Hey, my friend and I are fixing up an old 1976 H16 and we really wanted to replace the non-skid rubber/neoprene/stock black stuff on the siderails with something fresher or new because it looks disgusting, but the part of it thats left is really hard to remove. Peeling it goes very slowly, and using a chisel or other similar scraper object just scratches the metal, which we aren't looking to do. Any suggestions?

Did you try a solvent on it? Alcohol, mineral spirits or even acetone might work. Try a small area to see if it removes it but wear rubber gloves and make sure there is good ventilation.

Once you remove it try using the rubber non-skid strip material used in bathtubs. It comes in small rolls about 1 or 1 1/2" wide. I have used it for years and only replaced it once. It works well when you wear rubber beach shoes to keep you from sliding when you are out on the wire.

Howard

I had to use pliers to pull off big pieces, a sharp knife to scrape off small pieces followed by a utility knife or razor with a handle to get rid of the contact cement underneath. Sandpaper did nothing and the solvents I tried were no help at all. It doesn't matter if you scrape the metal as long as you replace it with new neoprene or carpet. It honestly was a bitch to do. It took several hours of several days to get everything off. There's probably an easier way, I just used what I had.

if you are looking to replace it with like a substance that will adhere instead of the non-slip mats you might want to check out PlastyDip/PlastySpray. The plastydip is originally for tools and stuff. You could dip the handles of your pliers or something in there and they would come out with a nice thick coat of rubber insulation just like the kind some come with. They make the spray version too though, so it works exactly like spraypaint but you end up with a layer of rubber over whatever you're spraying. It comes in lots of colors.