Vinyl Top Glue Remover? What works best?

[kmedlin9295]

I have taken the vinyl top off of my 1973 Charger SE. It was very ragged and torn and was holding water. After stripping the vinyl off I found a few small rust spots  . Luckily nothing too awful bad.
What works best to remove the residual glue left over after removing the vinyl? 
I will not be replacing the vinyl top and I probably won't reinstall the chrome trim either.  Wan't to minimize risk of rust coming back. 
Thanks in advance for any help. Kristine

[kmedlin9295]

 A few Pictures.

[twodko]

Hi Kristine,

Welcome to the site! Several months ago I removed the vinyl top from my 69. It was in the same shape as yours. Pick up a can of WD40, 3M Adhesive remover and one of those single edge razor blade holders and blades. This chore is much easier if you drill a hole through the razor scraper in its open position and pop a rivet in it. This keeps it from closing while you use it. WD40 works OK to soften up the glue but you have to go over the area again with the 3M stuff to remove the WD40 residue. I started with the 3M stuff working a square foot area at a time. Soak the area and begin scraping. The stuff evaporates quickly so you'll have to reapply often and change razor blades often too. I used a sharp 2" putty knife also for some of the thick glue. It took me about 2 hours to clean all the glue off. All in all it was pretty easy but please work in a well ventilated area away from flame sources. Good luck..

Tom

[tan top]

 lacqure thinner ,  becarefull  on the paint work though , if is not  two pack paint , it will damage it  ,big time

[Troy]

I use "Goof Off" and it works great! I also use it for the glue holding the carpet jute padding to the floor. I just pour it on, let it sit for a bit and scrape it off with a plastic scraper or, sometimes, steel wool. It will soften paint if you let it sit too long and razor blades will bite into the soft paint easily (I learned that quickly!).

Troy

[daves68]

Since the glue is dry and hard, I just sanded most of it off using the DA and a bunch of 180 grit paper and light hand pressure. The remainder came off easily with a little acetone and a scotch brite pad. Had to carefully scrape along drip rail and edges.
Dave

[kmedlin9295]

Today I tried WD40, Oops Off, Rubbing Alcohol, Bug & Tar Remover and Aircraft Stripper (each seperate and mixtures of some). None of them worked very well. I worked on a square foot section for nearly three hours and still didn't get all the glue off!    Tomorrow I may go get some 3M Adhesive Remover, Goof Off and some sandpaper. I am not worried about preserving the paint. It will eventually be stripped anyway. If I have to sand the paint off with the glue, that wouldn't bother me. I just want to get this stuff off so I can repair the rust spots and primer the top. A paint job is way, way, way far in the future for this Charger!

[tan top]

oh right if you don't mind repriming roof , hit it with a DA & 40grit , then finish with 80 then 180 

[BBKNARF]

I've had no problem with Aircraft paint stripper, just like you said do 1 foot by 1 foot section, put fair amount on leave it on for 5 minutes and scape it off with a paint scraper.