Removing fiberglass sheets from rear quarters

[Oakland Bronco]

When I took off the interior panels covering the quarters, I found that the PO put in a bunch of fluffy fiberglass sheets. At first, I was afraid this was done to hide rust. I removed a handful of it to check (removed with bare hands, until my brain sent me the "you're being an idiot" signal) and the original paint that was underneath looked immaculate. (There is a pair of 6x9s in the panels, so maybe the PO was trying to turn the panels into a speaker box?)

Anyway, what are your recommendations for the best way to remove this stuff? Should I spray the fiberglass down with water to minimize fiberglass particles getting airborn? Should I use a putty knife to scrape off the fiberglass panels?

I'm not concerned with maintaining the condition of the original paint, as the exterior, doors, jambs, tailgate, etc are no longer in the original color.

 

[allenfahey]

Are they glued in? Wear a dust mask, gloves, and long sleeve shirt. After your done take a cold shower. A hot shower opens your pores and you will likely get a rash, at least it does to me.

 

[pcf_mark]

Do what Allen says - gloves, long sleeves and pants. Cold shower is a good tip too! I put baby powder on my face too if I am grinding fiberglass to keep the fiberglass dust out of my pores or I get the rash too.

If you wet it then it will tear easier making an even bigger mess. Keep your shop vac running in the area you are working on to catch the dust.

 

[captbo]

put baby powder a over first Its cheap and you can thanks us later

 

[Oakland Bronco]

Thanks for the input guys. I haven't gone back to the rig since discovering the fiberglass, so while it looks to me that some sort of adhesive was used to secure the panels, I'm not certain. I'm going to tackle this later today.

 

[allenfahey]

To remove the adhesive once the fiberglass is out I would use lacquer thinner. Let it soak for a minute then use a red Scotchbrite and scrub it. Lacquer thinner might react to the paint since it's not a modern urethane. Then again you said you weren't concerned about the paint. Wear some thick rubber gloves.

 

[Oakland Bronco]

To remove the adhesive once the fiberglass is out I would use lacquer thinner. Let it soak for a minute then use a red Scotchbrite and scrub it. Lacquer thinner might react to the paint since it's not a modern urethane. Then again you said you weren't concerned about the paint. Wear some thick rubber gloves.

Great, thanks!

 

[Fireball05]

If he was trying to use it as a speakerbox, it might be polyfill. Are you sure it's fiberglass? They look similar. Polyfill is meant to put in sub-woofer boxes.

 

[Oakland Bronco]

If he was trying to use it as a speakerbox, it might be polyfill. Are you sure it's fiberglass? They look similar. Polyfill is meant to put in sub-woofer boxes.

I don't really know. The sheets were 5" wide and 1/2" thick. Length varied. the material was a yellow-green color, more yellow than Mountain Dew.

 

[Fireball05]

Probably best to proceed with caution then. Do a quick google image search for "polyfil speaker box" to see what I'm talking about.