General Removing tar/interior glue

[cybertruckino]

The colder months are approaching and after verifying the panda runs well (yay!) I have now moved on to inspect for rust and body damage.

The carpet went out without too much effort, and same was the case for the insulation under the carpet. This is where the fun ends, however.

The insulation carpet/bedding was stuck on using some kind of glue that seems akin to tar, and it is covering literally EVERY part of this car. I am puzzled what this material might be and how to best remove it, since it took me half a day to scrape the sill free with paintscrapers, stanley knifes and flathead screwdrivers.

See the attached pictures for what I mean. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[The Panda Nut]

I think they used to refer to it as Bitumastic. It was supposed to act as sound deadening and to stop body panes resonating. Dries like tar to a hard brittle consistency but has other things in it, possibly including asbestos! Some stays pliable, I know nothing that gets near shifting it and have only ever found scraping and then a wire brush on a drill to get the last of it. Maybe a body shop could advise you how they deal with it. Have you googled removing bitumastic coatings?

 

[cybertruckino]

I think they used to refer to it as Bitumastic. It was supposed to act as sound deadening and to stop body panes resonating. Dries like tar to a hard brittle consistency but has other things in it, possibly including asbestos! Some stays pliable, I know nothing that gets near shifting it and have only ever found scraping and then a wire brush on a drill to get the last of it. Maybe a body shop could advise you how they deal with it. Have you googled removing bitumastic coatings?

The body shop might be a good idea! But the fact that you mention there might be asbestos in it is worrying . Is it something you reckon is safe for me to remove as long as I stick to scraping, or should I have it get done?

I guess if scraping is the only way, then it is which would still be doable. Its just more timeconsuming, so I wanted to check first if there was a better way.

 

[The Panda Nut]

The body shop might be a good idea! But the fact that you mention there might be asbestos in it is worrying . Is it something you reckon is safe for me to remove as long as I stick to scraping, or should I have it get done?

I guess if scraping is the only way, then it is which would still be doable. Its just more timeconsuming, so I wanted to check first if there was a better way.

Yes its safe to work on as any asbestos (likely if pre 1985) is bound in the mastic, but wear a mask if wire brushing. It should still be safe as fibre release is low from materials of this sort. You dont want to breath any bits of mastic though so a good dust mask should do nicely.

 

[cybertruckino]

Yes its safe to work on as any asbestos (likely if pre 1985) is bound in the mastic, but wear a mask if wire brushing. It should still be safe as fibre release is low from materials of this sort. You dont want to breath any bits of mastic though so a good dust mask should do nicely.

allright, thank you. I guess I'll free up the other sill then and look from there. What other spots are worth checking for rust? With the bitumen and the lack of a bridge its really hard to see where there is rust. I could always remove everything but since the bitumen does have some use I honestly don't mind leaving it in on spots that I can tell are fine. Especially if it might have asbestos in it, Id rather leave it at peace then poke around in it unnecessarily.

Thank you for all your help so far by the way, its been much appreciated

 

[The Panda Nut]

I have not owned a Panda 141 so Im no expert. I think the answer is pretty nearly anywhere. There are lots of posts about restoration on here so have a go at searching the Classic Panda forum and you should get some good information.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Have you found this group yet? It seems like another good place for Pandas.
I want to join and go to one of the meetings!

www.fiatpandaclub.nl/

 

[cybertruckino]

Have you found this group yet? It seems like another good place for Pandas.
I want to join and go to one of the meetings!

www.fiatpandaclub.nl/

I hadnt! Thank you for letting me know ill have a peek there!