Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

[sschefer]

Rather than post a solution to every post that's ever been done on this subject I felt it would be better to just post it as a solution rather than a problem.

Anybody that has ripped carpet out has at one time or another dealt with removing the factory spray in glue. It is a bear of a job!

MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) is the solution. You need to scrape as much of the rubber backing that stuck as you can or it will make the job tougher and you'll use up a lot more rags.

I just did the entire inside of a 18' Tinny in about 3 hours. I saturated a rag with MEK, wiped it on and with very little effort I removed all the glue. No grinding, not major rubbing, it was so simple I can't believe I worked so hard to get lesser results before.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

thanks, where did you get the MEK?

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

TD, most paint stores have it but it is a hot solvent be careful

 

[Mark42]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

TD, most paint stores have it but it is a hot solvent be careful

What does "hot solvent" mean?

I found this info:

MEK Solvent (Methyl Ethyl Ketone)
This is a strong cleanup solvent, particularly effective for epoxies. It is less volatile than acetone.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

You can buy it a Home Depot or most any hardware store. I don't know if you would classify it as a hot solvent like you would muriatic acid or chlorine but it does melt rubber. If you want to wear gloves then Nitril would be the ones you would use and change them often because you will wear through the finger tips.

Oh yeah, get plenty of rags, I think I made it sound like I did it with one rag. I used three bags of Home Depots terry cloth towels. When they got too full of glue to be of any use I laid them out flat on the drive way. In about 15 minutes they were dry and stiff as a board. Don't try to clean them just throw them away, they are non toxic once they're dry unless you eat them.

 

[marquette]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

let's remember safety when using MEK. VENTILATION VENTILATION VENTILATION! it burns like alcohol with no easily visible flames and ignites easily. no smoking anywhere nearby including your neighbor that walks over to see what you are doing. and like any fast drying solvent beaware of fumes. take a break, get out of the boat and breath some fresh air regularly. most of us use MEK or acetone regularly for cleaning small areas (removing a decal) but large quanities spread across the deck of a boat will create a lot of fumes fast so just take precautions. we don't need any "from my hospital bed" or "in memorium" threads.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

sschefer,

3 hours for the entire interior, did that include the sides? If so WOW that's some serious butt kicking there.

Describe the old carpet glue, what was it like?

My 01 Crestliner had a clear, heat sensitive adhesive that was still pliable and sticky after 7 years, heat it up and it became more sticky. Stuff was a real bear to clean up and I ended up soaking paper towels in lacquer thinner, then applying the paper towels to the side of the boat for 10 minutes,,, wetting out with more lacquer thinner as needed to keep it wet. After 10 minutes the adhesive just wiped off, no muscle work at all. Think I used 2 rolls of Bounty paper towels on the sides of my boat.

I bought a pair of nitrile dipped gloves for this, but also picked up a box of cheap disposable nitrile gloves. Half way through the dipped gloves wore though so I put on a set of the disposables underneath. Eventually the dipped gloves were shot and I just wore doubled up disposable nitrile gloves, replacing the outer glove when it ripped.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

Yeah.. it's extremely flammable (flash point 16 degrees F), and health hazards include:

Inhalation:
Causes irritation to the nose and throat. Concentrations above the TLV may cause headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, and vomiting. Higher concentrations may cause central nervous system depression and unconsciousness.
Ingestion:
May produce abdominal pain, nausea. Aspiration into lungs can produce severe lung damage and is a medical emergency. Other symptoms expected to parallel inhalation.
Skin Contact:
Causes irritation to skin. Symptoms include redness, itching, and pain. May be absorbed through the skin with possible systemic effects.
Eye Contact:
Vapors are irritating to the eyes. Splashes can produce painful irritation and eye damage.
Chronic Exposure:
Prolonged skin contact may defat the skin and produce dermatitis. Chronic exposure may cause central nervous system effects.
Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions:
Persons with pre-existing skin disorders or eye problems or impaired respiratory function may be more susceptible to the effects of the substance.

Personally I'd take grinding any day over this stuff... particulate respirators are cheap.

Erik

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

Personally I'd take grinding any day over this stuff... particulate respirators are cheap.

