How to Remove Bituthene from teak decks?

[Soundman67]

Hello again.
I have been lurking for the last while mostly but now a friend of mine has a few things he is repairing on his 1957 55' Chris Craft. One of the things that we are trying to get done is to salvage what is left of the teak decks. They started leaking with the previous owner and their temporary answer was to lay down a rubberized membrane called Bituthene over the decks. Usually this is a waterproofing membrane meant for commercial building applications.
I am just wondering if anyone has any firsthand experience with getting it off again without ruining the teak that is under it.
The boat owner has managed to peel most of it up but a thin layer of tar/rubber? is left stuck to the decks. I am writing the manufacturer as well to see what they suggest for cleanup of the product but I am not sure the same methods will apply for a 3 year old application.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Doug

[Roger Cumming]

The sticky substance left by the Bituthene is asphalt. Whatever solvent that dissolves asphalt will remove it.

[Jay Greer]

I believe you are speaking of what we refer to as "Torch Down Roofing Material" here in the US.
I also believe that you are dealing with a unique situation. The first thought that comes to mind is to carefully apply heat to the material so as to be able to get a strong putty knife under it. That being said, I wish you good luck with the project.
Jay

[oakman]

Just be aware that anything that will dissolve the 'tar' on the teak will drive it into the fibers. The burn down was meant to soften with heat. Maybe something like newsprint (the paper without the ink) and an iron. The heat will soften the tar and the newsprint being more absorbent than the teak will soak up the tar.

Might work here, works for getting wax out of fabric. Good luck

Oakman

[MikeWinVA]

Get it cold and it will shatter and you can vacuum it up

I had to do something like this on a smaller scale and used a non-cfc refrigerant and it worked well.

Try a commercial gas outlet and get a dewar of liquid nitrogen. Pour it on...wait till it boils off and use a putty knife. Vacuum it up with a shop vac (that has a bag) while it is still cold. I would say about about 4-5 ounces to the square foot.

Be carerful...you can get frostbite doing this.

[Soundman67]

so far google has turned up that turpentine or kerosene will dissolve it. Going to try that.
as far as what to do after the bituthene is removed well we arent sure yet. going to experiment with recaulk sand and then fiberglass over it as a temporary measure that retains the look of the teak.
for permanent repair it is going to have be completely removed, repair the plywood deck under it and then reteaked. The cost of this is not affordable right now hence the temporary fiberglass concept.
I am open to suggestions to pass on to my friend though should anyone have a tried and true method.

Doug

[Soundman67]

Turns out the circa 1850 marine paint remover takes it right off with no problems. nothing else on the shelf really touched it. And the teak is coming completely clean. wipe it up with mineral spirits and then wash that with water and theres no sign it ever had that goo all over it.
Thanks for all the comments.

Doug

[Soundman67]

well we set it up so that everyone elses cover drains onto that deck just to make sure.

[Boatsmith]

you can seal up a leaking teak deck very effectively with elastomeric paint. Pretty inexpensive to boot. The paint is sold as Snokote at Home Depot and is meant for sealing roofs. It also makes for good nonskid. The fiberglass sheathing doesn't seem like a good remedy to me but if I were to go that way I would certainly use xynole polyester fabric with epoxy. David www.boatsmithfl.com

[Soundman67]

Thanks David,
the owner really wants to try to keep the look of the teak if nothing else. so opaque coatings will be tried once we get through testing a few of the clear coatings. and only if none of those seem to work. I like the idea of the polyester coating from what I have read. Is it alot more expensive?
Doug

[Soundman67]

I am just curious if there is a problem with experimenting and discussing it here. If there is then no point in posting but I thought that was part of the point of the forum.

Doug

[Boatsmith]

Fabric thin enough to be translucent will crack quickly. You will also have slick deck syndrome.We are approached frequently to do something to salvage a dead deck. There ain't no magic. David www.boatsmithfl.com (http://www.boatsmithfl.com)