Removing Carpet Glue

[unclejaysfishinshack]

Hi, I am new here. My name is Jay and this is going to be my first of many posts. I see that there are lots of very informative people here that are willing to give help to newbies like me. I have started a complete restoration project on my boat and I have found tons of answers here already. I have a question that I have not found an answer to yet so I thought I would ask. What is the best way to remove all that carpet glue? I am gutting this boat completely and I am not going to be using carpet on the rebuild. I have not gotten to that step yet but I thought I would ask ahead of time. My plan is to sand it all off. Is this the way I will get the best results? Thanks everyone! :joyous:

 

[sublauxation]

Nope, I thought that may work well too, but it didn't. Actually I think the sanding may have made it actually harder to remove the adhesive. I also scraped for a long time before realizing there had to be a better way. I've now come to the conclusion that less work through better chemistry is the key here, and yes that did include some beer consumption. I bought some adhesive remover from the home improvement store flooring people and that was all but useless.

Zinsser Adhesive Remover Gel seems to work pretty good on my Aluminum boat. Even at that it's taken a couple applications. I'm going at mine again this weekend and was thinking about applying the gel and then putting plastic wrap over top for 30 minutes, then going at it with a scraper.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Hi Jay, and welcome to iBoats! What sort of surface are you removing the adhesive from? On my fiberglass boat, I never did find a solvent that worked. I had the grind it off... Not a lot of fun.

 

[unclejaysfishinshack]

Thank you both for responding so quickly. The boat I am working in is an 85 Bayliner 21' cuddy cabin. From what I have read, I know it is a boat that was not very well built, but that is making the gutting process a lot easier. There is no foam under what is left of the deck. I am going to replace the stringers, bulkheads, transom and deck as well as rebuild the motor. I have sanders, grinders and all the PPE I need to dive right into this project. I will start the adhesive removal with a happy medium grinding pad and go from there. Thank you for the advice. Between this website and watching Frisco Boaters videos on restoring a Sea Ray and Glastron, I have already learned a lot. Thank you again.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Welcome UncleJay..

Using a combination of different tools helps. Depends really..if its dry then you can use a custom sharpened up 2-3" angle scraper ( sharpen it real good like ). After that a wire cup wheel ( with a 5/8" arbor for Grinders ). And then busting out a grinder. Well..its not really grinding so much as its melting the stuff and flinging it all over the place lol. Dont change the pad unless it stops melting..and then change it once you have like 90 percent off..then start 'grinding'. You can finish it off by using acetone and a good harsh towel ( like cut up bath towel..not a rag like t-shirts ).

Well koodos to you on your resto..but I have to warn ya, these guys are like golden retrievers at dinner time while waiting for table scraps when it comes to Pictures! Oh their lovable and all..but they can knock over a few lamps and small children trying to get to them colorful morsels

 

[produceguy]

Hi Jay, and welcome to iBoats! What sort of surface are you removing the adhesive from? On my fiberglass boat, I never did find a solvent that worked. I had the grind it off... Not a lot of fun.

That worked great for me as well, I used a flap disk, came right off.

 

[samsam]

I worked on rebuilding a Bayliner once (the alcohol stove exploded) and was surprised at how well it was built compared to most other boats. The guy that owned it came from the NW, he said they were very popular there.

You have to be careful you have the boat supported properly before you gut it. The stringers, bulkheads etc are the structure and support for the fiberglass, so when you take it out the hull is weak and pretty flexible. If your supports press in the hull and make bulges and humps, or it sags or twists, when you rebuild the structure, those bumps and humps etc will become permanent. Even your own weight inside the hull can distort the shape.

Rip out and discard the bulk of what you want gone and then scour the interior hull and cabin with a pressure washer. It's always better to work on stuff that is clean. Until you can't have water around because of laminating or such stuff, keep a water hose handy and when grinding, keep the area wet, to wash away the dust and to keep it from becoming air born. A wet vac is your friend. When you are all done, a few days drying will make it good for laminating or painting.

For the carpet glue, which I imagine is on the walls and ceiling....Latex porch and floor paint works real well on fiberglass. Carpet glue doesn't sand very well. Chemicals fumes are no fun in enclosed spaces. So what I have done, and recommend you do is...pressure wash it. That leaves rubbery glue blobs, carpet fur and fiberglass splinters all over. Roll on a layer of latex paint, that will solidify the glue and fur and splinters (when dry). Sandpaper usually clogs way too easily, so after the paint is dry, take a sharp paint scraper and scrape off the majority of glue/fur boogers, then hit with coarse sandpaper, 80 grit or so. Wipe it all down and then put on another coat of paint. That might be good enough, but if not, sand with some 120 grit and paint again.

That will give you an easy to clean interior for dirt cheap and it's easy to do. There will be some texture from the glass etc, but it is still easy to clean and completely smooth as far as rubbing against it etc.

 

[redneck joe]

I was hoping to get a chemical solution here.for my floor. Good finishef floor underneath dont want to rough it up.

To the op if you are working on the headliner stuff what worked great for me ony very old and dry glue on glass with no finish on it was a wire wheel in the drill. Messy. Lots of glass fibers and dust so goggles and dust mask But it only took a bit over and hour plus cleanup.

