Home Carpet Padding

[BeMyWay]

I finally got around to start restoring the interior of my 1976 2002, and to my amazement the PO had glued in carpet padding to the floor throughout the car.  They did a great job!  To add insult to injury, my floors are rusting under this stuff...at least it is surface rust!

 

I read on a few sites that the use of a"paint thinner and mild solvent" on the carpet padding might loosen the glue/padding and allow you to scrape it off.  The padding top is pulling away and leaving the bottom portion stuck to the floor.  

 

Therefore does anyone have any experience with removing a glued down carpet padding?  Now I know why I was so reluctant to remove this carpet...I had a feeling something easy wasn't going to be so simple to complete.

 

Thanks.

Edited February 24, 2021 by BeMyWay

[72pdx02]

Is the padding glued to the tar boards? If so I’d remove them together. 

[2002iii]

Wow that looks bad! It looks like they used house carpeting too. The insulation looks like its held moisture in.

 

I would start with paint thinner, make sure you do it with all the doors open outside and wear a respirator. Let that soak in for a couple hours then start scraping from the edge with a putty knife and/or scraper.

[joysterm]

I d remove as much as you can take off by hand, if the underpaid is glued to the stock sound dampening mat I'd use dry ice to extract both, you'll get a clean substrate without a lot of effort.

 

Should you find it glued directing to the floor then you may want to use a product like "goo gone" or a similar product that with dissolve the glue and some elbow grease and a couple of scrappers.

 

GLWI

[2002iii]

4 minutes ago, joysterm said:

Should you find it glued directing to the floor then you may want to use a product like "goo gone" or a similar product that with dissolve the glue

Most of those products don't work very well, they more turn the glue into a rubbery mess.

[BeMyWay]

Thank you all for the replies...BUT of course it is glued directly to the floor.  Excfept for the few places where the padding didn't stick well to the steel floor and where it started to rust.

 

This is a mess...oh well, I need to get it cleaned up.

 

I'll see what I can do without killing myself with the vapors...

 

[Son of Marty]

Whatever you do with that it's going to be a mess, I think I would remove as much by hand as I could and then armed with a dust mask and shop vac attack it with a stiff wire wheel rather than soak it in chemicals and then having to get rid of what's left.

[tech71]

What a mess! Sorry.

you could try softening the adhesive applied directly to the metal with a heat gun and scrape it off.

If you are going at it in there with thinners ect use an appropriate, properly fitted respirator!

 

[TobyB]

Yeah, ick.  Hard to tell- is there automotive 'jute' backing in there, or just plain old Walter- Wall?

 

If you can find cartridges, spring for the full respiratory protection, a fire extinguisher,

and the longest metal scraper you can find (the better to not burn yourself with.)

 

Getting that stuff out would be best in the interest of a non- flambe future...

 

t

 

[NYNick]

I used dry ice to get the soundproofing off and I would again but for this, I might try an oscillating tool with a razor or sharp attachment first for the padding. Those tools are awesome and can get all the tight spaces and fast.

[vinceg14]

[vinceg14]

sorry about the large image.   Do not use solvent. Old residential carpet pad will act like a sponge, the fluid will not spread. scaping works best. With the multitool use a flat non sharp scraper blade. 

 

Vince 

B1 General contracror

[TobyB]

And don't be afraid to use heat if things are 'stiff but a bit gooey'- the heat will add gooey,

and scrape easier.  THEN use the industrial solvents for the fine sheen of yech that's left on the metal.

 

I never like this part of the job, either.

 

t

 

[Mike Self]

The PO really created a mess for you....that padding is actually old cloth that's been essentially turned into felt--it works wonderfully as a sponge, which explains why you have rusting floors. 

 

I would be very leery of using heat--a heat gun's temperature will exceed the combustion point of that felt and then you'll really have a problem!  As it was pointed out, solvent will just soak into the padding and (1) smell forever in the car even after it's removed and/or (2) be a fire hazard.  And a wire wheel will clog up in about 30 seconds.  

 

Were it mine, I'd pull up as much of the padding as I could--by hand, pliers etc.  Get it as thin as possible--down to the glue and the layer of felt adhering to the glue.  Then use one of those oscillating multi-tools with a thin blade to get the remainder off.  And a final cleanup of any residual glue/felt spots with thinner.  Messy but necessary.

 

If you're gonna put padding under your carpet, you can use household carpet padding, just the right kind.  The old waffle padding was perfect, as it allowed air circulation and didn't absorb water.  But I don't think they make that any more.  Failing that, use a 5/8" "rebond" that's advertised as "waterproof" (actually pet-proof) that keeps incontinent dogs' output from soaking into the padding.  You should be able to get small pieces from your local carpet store, either free or for very little $$.  Just don't use the kind you have, even if it's free.  And don't glue any of it down.  The carpet itself will keep it in place.

 

mike

[BeMyWay]

Okay,  I did the following:

• Stopped whinning ?
• Got my protective stuff...gloves, goggles, face mask, fire extinguisher, long sleeve shirt ☠
• Got my best tools out for doing things I don't know what and how to do ✔
• Turned up my music really loud (aka - "When my wife says the music is too loud!") ✔
• I did not use any chemicals...I though about all the possiilities and decided not to use any ✔
• I tried using the heat gun on the floor from inside and underneath...then saw the results and thought about it again  ?? NO GOOD! ✔
• I just started to scratch and scrape and wheather it was the heat or the rust, I was able to get the remaining carpet padding to come off   ?                            

I am glad I started this, because there is more rust than expected...I have a few pin holes, but at least no blow-outs ✔.  I could not tell how rusty the floors were from under the car...? 

 

My next steps are to:

• Pull the pressed carboard insert that is against the firewall, on the passenger's side floorboard, but I think it is held in place behind the heater box with a screw or something.  
• Removal of the door trim above the rockers, so I can remove these carpet pieces without any damage to the trim.

 

I appreciate all your help...∞

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by BeMyWay