Suggestions for removingr tar/rubber underlayment (was under teak veneer decking)

[skwanderer]

Just pried up junkie teak veneer on my forward hatch, and now i have this tar and rubber underlayment to clean up. Any suggestions on how to get this stuff off my gelcoat deck?

[coopec43]

Without seeing it maybe a multi-tool could handle it?

[skwanderer]

I keep trying at add pictures but the attachment function here is not cooperating. Will try again

[skwanderer]

Fingers crossed the attachment joins the thread

[Orion Jim]

Heat gun and a scraper as seen in this photo. Finish up with a random orbital sander and 120 grit sanding disks.

[Sailor647]

1. Scrape up the chunks with a 1-2" sharp wood chisel
2. Sanded with 80 grit sandpaper
3. Vacuumed up the dust
4. Wiped clean with Mexican paint thinner.

[skwanderer]

Wow, thank you both for the great feedback! Looks like i got some heating and scraping ahead of me...

[bensolomon]

[QUOTE=Sailor647;3404134
4. Wiped clean with Mexican paint thinner.[/QUOTE]

What is Mexican paint thinner? MEK, Toluene, or something else?

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

What is Mexican paint thinner? MEK, Toluene, or something else?

Tequilla.

A gentle heat gun on low setting to soften the polymer and a simple scraper will get most of it up in short order. Be careful as to excess heat on your underlying structure, don't burn the wood.

[Seymore]

Rubber glue?! It'll come clean with WD-40.

[Disailor]

Originally Posted by skwanderer

Just pried up junkie teak veneer on my forward hatch, and now i have this tar and rubber underlayment to clean up. Any suggestions on how to get this stuff off my gelcoat deck?

Product called "Goof-Off" at hardware store. Keep a bottle onboard.

[Cheechako]

It's often a multi step process;
Scrape the bigger thicker stuff off. A heat gun may or may not help. This red devil type scraper is usually stiff and sharp enough to be good.
Then try different solvents to get rid of the thin residue that is left. Goof Off, paint thinner, MEK, Toluene, acetone, lacquer thinner are all possibilities.

[Montanan]

Be very cautious as to the use of the volatile chemicals. They will aid greatly in dissolving the adhesive but in an enclosed hull space the fumes can overwhelm you, being dangerous to breath and can be VERY flammable.

Be sure to ventilate the area you are working with a huge amount of fresh air so as to avoid breathing the hazardous fumes and as to inducing a flash fire.

Large fan and many opened hatches.

The volatile vapors can travel quite a longways towards a point of ignition, such as spark from a switch or a motor, or an electrical tool, such as a drill, grinder, saw.

Been there, done that.

[kayakerChuck]

It looks like others have covered the process.

I didn't see cuss words mentioned. You will need a large supply.