorb the energy of impact.

 

Good luck to you sir.

[FarmerPug 4]

Thats an interesting thread ron, thanks for the advice.

 

I got the tool for the job off my cousin, i dont know what its proper name is but flamethrower comes fairly close, one pipe goes to a gas tank, the other goes to an air compressor, it burns the underseal and it scrapes off very easily, although the seams still take a bit of time to scrape out the underseal but its much quicker and easier on electric than the heat gun:

It has revealed one of them optional newspaper storage compartments:

 

This is the finished inner wheel arch:

 

My cousin is going to do the sandblasting and says that this is well enough scraped for his blaster

[FarmerPug 4]

I built up a rotissarie for the 305 so i could properly tackle the underseal, it definatley makes working on the floor much easier:

 

It took about 3 weeks just working after work to get the underseal scraped, a horrible job, but all scraped off with a chisel, then i went over it with a wire brush on the angle grinder:

 

I have bought a pair of sills from a company that i cant recommend, its been 3 weeks now and still no sign of the sills, however, the old ones still need to come off to tackle the rust on the innside of the cavity, what way is the best technique for drilling out the spot welds, i seen the mini hole saw types and then the bits that just look like ordinary drill bits, also is 8mm the typical size of bit needed for a spot weld on an older pug?

[allye 530 3 Cars]

have you got a build thread some where?

[pugdamo 111 2 Cars]

2nd that,would be good to follow your progress with this one

[FarmerPug 4]

No problem, where is the best place to do that, can i add pics to keep this thread going or can it be moved to the right section?

 

Im waiting on sills, the front slam panel that holds the headlights, and radiator and possibly try and get the rear quarters, i want to have the parts sitting ready my cousin will hopefully be able to weld it up as soon as its been blasted then get it painted so it isnt sat long in the exposed state, even at the moment ive sprayed it over with a few cans of wd40 to stop the bare metal rusting.

 

I bought one of these for the engine, the plan is to put this into the 305 once the bodywork is finished:

[allye 530 3 Cars]

start a thread in project works and starters please!

 

Is that 405 a bosch pump engine?

[welshpug 1,647]

I do spy a bosch pump indeed.

 

shame to donor another lovely pug!