How to remove FatMat?

[yeewiz]

anyone know an easy way to remove FatMat or DynaMat? I'm using a hair dryer and putty knife and the foil part comes off easy but the tar/asphalt adhesive base becomes a gooey sticky mess. help!

[Guest]

dry ice, utility knife. Cut into 1.5 inch squares. Put dry ice on section for about 10 minutes and covering with towel or blanket then hammer away and you will have TAR chips. Don't use heat gun, it's too messy.

[yeewiz]

thanks for the ole dry ice tip. was hoping to avoid the hammering part as the FatMat is on my friend's trunk lid and would like to keep the paint finish unchipped.

[Oshweeken]

You can try acetone, but it will still be messy!!

[yeewiz]

I'll try that. I'm having mild success using a hair dryer and a putty knife frequently dipped in paint thinner and lifting the tar a fraction of an inch at a time. Works pretty good on flat surfaces but not so good on irregular surfaces.

[esty]

visit home depot...in the paint section look for a spray can of "Lift Off"....

get a corner of the mat lifted and keep spraying between the lifted piece of the mat and the floor as you lift the mat & goo up

[yeewiz]

I'll check that out. sounds like a variation of lifting frequently with a paint thinner dipped putty knife. thanks

[Guest Anonymous]

Contacted fatmat customer service and they recommended "lighter fluid"

it works when it comes into contact with the sticky side.. turns it into a mess and you can remove it.. just a pain to clean up, its just like sticky gum when its been sitting on the concrete all day in the sun and you step on it.. just a huge mess..

Issue im having is pulling it up and getting it to peel back obvisously either chemical is only going to work on the areas it comes into contact with, so if you cant peel it back how do you get the chemical under there to pull it off?

[BWAutosport]

Leverage can be your fried. Rather than a short chisel or putty knife, see if you can't find an old wood chisel with a long handle, upwards of a foot or so. this worked when stripping the tar off of the floors of our racer. It allows you to exert more pressure and come at it from a better angle.

And air hammer will help on straight FLAT sections, but be careful or you WILL go through the floor.

You may want to look into buying a masonry chisel, they make them in various widths so you're not picking up narrow strips of tar which generally snap off.

Good luck!