That would have been darn near impossible with the adhesive I had to remove, it was still completely gummy, not hard at all. I tried all sorts of ways to get rid of it (sanding, grinding, scraping, etc) before resorting to chemical removal.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

MEK will do the job. It is formulated to do that type of job. I smells bad and the VOC is high. By the way, a high VOC does not mean that it is bad for you. Roses have an extremely high VOC.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

Inhalation:
Causes irritation to the nose and throat. Concentrations above the TLV may cause headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, and vomiting. Higher concentrations may cause central nervous system depression and unconsciousness.
Ingestion:
May produce abdominal pain, nausea. Aspiration into lungs can produce severe lung damage and is a medical emergency. Other symptoms expected to parallel inhalation.
Skin Contact:
Causes irritation to skin. Symptoms include redness, itching, and pain. May be absorbed through the skin with possible systemic effects.
Eye Contact:
Vapors are irritating to the eyes. Splashes can produce painful irritation and eye damage.
Chronic Exposure:
Prolonged skin contact may defat the skin and produce dermatitis. Chronic exposure may cause central nervous system effects.
Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions:
Persons with pre-existing skin disorders or eye problems or impaired respiratory function may be more susceptible to the effects of the substance.

Read the label on many lifesaving prescription drugs... not a lot different.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

Read the label on many lifesaving prescription drugs... not a lot different.

These aren't possible side effects, they're what happens if you get too much of it in your system. Which can happen fairly easily.

If you try to use it, do so somewhere well ventilated, and make sure no kids or pets can get into the vapor cloud. Use a VOC respirator with fresh cartridges and clear the area if you start to smell the chemical inside the respirator (that means you've exceeded the filterable concentration).


If it was too soft to grind, how about a heat gun and scraper, or a gummy wheel (3m decal remover wheel) or even freezing it with liquid N2 and scraping?

MEK will do the job, yes, but I cringe to think of untrained people using it.

Erik

 

[sschefer]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

Your are all right, follow the instructions and use proper precautions when using the product MEK.

Or

Do it the hard way.​

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

If it was too soft to grind, how about a heat gun and scraper, or a gummy wheel (3m decal remover wheel) or even freezing it with liquid N2 and scraping?

Heat would only make a bigger mess as the adhesive I had to remove was hot melt glue. Nitrogen, wouldn't risk the paint on the other side of the aluminum hull (-300* ), plus I don't know where I'd get enough liquid nitrogen to freeze 75 sqft of hull side. The only real solution for me was to use something that dissolved the adhesive.

I didn't try MEK, but acetone and xylene didn't work well, lacquer thinner on the other hand,,, worked very nice after it sat for a bit.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

I think I tried them all at one time or another. Lacquer thinner was better but like you say, it had to sit a while and in my case required several applications to get it to work.

The MEK works almost instantly and it take a lot less. I think that the less you have to use of something, the lower the risk of causing a problem for yourself.

There's been a lot of talk about the hazards of MEK but with proper precautions it can be used safely. If it couldn't, it would not be made as available to the average consumer as it is.

 

[marquette]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

when i made the first comment about safety i didn't mean not to use MEK just to beaware of what you are doing and do it safely. one other point is that MEK and alcohol are both safe for MOST plastics. meaning they won't melt, discolor or make plastics brittle like laquer thinner or acetone will. that being said always test in a unobtrusive place just to make sure it is safe for the plastic you have.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

when i made the first comment about safety i didn't mean not to use MEK just to beaware of what you are doing and do it safely. one other point is that MEK and alcohol are both safe for MOST plastics. meaning they won't melt, discolor or make plastics brittle like laquer thinner or acetone will. that being said always test in a unobtrusive place just to make sure it is safe for the plastic you have.

Sorry, I was just trying to re-assure folks that it is safe to use. The warnings that were posted had a rather ominous tone to them.

As for not melting plastic, I hadn't considered that, (didn't need to), but I did watch it go through rubber very quickly. Hence the comment about keeping it out of the riveted joints.

 

[SKEETR]

Re: Getting Rid of Carpet Glue -- Solution for Tinny's at least

I've used mek for some tasks in the construction industry. It is a brain fry if you do not use a respirator. It will cut right thru most hardened paints and laquers.