How to remove rubber carpet backing and glue

[Clint KY]

No Title

Here is the starboard panel. The black is the rubber backing. The adhesive (not shown well in this photo) is a hard brown. You can see a few of the carpet fibers still stuck to the backing.

 

[smokeonthewater]

A palm sander would make VERY short work of this...

 

[JASinIL2006]

I tried to find a solvent to remove the old hard carpet glue from my fiberglass boat and I never found anything - including pretty much everything suggested in the thread - that worked. I think removal with a sander or flap-wheel on a grinder has the best chance of success.

 

[wahlejim]

I would advise against acetone for the simple fact that it evaporates very quickly. With the buildup you are describing, it will not have time to penetrate before it evaporates. Go to the store and buy small quantities of different types of paint thinners (ie naptha, xylene, paint thinner, minneral spirits, etc.) and test to see which one cuts through the glue. After you figure out which one works, stop by a Sherwin Williams store and buy in bulk.

The other option that has not been discussed is media blasting. I know they sell different types of media that won't harm the aluminum but may take the glue off. Just a thought...

 

[redneck joe]

my grampa use 'naval jelly' on everything and as far as I remember it never failed him. Not sure if still around or not.

 

[SDSeville]

I am not sure how it will work on aluminum, but I used a wire cup brush on my drill and it worked great. I have all the grinders and sanders, but didn't want to make a big mess.

 

[appleo]

FIne wire rotary brush on your air tool grinder or hand drill
keep a watch on the rpm as those brushes lose bristles as they get older and at high speed

 

[Clint KY]

The final answer was all mechanical. After trying some chemicals I finally went to a 4" hand grinder with a wire brush cup. It was telling on my forearms and slung the stuff far and wide, but did the job. Next was a 1/4 sheet palm sander with 40 grit (what I had on hand) to get it where I can either paint it or glue on some sort of vinyl product. I am still undecided on the floor finish and may just continue it up the walls when I do decide.

 

[TheRookieFD]

The final answer was all mechanical. After trying some chemicals I finally went to a 4" hand grinder with a wire brush cup. It was telling on my forearms and slung the stuff far and wide, but did the job. Next was a 1/4 sheet palm sander with 40 grit (what I had on hand) to get it where I can either paint it or glue on some sort of vinyl product. I am still undecided on the floor finish and may just continue it up the walls when I do decide.

Sorry I got here too late. I just used Kleen Strip adhesive remover and it worked great to remove all the carpet backing and glue from my aluminum boat. It worked amazing. After setting for 30 minutes I could scrape it off with a plastic putty knife. Sorry I couldn't help earlier, but maybe somebody else will see your post and this will help them.

 

[Clint KY]

You are not too late. I have a bunch of spaces I could not get into with the hand grinder and the sander by itself does not take up the glue. So I will be grabbing some Kleen Strip Remover while out on my errands today.

Thanks.