Racing Porsche

[Len]

We are working on a Porsche 914 that has a lot of hard racing miles on it. The owner wants to keep the car as a resto of a racing machine that will have the scars to show some of it's history. This car is on a rotisserie as we had to remove the heavy undercoat and seam sealer in order to paint the underside, front and rear compartments as well as the passenger compartment and engine compartment.

We purchased a new tool for this job, The Stripper, that we used to remove the undercoat and clean areas where carpeting was glued to the interior. It did a great job quickly and cleanly. I can't wait to try it with the rubber wheel for removing stickers and decals.

DFXDF701 using.jpg

LINK

Removing Porsche undercoat is like removing bed liner, it's thick and similar to hard rubber. Using any other method would have taken a lot longer and would have been a lot more difficult. We are now in the process of seam sealing then we will start priming and painting.

914clean.jpg

[CraigS]

Porsche undercoat sounds like the same thing as Mercedes undercoat. Good to know there's a method to remove it beside torching the car.

[Len]

Porsche undercoat sounds like the same thing as Mercedes undercoat. Good to know there's a method to remove it beside torching the car.

It's kinda like stripping the upper body... in most cases it works best to use a couple different methods (or tools) in different areas. The Stripper did 90+% of the job but we still had to use a propane torch in a few tight areas. I have a little torch with a trigger that lights quickly when I need it. The combination of these two methods did a great job.

I see the Stripper as being the "go-to" tool for a lot more work. It also does a great job for scaly rust prior to applying Picklex 20. I haven't tried the rubber wheel for decals but it looks like it will do a good job.

[tech69]

I've seen that tool used by a lot of guys. What I did was just get the AP blue dedicated rubber wheel and some braided 3" weller metal brush disks on ebay. Put them on a Harbor freight die grinder and you're ready to go. It works just as good. I tried both on the same thing. For $5 I got 5 discs and I've only used one so far and it's been used a bunch and still looks brand new.

However, I think some of those tools you mentioned are geared and if that one is geared that's obviously WAAY better for that particular job cause a die grinder just stops when it meets resistance. But in any case those discs I mentioned are rock solid so if I can find something like a die grinder that's geared I'd go that route to save some dinero. In any case that tool is badass and comfortable to hold.

[Len]

I've seen that tool used by a lot of guys. What I did was just get the AP blue dedicated rubber wheel and some braided 3" weller metal brush disks on ebay. Put them on a Harbor freight die grinder and you're ready to go. It works just as good. I tried both on the same thing. For $5 I got 5 discs and I've only used one so far and it's been used a bunch and still looks brand new.

However, I think some of those tools you mentioned are geared and if that one is geared that's obviously WAAY better for that particular job cause a die grinder just stops when it meets resistance. But in any case those discs I mentioned are rock solid so if I can find something like a die grinder that's geared I'd go that route to save some dinero. In any case that tool is badass and comfortable to hold.

It's the old "you get what you pay for" thing. The Stripper is geared so that you can apply a lot of pressure to it and a tool like the AP or HF tools don't really have the muscle so the job takes A LOT LONGER. I use a lot of those high speed tools for removing decals or cutting metal but they would not be good for undercoat removal and, because of their high speed, they aren't really that good for decal removal but they will eventually get the job done.

[tech69]

for decals/moulding glue I don't mind the ap I have but I totally see your point for stripping undercoating. It'd take A LOT longer since that's got good gears. Hmmm, maybe I will invest in one of those down the line. They're also good for weatherstrips, windshield adhesive, and I'm sure there's a lot of other uses. I agree now come to think about it. Anytime those wirebrushes get involved it's messy and you don't want to be doing it for too long.

[armandodiaz]

I'm bringing this thread back to life....

Because I'm doing the same to a 911 race car project. I'm able to get the undercoating off with a 5" wire wheel attached to a grinder. But the undercoating looks like it was put on just yesterday (car is an 85). Is it possible to apply chemical stripper to at least loosen it up?

[Len]

I'm bringing this thread back to life....

Because I'm doing the same to a 911 race car project. I'm able to get the undercoating off with a 5" wire wheel attached to a grinder. But the undercoating looks like it was put on just yesterday (car is an 85). Is it possible to apply chemical stripper to at least loosen it up?

I doubt that stripper would be a good tool, it would make a real mess even if it did work. Try using a propane torch and a flexible putty knife but be careful not to get it so hot that it burns. Once you get most of it off then stripper may help remove the remainder. Be careful not to get the hot undercoating on your skin or clothing, it hurts.