Stubborn mastic

[Joyfulgirl]

Okay folks, heading off to do another couple of hours of work on my trailer. By the end of this session I should have all of the old asbestos tiles out, but I'm still struggling with the stubborn mastic. Does anyone have any tips for removing old old mastic from 1963?

So far I've tried a really harsh solvent whose name I can't recall that came from HD. it worked okay, but still a LOT of work to remove the goo. Have also tried the heat gun, but also not super effective with what I'm up against. Will mineral spirits work? Does anyone know of another product? Or am I in for just a ton of scraping?

Thanks!

[Wabbiteer]

The solvent - cover with clear plastic sheeting and let it soak in without evaporating itself dry? I know its nasty to be around but time - 1/2 hour etc - is the only way the solvent can penetrate to make removal easy.

There is always the dry-ice trick to see if making it brittle would help...

[Mark Wiltrakis]

I used the heat gun and a 2" putty knife. It's painfully slow, extremely boring, but gets the job done. What little mastic remains on the floor is easy to sand away with a belt sander. A respirator mask is an essential tool for all phases of the tile removal.
I hope you can discover an easier and faster method - I didn't.
Good luck!
Mark

[Ganglin]

You could try this product:
Info_Citrus King Mastic Remover
You may be able to get it from a local commercial flooring supply house. Depending on the mastic, you might also try a small bottle of Citri-Strip and see what it does. In either case - keep these products away from any wood, plastic or vinyl surfaces.

[marzboy]

Why are you trying to remove the tile? Are you replacing the sub floor? Are you trying to get to the elevator bolts? If so you can always remove the belly pan and cut the bolts from the bottom. Luckily for me I used a tile scraper and carefully popped the tiles up without breaking them. I wouldn't sand anything with asbestos in it or you could have bigger problems!