Remove old Headliner/Insulation glue?

[MetalEd]

Has anyone dealt with the glue in the roof of old mustangs? The headliner (at windows), insulation and the windlace around the door was held on with several types of rotting glue. I initially thought it was rust since it is all black. But scraping it, Some of it crumbles off but some is still active and sticky as all heck. Has anyone removed this with a chemical? If I sand it or wire brush it, it will clog immediately. A lot of the glue is in tight areas the windlace fits and tools will not work well between 2 layers of sheet metal. I've tried lacquer thinner and acetone (even paint stripper accidentally around the windows. I would like to clean it up and protect it with some POR15 paint before I put new insulation/sound barriers. Anyone been through this? Any thing work at removing it or maybe you have a technique that worked?

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[oldrock]

have you tried a still nylon bristle wheel or a soft metal wire wheel on a drill? Got to be careful not to put too much pressure and start taking off paint but might be worth a try if nothing else works.

[hiboostwoody]

Try using WD-40. Seriously. I have used it to remove lots of different types of sticky glue type crap. If it works, then spray it with something like brake cleaner afterwards to remove the WD-40.

[MetalEd]

I have been stripping glues, weathrestripping adhesive, body filler and some paint for 2 weeks in anticipation of sealing up the inside of the car with POR15. I have gone through half a dozen adhesive removers and most did nothing and I found some solutions that have not been posted. So I thought I would post some good results in case others need the info.
Black weatherstripping adhesive used in the window rail (under drip rails): Use a heat gun set to medium to soften the black adhesive until it's like spreading butter, don't get the metal too hot or may warp metal. Use a paint scraper (Even a plastic one!) to remove the bulk of the gunk. Then use lacquer thinner on a disposable rag to wipe the skim layer that remains (also works on the Black gunk in the windshield and backlight, don't use heat since quick temperature change could crack/shatter glass.. just scrape off in warmer weather followed by lacquer thinner to clean remains. (Cooler weather = harder black junk. Rock solid at 50 degrees!) Heat gun on the window moulding and trim is fine as long as you don't over-heat it. Then pour lacquer thinner down the track and dampened rag it to remove ALL from the thin/hard-to-reach channels. Really help to clean out the thick globs of it!
For Adhesives used to secure headliner and fiberglass insulation to roof and window bays: Airplane Paint remover worked best! Mine was dry and cracking, actually looked like bad, black rust. I thought I was going to be stripping all the paint to then strip rust and lay the POR15.. I put the paint remover on the glue, just long enough to soften it, then scrape it off. Use water and sponge to neutralize the remover. It did remove some of the red primer (I'll be painting with POR15 anyhow).
One shop manual I have says to use 3M Silicone remover for this. But since it is hard or crumbling material, I don't think it qualifies as an adhesive anymore (and not worth it at $18 for a 4 ounce bottle I found locally!)
Most of the adhesive removers I tried will also remove paint or leave an oily residue behind that will not hold new glue or allow to be painted over. Be sure to test any of them for these results if you need the paint or to paint over or use new glue over the area.
Something might work better, but this is the best I could do after testing tons of products.

[Adrenolin]

Are you sure its an adhesive or glue? It could be a seam sealer or even strip caulk (dum-dum putty). If its either of these all I can say is have fun! Get a set of dental picks, a small flat screwdriver, putty knife, a razor blade and enjoy the hours of picking it all out. Thats the only way you'll get it out of those tight areas. I cant tell you how useful and how many times I've used dental picks over the last 2 years on our car. Well worth a set in every tool box imo.

Goof Off will work to remove weatherstripping adhesives, both the yellow and black 3M as well. I haven't had any issues with it affecting painted surfaces however I don't let it sit too long either. Typically squirt some onto a rag and rub the stuff off.

I had to remove our trunk weatherstripping however I needed to reuse the new rubber. Goof Off will soften and eat rubber! The way to do this was to simply wipe over the rubber twice with Goof Off to soften the adhesive then go over it quickly with Methyl Hydrate. This will dry out the softened adhesive and it rubs right off. Rubber is like new again.

[stangtjk]

I used a knotted cup brush on a 4 1/2" angle grinder to strip pretty much everything when I was doing my car. It removes anything that's not metal and gets into tight areas and seams with no problem. I used it to strip paint, bondo, seam sealer, under coating, silicone from the windshield area, glue from the head liner, fiberglass.... Never had any problems. It also did a good job stripping the textured interior panels.

[MetalEd]

Here is an example, this is what I did this morning. This photo is taken from the hood on the driver side, facing into the windshield. The before picture, it looks like the entire inside roof is covered with rust... I mean massive amounts of rust! It is actually the spray adhesive the factory uses to adhere the insulation (like a spray can with straw) and also the rubber/silicone adhesive at the windshield frame and door to adhere the headliner.
Take a careful look at the second photo, that is the after. It's pretty amazing! Not only the adhesive from the window, but absolutely EVERYTHING from inside the roof! There is a bit of surface rust under it, but it's minimal. Nothing like what you would expect when looking at the back seat area of the roof in the same photo. I thought I would be cleaning rust for months! Now the insulation and headliner will stick to the new paint, not just fall off with the old crumbling layers.(not to mention the extra protection from POR15 under the headliner!)
No mechanical stripping at all. Just the paint stripper, a wire brush and steel wool! It's taking a ton of work, but I think it will be worth it! I did get to skip the step of removing the adhesive first.