9 replies to this topic

[Cooper1]

My Mini Cooper I bought from goodwood last month went in for an mot yesterday,I booked it in to check out what work it need doing to be road legal and 20 minutes later I get a phone call to collect it ( quickest mot ever??)
They handed me a fail sure sheet that read "test abandoned" due to thick layer of tar obstructing underside of car
Got it home up in the air,looked underneath and could have cried but laughed instead,it's everywhere,floor pan,wheel arches,inner arches,covering brake calipers! Took me an hour to uncover the back of the headlights you couldn't even see the centre pipe of the exhaust
It's taken 5 days to remove 75% of the tar trying everything from pressure washing,wire brush,sanding and a paint scraper. Naturally I can't use a heat gun due to the contents of tar and gases.

Any tips PLEASE

P.s. I'm not exaggerating I could tar a whole runway

[Ben_O]

Any pictures?

 

I would try paraffin

 

Ben

[Jared Mk3]

Paraffin would be best I think.

[Carlos W]

Was it a private sale? And is it actually tar?

[ibrooks]

White spirit will likely dissolve it and is a little less flammable than paraffin. But it'll only remove a thin layer at a time if it's been put on thick. Probably more useful as a final wash to remove the last little bits.

 

Why not a heat gun? Used sensibly there's no reason it isn't safe to use it to soften tar/bitumen and it's what I'd be going for.

 

Iain

[Cooper1]

It was a private sale,tar has gases in it so didn't really want to heat it up,white spirit works..over 5 days,may give parra fin a go cheers

[ibrooks]

You're worried about the fumes from heating tar a little but you're prepared to slosh paraffin on it?

 

Seriously - a heat gun on a low setting to gently heat it a little and it'll scrape off dead easy with minimal fumes. Yes I'd do it in a well ventilated area or even outside but it's by far the best way I've ever found to remove this type of coating.

 

Iain

[Mini 360]

Get a product you have mentioned in your title called Tardis.  Its from Autosmart and is an industrial cleaner. Works a treat! 

[PetePinnington]

+1 on above. Isn't that expensive either!

[Mini 360]

+1 on above. Isn't that expensive either!

5L tin for about £15-20 I think.  Little goes a long way, as with all decent cleaning products.