Cleaning Underside of Cab

[Tmwoodall]

I am looking for opinions here, I have a true zero* rust 72 cab (*except for one small bit I found on the inner rocker DS, which was cut out) I am about to flip the cab over on its back tomorrow and decide how to proceed. The factory undercoating, or what I assume is factory is still on there. I believe it is a rubberized undercoating. I started to strip it years ago with a wire wheel and it was stuck pretty well. Even that spot is still clean and rust free. My question is should I take some aircraft stripper to the cab and get it down to bare metal, or in your opinion is it ok to leave the old stuff on there and topcoat?

Ideally the consensus would be to leave it since it has held up this long, but I know that may not be the case which is why I am asking.

[LockDoc]

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As long as it is stuck good it shouldn't hurt to leave it. If you want to remove it you could probably warm it up with a heat gun and scrape it off.

LockDoc

[midniteblues]

somtimes its a stinky job a good knotted brush on a angle grinder helps too but its messy good luck

[Tmwoodall]

Thanks guys, that is what I am thinking now too after further consideration. I am going to look it over and see, but if it is truly stuck I'm going to clean up what is there and topcoat with some bedliner.

[no moa]

Just don't forget to cover the threaded holes, a buddy up here didn't do that, and the bedliner got in the holes, he spent hours with thread taps trying to clean them out. lol

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by no moa

Just don't forget to cover the threaded holes, a buddy up here didn't do that, and the bedliner got in the holes, he spent hours with thread taps trying to clean them out. lol

Ah, yes, good reminder. I learned that lesson on my Wrangler when I did the interior. It was not fun remounting a few of the items.

[downbytheriver]

Not to sound drastic, but if I'm not mistaken, that undercoating has asbestos in it. I would be hesitant to sand it without using the proper protection if that's the case.

Just know that stuff is super nasty, not trying to stir up any pots. I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first or last time ) though.

[Tmwoodall]

Originally Posted by downbytheriver

Not to sound drastic, but if I'm not mistaken, that undercoating has asbestos in it. I would be hesitant to sand it without using the proper protection if that's the case.

Just know that stuff is super nasty, not trying to stir up any pots. I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first or last time ) though.

Interesting. I have a 3m vapor/particulate filter but still that makes me nervous. If that is the case i may just wipe it down and spray over it.

[downbytheriver]

Originally Posted by Tmwoodall

Interesting. I have a 3m vapor/particulate filter but still that makes me nervous. If that is the case i may just wipe it down and spray over it.

Like I said, I can't be 100% sure if it does or not, but better to be safe than sorry.

If you use proper protection and use a heat gun/scraper instead of sanding or some other method that causes the particles to be airborne, then you'll be okay. It comes down to friable vs. non-friable material as far as I know, which is very little.