Strip tar mat or not??

[jwtaylor]

I've been working at getting my 240Z ready for paint.  I have stripped the tar mats off the passenger area floors and trans tunnel.  The question is should I also strip the rear area, the reason I'm asking is as you can see in the photo's there are no signs of rust in the hatch area. 

The rest of the car has only minor rust.  Two small spots of rust in the driver's floor,  one about the size of a quarter and the other area of pinholes about the size of a dollar bill.   The dog legs on both sides need work, the rear corners of the front fenders have been replaced already.

I'm tempted to strip it but seems like a lot of extra work that may not be needed.

[Jarvo2]

I'm in the same boat, I think it depends on what you're doing with the car!

[Mixelplix]

I personally would strip it just for peace of mind.

[nix240z]

I left mine...

[Mark Maras]

When I stripped mine I found many places where the adhesion to the metal had failed and there was light rust hiding under the mat. I found that when the mat is cold most of it will chip off with a HF wood chisel.

[grannyknot]

9 minutes ago, Mark Maras said:

When I stripped mine I found many places where the adhesion to the metal had failed and there was light rust hiding under the mat. I found that when the mat is cold most of it will chip off with a HF wood chisel.

This ^  If the car has always been in dry states then you might get away without doing it.

[jwtaylor]

I have decided to strip it.  If Nissan / Datsun had at least primed the metal before they installed the tar mat I would be more tempted to leave it in place.  I used a oscillating scrapper on the trans tunnel. That worked well to remove the mat that was still well attached to the metal,  

Edited March 28, 2018 by jwtaylor

[jwtaylor]

Well this went quicker than I thought it would.  This is the worst of the rust that was under the mat.  Surface only, not bad at all.  And a photo of all the tar residue cleaned off.

It came off pretty easy with the Fein multi-tool - even with the 70 degree weather today.