 

[redneck joe]

This

 

[dvx216]

If your glue is on wood you could try Zip Stripe apply a coat of Zip Strip then cover it with a plastic garbage bag and let it sit for a while.The garbage bag stop it from drying out.

 

[unclejaysfishinshack]

Thanks guys! I knew you would have plenty of answers and suggestions from how you guys do things. Thanks Produceguy. I am planning on using flap disks. Redneck Joe, I love your boat....Oh I mean you're second mistress! Haha! And samsam I was planning to do the rebuild while the boat is sitting on the trailer. I like your idea of using the latex floor paint in the cabin. I was just going to go with 2 coats of gel-coat over the whole inside but the latex paint with save me a few bucks. And dvx216 thanks for the tip. I will remember that. But this time all the glue is on the fiberglass. There isn't much wood left in this boat! Haha! Thanks again guys!

 

[unclejaysfishinshack]

No Title

This is what I found when I lifted up the deck. First of all, it was just sitting on the 2x4s. and second, I am guessing that this can be filed in the "How NOT to restore a boat deck" file.

 

[Tnstratofam]

I've had some success with MEK. ( Methyl Ethyl Keytone) It seems to work pretty good at removing carpet glue. Put it on with a brush or rag and then wipe it off after a few minutes with a rag. Worked on both my fiberglass Stratos and my alluminum Starcraft. Good luck and let us know if you find a solution that works for you.

 

[unclejaysfishinshack]

Thanks Dave, I have a lot of ideas now from a lot of great people here. When I do get to that stage, I will post what worked best for me in hope that it may help someone else along the way. Thanks again to all who responded.

 

[samsam]

samsam I was planning to do the rebuild while the boat is sitting on the trailer.

That's usually what people do, but you still have to watch for hull deformations once the structure is removed. If there are rollers or supports under stringers, which is probably where they should be, when the stringer is removed, the boat may settle and the rollers create dents and such. Sometimes a "hook" will develop just before the transom, which is not good. If those dents are locked in with the new structure laminations, the hydronamics of the hull shape are compromised and the boat usually won't handle as well as it did, like it won't plane well or will pull to one side or the other etc.

Twist is another thing that can appear when the structure is removed, either from the relaxed hull settling onto the trailer or from climbing in and out of the boat while gutting and rebuilding the boat.

 

[52FordF2]

I noticed some deformations after I removed my interior structure. Found out they were the rollers pressing upward on the hull. After that replaced bunk wood and remove the rollers until I get the interior put back together. May raise bunks until barely touching rollers. That's my $0.02 worth or less.

 

[unclejaysfishinshack]

Thank you samsam and 52FordF2 for the info. I think once I pull the motor, I will build a cradle for the stern to try and prevent the settling from happening. Just enough pressure on the hull to take the brunt of the weight. And how would it be if I removed and replaced one stringer at a time? Do you think that would work? I don't want any problems with the hull.

 

[samsam]

Thank you samsam and 52FordF2 for the info. I think once I pull the motor, I will build a cradle for the stern to try and prevent the settling from happening. Just enough pressure on the hull to take the brunt of the weight. And how would it be if I removed and replaced one stringer at a time? Do you think that would work? I don't want any problems with the hull.

Photos always help.

It's not that it will happen, but that it can happen. Most of the time it is not a problem and if it isn't, you don't have to bother with cradles and extra supports.

Judging by similar boats on google image, looking lengthwise from where the obvious curves of the bow end, your boat should have straight, flat lines all the way to the transom, with no rocker or hook. Have someone watch the bottom to see if it moves when you walk around inside on the hull (with the floor removed). If it does, you'll have to support the hull from the outside, or erect supports on the inside for you to work off of.

Doing one stringer at a time can help. If you have three, with one on the keel, do that one first. Doing them one at a time though kind of works against my likes of ripping it all out and pressure washing it all, then grinding with frequent water spray to wash stuff away and keep the dust down. But then again, no one does it like that anyway.

Keep in mind that everything replaced has to end up at the same height as what was there, so the floor is the right height, the motor sits right etc. You can take measurements from a straight edge (2x4) placed across the gunnels, or other ways you think will work.

If you get carried away and want to split the boat by separating the hull from the deck along the seam under the rub rail, under the usually correct assumption that it makes working on the stringers, transom and bulkheads a whole lot easier...well, don't do that.

 

[unclejaysfishinshack]

Thanks samsam. I have been doing some thinking and some looking. I am going to gut everything at once. I like the idea of being able to pressure wash everything before starting the rebuild. I will have a friend watch as I walk inside on the hull and if he sees any movement at all, I will go ahead with the cradles. I already have them drawn out and can make them out of scrap wood I have on hand. I am working on removing the whole electrical system now. When that is done, steering system then the motor and outdrive. I will post more pics when I get to those steps. Thank you again for the advice. you have been most helpful!!
Jay

 

[rusty503]

Back to removing the glue. I redid one of my boats last year and ran into this problem. After alot of research i found someone mentioned using brush cleaner. Sure enough, it worked great. I used a chip brush to put it on and within seconds the glue just wiped away. Now, this was on an aluminum boat so I don't know how it will work on fiberglass but it is worth a try. I got the brush cleaner from Lowes.

I am currently in the process of doing my other boat and still using the brush cleaner with great results. This is on 10 year old carpet glue.