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Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:09 am

i'm fifteen, this is my first bus. Its a 73 safari camper with a crank sunroof. the previous owner had the car sitting outside for a while and sealed up the sunroof with roofing tar to prevent leakage. does anyone know a way to soften it to make the chipping away easier? Here are the pics. the tar covers all the edges of the sunroof. http://s771.photobucket.com/albums/xx355/dahl_trevor/

Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:44 am

Propane torch....slowly and carefully.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:46 am

Welcome, that link needs a password but I'll assume it's a gooey black mess. A heat gun and putty knife would by my weapons of choice, laying rags soaked with mineral spirits or paint thinner over it and covering them with plastic or foil would likely soften it too.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:51 pm

i'm pretty sure i just made the URL public. sorry about that.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 1:04 pm

do not pry on the inner panel under any circumstances when it come time to open it. Find one of the threads I've posted on how to open a stuck sunroof.

As BusDaddy said, tar is dissolved with mineral spirits. You can also use heat. Are you assuming it is tar or have you gotten some off and tested it to see if it dissolves? If it is tar you are lucky - sometimes people use silicone and it not only traps moisture but it is acidic and it can cause rust through under it.

Be aware that the average sunroof will be about $1500 cost to get it working right if it is rusty at all and needs paint or body work. If the body is perfect then with new cables, running down used plastic and new seals it will cost about $400 - $500 to get it working.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:30 pm

VDubTech wrote: Propane torch....slowly and carefully.

Wow!

Do not even attempt that.

I hope you're being sarcastic there but fire to paint= instant blisters.

A heat gun and time are all you need. You can pick up a cheap heat gun at harbour freight for @10.00. Scrape off the lions share of the crap then start wiping down with mineral spirits. Kerosene is a very good tar solvent that isn't too pricey.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:43 pm

chazz79 wrote: VDubTech wrote: Propane torch....slowly and carefully.

Wow!

Do not even attempt that.

I hope you're being sarcastic there but fire to paint= instant blisters.

A heat gun and time are all you need. You can pick up a cheap heat gun at harbour freight for @10.00. Scrape off the lions share of the crap then start wiping down with mineral spirits. Kerosene is a very good tar solvent that isn't too pricey.

No, I wasn't kidding. You can very easily use a propane torch on a painted surface without blistering the paint. It doesn't take much heat to get roofing tar soft and pliable and be able to scrape away the bulk of it. If you think you won't blister paint iwth a heat gun just as easily as with a torch, you're kiddding yourself.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:24 pm

VDubTech wrote: chazz79 wrote: VDubTech wrote: Propane torch....slowly and carefully.

Wow!

Do not even attempt that.

I hope you're being sarcastic there but fire to paint= instant blisters.

A heat gun and time are all you need. You can pick up a cheap heat gun at harbour freight for @10.00. Scrape off the lions share of the crap then start wiping down with mineral spirits. Kerosene is a very good tar solvent that isn't too pricey.

No, I wasn't kidding. You can very easily use a propane torch on a painted surface without blistering the paint. It doesn't take much heat to get roofing tar soft and pliable and be able to scrape away the bulk of it. If you think you won't blister paint iwth a heat gun just as easily as with a torch, you're kiddding yourself.

Suggesting a 15 year old put a torch near his paint is a recipe for disaster. You would need to intentionally hold a heat gun in one place for quite some time before damage is done. Direct flame on tar could easily result in fire. The bus might have salvagable paint under all that crap.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:05 pm

He edited the post and put his age in, the original post didn't have this information. I agree with you 100%, scratch the torch idea.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:42 pm

What are your plans for the bus? I'm 16 and I have a '78 sunroof but mine is so rusted that it would cost too much too have it working again. I'm just welding a solid roof in instead of the sunroof. Fixing the sunroof is way out of my budget.

Mine is rusted to hell, see.

You can imagine what was under all those leaves and crap...

Don't do it unless your parents are rich.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:43 pm

one it's not tar. I years behind me repair metal roofs of all types..

Your best bet is a sharp putty knife, wait till it's cold. heat will just make it much more time consuming to remove
get that using a torch .. forget that shit.. you will be screwing up the paint no matter what, I can also tell you the paint is screwed anyway. The Tar/compound has stain the white paint to a brown.

worst case get a heat gun even a old hand held hair dryer some go up to 1400watts. then acetone or lacquer thinner, mineral sprints will just take twice as long

The guys age has nothing to do with his ability , if such were the case would you listen to a guy that wasn't even Born,when these Buses were new ??? or one that thinks His craftsman tools weren't made in chins along with harbour freights ..

Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:57 pm

Quote: 1400watts. then acetone or lacquer thinner

like a flame thrower you mean? The acetone fumes will ignite from the sparks in the hair dryer and a fire will result. Hair dryer OR acetone/thinner but not both.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:00 pm

SGKent wrote:

Be aware that the average sunroof will be about $1500 cost to get it working right if it is rusty at all and needs paint or body work. If the body is perfect then with new cables, running down used plastic and new seals it will cost about $400 - $500 to get it working.

Now you know why the last owner sealed it up. The best plan might be to clean off the excess tar do a neater job of sealing it up, and let it go at that.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:59 pm

I'd go the chemical route. You've got a lot to deal with there. :shock:

I'd stay away from heat - you're likely to end up with more mess and paint damage than it's worth. Here are some chemical suggestions to aid in the mechanical removal.

1) Acetone
2) Kerosene
3) WD 40

Good luck!

Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:57 pm

If funds are tight it's always cheaper to just to get that roof loose and slide it back into the pocket then toss on an early style westy roof. You can also go with a high top but they're kinda ugly IMo. Early westy roofs are usually available in the 100-500 dolla range and even with a rotten tent they'll keep the weather out.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:14 am

[quote="maximan1"]
You can imagine what was under all those leaves and crap...

quote]

Pleas don't use that word around me...I've had about all the crap i can take for a while :cry:

Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:31 am

Just another opinion here.... if you try dissolving that mess with mineral spirits or some other chemicals, be aware of where the runoff is going. You don't want tar-saturated mineral spirits solution running inside the bus, carrying all sorts of gunk, sludge and stains with it. I'm sure Busdaddy was suggesting careful, light usage, not pouring the stuff all over. Just keep that in mind.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:39 am

Yep, don't flood it, just keep it wet. After that lots of paper towels, old socks, towels and other absorbent rags. Scrape as much as you can when it's soft and remove the residue with progressively cleaner rags.

Wear gloves and be careful how you dispose of the dirty rags, leave them layed out for a few hours to dry first before sealing them up in something.

There's always the lexan option if the roof is beyond repair :wink:

Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:58 am

If it was my bus I would be using a sharpened 2" putty knife and a heat gun or propane torch. I would be as careful as possible but wouldn't worry too much about the paint, it is already history.

With the worst of the tar off I would clean off the rest with rags and paint thinner (like Varsol but cheaper).

Then I would seal the seam with some Butyl calking and repaint the roof.

O ya, don't forget rubber gloves for the Varsol treatment, and some leather gloves for the heat scraping.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:31 am

removed a panel from a salvage yard that was siliconed to death wound up saving the panel but cables were either broken to begin with or as a result of removal. heat gun and the putty knife or the propane torch and the putty knife. if yours is the one in the picture I would look for a better sunroof panel and or a better specimen to start with. I have had 4 parts bus sunroofs and sold each of them on samba. be aware cables are non existant prepare to apy @ 200 each for them and make sure your rails are salvageable. if your lucky someone will be parting out a bus and sell you what they have. when they work they rock but it takes some time to get to that point.