Getting 50 year old Roof tar off of boards?

[Mark Vaughn]

I've tried acetone, laquer thinner, paint thinner.. nothing is working. i can't just sand it or plane it off because the customer wants the patina and the dark oxidized color....i know... the tar appears to be flush with the wood, its not like it is just gunked up on top of it. boards that i have sanded it's like the tar and wood are one... does anyone know a trick to get rid of this? any help would be appreciated. thank you guys so much

[Dennis Lopeman]

gasoline? Fire? :)

[Jason King]

power washer? (try on an inconspicuous place first)

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

No solvents~!! They will only make the carbon leach deeper into the wood.

No pressure wash

I had some gawd awful asbestos/plastic flooring flooring glued down on my 150 year old pumpkin pine floors when I moved in to my house.

I took a 6" heavy scraper to it and a propane torch. Playing the torch across the asphalt glue I heated it till I could scrape it off in ribbons. Then I sanded the floor and all was well.

[Peter Quinn]

iv'e used a speed heater (special heat stripper) and a scraper to renove tar and mastic. Solvents won't do much to to cured material, heat pulls them up. Be careful mixing open flame, wood and tar though. A Speed heater isn't cheap but they work well and its relatively safe.

[Rick Thom]

Perhaps have a go with a heavy gel-type stripper. It will usually peel off layers and just soften the layer below a bit so I don't think it will cause the tar to penetrate into the wood any further than it is now. Just try a sample area first to see the result.
btw.. no open flame around tar for me thanks. A heat gun might help, but I'de try stripper first and wash down to control the chemical action.

[Ted Jay]

I've tried acetone, laquer thinner, paint thinner.. nothing is working. i can't just sand it or plane it off because the customer wants the patina and the dark oxidized color....i know... the tar appears to be flush with the wood, its not like it is just gunked up on top of it. boards that i have sanded it's like the tar and wood are one... does anyone know a trick to get rid of this? any help would be appreciated. thank you guys so much

Is it on there real thick, 1/8" or more?
I'de freeze freeze it (air in a can), and hit it with a hammer, like removing gum from a bench.
If it's thin try scraping it after you freeze it.

Worth a try!

Ted

[Howard Acheson]

What you are dealing with is a asphaltum with is used as permanent dye. It's even more permanent than india ink and virtually impossible to remove once it has penetrated into the wood. Even sanding may no remove it.

I had some tar from pilings get into some teak rub rails on a boat. The only remedy turned out to be aggressive sanding or replacement. We did some of both.

BTW, asphaltum is the dye used in Watco Danish Oil colors.

[Vic Damone]

3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner part #08984 and a terry cloth (old towel) rag. Apply cleaner to the rag and try to use a clean section of the rag with each pass Available at OSH or any auto paint supply. Use outdoors with gloves. This will not harm finished surfaces.

Vic

[Robin Cruz]

how about getting relatively new tar off with a 50 year old?

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Just curious what kind of wood are the boards? If this was the roof planking even 50 years ago they didn’t use exotic woods. Here in Ontario they were most likely to use spruce, a lot of work for utility grade wood.

Just my .02

Greg

[Jason White]

Some painting contractors are using infra-red heaters to break the bond between exterior paint and wood. Might that work?

Jason




I've tried acetone, laquer thinner, paint thinner.. nothing is working. i can't just sand it or plane it off because the customer wants the patina and the dark oxidized color....i know... the tar appears to be flush with the wood, its not like it is just gunked up on top of it. boards that i have sanded it's like the tar and wood are one... does anyone know a trick to get rid of this? any help would be appreciated. thank you guys so much

[Peter Quinn]

Some painting contractors are using infra-red heaters to break the bond between exterior paint and wood. Might that work?

Jason

Yup, that's the speed heater I mentioned above. Takes off lots of things you wouldn't expect, also takes a fair amount from your wallet. Its a good tool for removing old lead paint and mastic which is its primary function. Doesn't get hot enough to aspirate the lead like a regular heat gun. Also doesn't set old dry wood on fire very easily either, which I have done with a traditional heat gun. Here's a little info about them, don't remember where I bought mine but its great for sash restoration.

http://www.silentpaintremover.com/photos/index.htm