Asbestos in roof insulation/ batting?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Traveling62

Traveling62

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Threads
5
Messages
182
Location
RVA
Hi All,
Pulled my tattered headliner out today and started removing the insulation. Watching the zillions of fibers floating around got me thinking about asbestos.

Does anyone know of an issue? My 3 yo loves to watch me working and I don't want her exposed to anything nasty. Didn't let her around for the removal, but don't want her to come in contact with any latent material or for me to track anything into the house.

Used search but couldn't find anything definitive.

Thanks
 
good question. Just air hose off outside and do a decent daily clean up so there are no piles left about ditch your clothes just outside the front door into a plastic baggie before you go in to have a shower and your little one shouldn't incur the wrath of the mid seventies cruiser construction. good luck.
 
nuclearlemon said:
i've never heard anything about jute containing asbestos. you'd think it would come up somewhere on the web if it did.
Click to expand...

Jute; is that what the material is? It seems different than my idea of jute, but I'm clueless about it. That would be nice if it were asbestos free.

Still going to take the precautions Lambcrusher mentioned, just in case. :)
 
Traveling62 said:
Does anyone know of an issue?
Click to expand...


Highly doubtful.
My headliner came out YEARS ago, after my first roll. That padding looked to me like re-cycled clothing. It's been hanging around and blowing in the wind ever since. I've wire-wheeled it, belt sanded it and propane torched it to get rid of it. Still have a bunch of it left, in patches glued to the ceiling. Hasn't killeded me yet.
Also, my daughters have ridden in the Pig ever since the roll and they're not dead yet either (25 & 26).
Also. If Ige says it's jute. It's jute.
 
Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

Thought I'd conduct a half ***** experiment. Asbestos was often used for its flame retardant properties. Presuming its use in the batting would have been for exactly that reason, I decided to try setting it on fire.

As fluffy, dry and flammable as this stuff looks, and it does look like shredded clothes, I expected it to go poof in a flash. It didn't. It took a flame for a second or two but quickly went out and just began smoldering. It was smokey and continued to smolder for awhile, but I couldn't get it to catch flame again.

Inconclusive on whether or not it contains asbestos, but it clearly contains some kind of flame retardant. It's perfectly feasible that the jute that was used contained asbestos since - after a bit of research- it was used in everything from undercoating to plastic trim to brake pads.

Anyway, I'll stick with the precautions and do my best not to contaminate the neighborhood....;)
 
Gonzo55 said:
If in doubt wet it down before handling it. When it goes air born is when it will harm you.
Click to expand...

Good advice, unfortunately, it was after removing much of the large pieces and creating a ton of airborne fibers that it being a problem even crossed my mind. Will wet it down when working on remainder.

Thanks.
 
Traveling62 said:
It took a flame for a second or two but quickly went out and just began smoldering. It was smokey and continued to smolder for awhile, but I couldn't get it to catch flame again.
Click to expand...


I repeated your experiment on a chunk that Ige fetched from the Green Pig's roof yesterday...mine burned quite well.
Something else to consider...asbestos probably cost more than jute. Just saying...
 
image-1442813604.webp

Do you want to know if the headliner burns ? I am considered an expert in some circles :)
image-1442813604.webp
 
Pighead said:
I repeated your experiment on a chunk that Ige fetched from the Green Pig's roof yesterday...mine burned quite well.
Something else to consider...asbestos probably cost more than jute. Just saying...
Click to expand...

I think she's right that it's jute, but just thought maybe they could have added asbestos fiber for its fire resistance. Apparently it was added to many products back then.

Since your test burned well and Gonzo's inferno suggests it's not fireproof, I guess that's positive news. I always thought that my headliner was original, it was a one owner pig prior to me. Maybe the headliner and matting I have was replaced?
 
Floating glass fibers don't mean asbestos. Asbestos insulation is loose-fill and fiberglass insulation is formed into batts. So due to the nature of car insulation it's probably fiberglass. They are unrelated.

Having said that fiberglass contains formaldehyde and phenyl. Both nasties in high enough doses, so it's best to keep your kids away if possible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom