What's the best way to remove treadmaster?
Not really having much luck today, luckily it was going to be scrapped anyway!

My bus number (if any): RMF2771

Try a good quality scraper (not filling knife) preferably with a solid knock through handle and a wooden mallet ?

My bus number (if any): RML2747

Bolster Chisel, big hammer, and a good pair of gloves.
Rob

My bus number (if any): RM14

Air chisel. not a kitchen knife!

My bus number (if any): RML2532

haha the bread knife was left out from when I cut some old foam up into a kneeling pad!

I was using 1 inch chisel but its a bit blunt at the moment!

My bus number (if any): RMF2771

We used wide files that were ground to chisel ends and a mallet at Aldenham. There is no easy way to get it up, do not use any form of cleaner or spirit on it, you just have to use muscle and get it as clean as possible.
Puitting down new, apply a thin layer of bostik to the floor and treadmaster, let it go tacky and put it down.

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458, RM 1585 and several RTs

A Hair Dryer ( or paint heat gun but you have to be very careful with that ) A High quality paint stripping knife with an impact end and a mallet or nylon hammer.

Keep a fire inhibitor to hand. Sand, extinguisher or wet tea towels, if you do use a heat gun, just in case the flooring or adhesive residue reached flash point.

If it's very cold weather you will find it will chip away from underneath.

If heated over about 1 ft in length you will find it will peel away in sections.

But either way its a slow laborious job.

Removing the residue after is important as it tends to contaminate any new adhesives.
It's also worth coating the bare metal with an anticorrosion coating and letting it cure before relaying a top surface as the original light etch coating tends to come away with the removal of the flooring and the adhesive.

My bus number (if any): RMF2771

A small thermo-nuclear device is being suggested by an outside member... :)

My bus number (if any): RML2532

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458, RM 1585 and several RTs

Brian, You are in part right.

The floor panels were not primed as per the rest of the body. They were, though, light etch primed at PRV. Every alloy sheet component was coated with a clear coat of etch primer. Very hard to distinguish unless a treated and untreated panel is placed side by side. Appeared colourless but was a very slight dull silver grey.
As far as I recall, it was only the floor panels that were not primed in Pink as it impaired the bonding of the Treadmaster.

It can be more noticeable now from aged original panels where the paint has flaked . It looks like the alloy has been smoked. Later fitted panels were not treated this way, most simply primed in Chiswick Pink or stove enamelled and later still not even that.

One of the reasons some restorations have had corrosion issues is that the preparation of panels and joints has not been a 2 part process before top coating and not both sides of panels.

Post Work report!

Being unable to procure a small thermonuclear device we decided to start with hot hair guns (probably for the best as late morning a Apache Gun Ship flew over the farm so low it only just cleared the trees up the road - don't want to be on the wrong end of their guns)

After above about 5 mins of hot air 'gunning' it we gave up and moved to a Air chisel, this worked but was faster doing it by hand so upgraded to a 2000w electric hammer drill with 1 inch attachment.

This got the threadmaster up with ease (and a lot of noise)when used at about a 10* angle from the deck. unfortunately was very easy to miss little strips that then with a bit heavy vibrating tool was hard to align up again - had to do these by hand.

Also so not to risked the hammer drill punching through between plates (yeah i did once but it can repaired) we stripped all the treadmaster over aluminium joints by hand!

in about 5 Hours work managed to do most the upper deck just a small section left to do over the weekend!


Then for once I sand back the left overs; whats the verdict on painting the floor/protecting?



O and today, I struggled to put my socks on - so stiff!!

My bus number (if any): RMF2771

Use fabric softener when you wash your socks, it makes them less stiff. :)

My bus number (if any): RML2532

My bus number (if any): RTL 960, RMC 1458, RM 1585 and several RTs

Glasurit do a product called spirit wipe.

It removes all grease residue and white spirit residue for pre paint prep.

It works really well and has been around for decades now.

If you use that in conjunction with a tack rag before painting it will provide a dust and contaminant free surface.

Cellulose Thinners works but the fumes will get you. The fumes from Spirit wipe are lesser.