Removing old seam sealer

[Doppleganger]

Just got my cab blasted but there's still alot of old hard seam sealer to dig out. Have seen guys say to use a torch or chisels to dig it out. Just wunnerin what you fellas have used. The stuff just below the floor vent on the driver's side is like cement. It separated leaving a huge crack between it and the outer panel. I chiseled alot of it out but its still rock solid and embedded on the floor pan. Torch? Dremel with a deburring ball? Thx.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[WP29P4A]

Flapper disc on an angle grinder.

 

[Randy and Easton]

We used grinder as well

Randy and E

 

[CalSgt]

I just whittled at mine with a pocket knife, narrow putty knife, and gasket scraper. A pair of needle nose helped to grab a loose end and tug it out of the gap, sometimes it would break free in long sections. In some areas i just took the top off so I could get a good bead over the top of it.

The spot between the floor and kick panel just ahead of the door on mine had some rust starting in there so thats a spot to dig completely out. Its a big enough gap that I had to make two passes to fill it, the first attempt showed the sealer I used wasn't firm enough to fill the gap without pushing into the void in the rocker/kick panel.

I left the sealer in the cowl gutter intact and just covered it up, it took 1/2 tube of sealer just for the cowl, 3/4 tube for the firewall, kick panels, and door thresholds, 1/2 tube for the back of cab into the corners and the trans tunnel. I used the globs that ended up on my fingers from wiping beads to cover small areas like the welded patches on the firewall and floorboard.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Doppleganger]

Tried a little bit of everything. Wound up torching it for about 15-20 sec......then used a small chisel to scrape it out. The hard stuff that wouldn't budge came out real easy and in large sections using the heat. I went from the driver's side door opening under the floor vent all the way past the accelerator is about 15 min. Then used a flap disc for the slight residual - very clean now.

Just wish I had done this before it got blasted.

 

[CalSgt]

Just wish I had done this before it got blasted.

LOL... I only blasted the bottom of the cab, rockers, thresholds, and the cowl and I am still having blasting media randomly spill from nooks and crannies whenever I'm working. Several times I swept, vacuumed, blew with compressed air and with a leaf blower trying to get it all cleaned out of the hidden areas. I cant imagine how much you will encounter considering how much area you blasted.

 

[shiftpro]

Why not just put more over top the cracked stuff and carry on?

Anyway glad to see you did in fact get the cab blasted.. did you find someone closer?

 

[CalSgt]

Hard to tell from your pictures but if the door jambs are still full of seam sealer a pocket knife and gasket scraper followed by a paint striping wheel mounted on a right angle die grinder did wonders on mine. I couldn't find any pictures of the door jambs though except before they were striped and after they got filled with bondo.

Kinda like this one, maybe a little smaller.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Doppleganger]

Why not just put more over top the cracked stuff and carry on?

Anyway glad to see you did in fact get the cab blasted.. did you find someone closer?

No....a friend's dad procured a small trailer that worked out. We took back roads and left early to avoid traffic. It HAS to be in paint (cab) before winter though, or I'm still screwed.

Gotta get some epoxy primer on the bottom so I can 3M undercoat it too. Running out of weather.

 

[Doppleganger]

Hard to tell from your pictures but if the door jambs are still full of seam sealer a pocket knife and gasket scraper followed by a paint striping wheel mounted on a right angle die grinder did wonders on mine. I couldn't find any pictures of the door jambs though except before they were striped and after they got filled with bondo.

Kinda like this one, maybe a little smaller.

You must be registered for see images attach

I imagine it sitting in the open for the drive home (20 miles) helped alot. The guy who blasted it - his driveway has a huge dip at the road. When I creeped over it, the trailer dipped hard and a pile of sand came out. lol

Supposed to have bad storms tonight (VERY humid ATM) but once it dries out later this week, I'll roll it out with the compressor and see what I can get out. Rockers alone should be fun.

I never expected him to blast the whole thing (except the roof - he wont touch those due to warping issues). I asked for the firewall, floor, door and window openings and then down in the channels where the door seals went. It all just had very slight surface rust or corrosion from the rubber mat. He said when they got to blasting (soda), it was coming off real easy so he went all in.