tar paper used as underlayment when vinyl floor was installed How do I remove???????

the former home owners used some type of felt which is on the hardwood and i want to restore the hardwood back to its original finish in the kitchen, there was a ton of different tiles and vinyl covering, which i now have removed but now i'am stuck with this black stuff i can't scrap up.

I have the same problem. I posted my question over on the flooring and tile section of this site. Good luck getting direct answer.Most of the questions go un answered there. Alot of guesses. One suggestion which was the best. Go ask a real professional....Go to a tile store. I did. A product called Ardex needs to be applied in a thin coat and then I can apply any floor I wish over it. As far as removal? Thats a tough one. Some suggest mineral spirits (VERY dangerous) and some as simple as very hot water. Good luck at what ever you choose. p.s. If you want to spend $20 you can click on ask the Expert section and post your ? there. An expert will get back to you for a fee. I had several offers but opted to go to a tile store and pick there brains for free............

a hair blow drier and a wide 'putty knife'?

when i redid my dining room floor, i had to 'peel' up a ton of 1'x1' floor tiles, i used a 4" wide putty knife and a hair drier to 'melt' the glue and peel them up. i wonder if it would work for the tar problem? if you could get most of it removed, then maybe try some automotive bug and tar remover to clean up the residue??

I removed some old tiles that were on tar paper. I like the idea of the tar paper as a moisture proof layer in the bathroom. I wanted to take up some near the toilet to check for soundess of the wood around the toilet. Yikes, you can't get the stuff up. I tried the heater method Tomz71ss and it made it worse as it still couldn't be lifted in pieces, but became a hot piece of goo that even jabbing out didn't make it come up well. I have decided to have the subfloor cut out and redone. Ugh.

Dimabrush on a powerful polisher/grinder. It is very harsh and the wood will need finer sanding to fix but this is what I use.

To remove tar paper fused to hardwood flooring, use very sharp flat wood chisels (1” - 2”) to slice off the majority of tarpaper from the hardwood. When finished, use a razor sharp paint scraper that you can pull toward you with one hand while simultaneously putting heavy downward pressure on the blade with the other hand. The latter process scrapes the residual tar paper and varnish from the hardwood leaving a fresh layer of clean fresh wood. The whole process, while rather tedious and slow, really does a great job.

To Sharona / Jackie61 & Sassysarah.If you want a direct answer here it is though you may not want to hear it. You have to remove the subfloor and if there are many layers on there you can remove more but at least the first layer. If the floor is noticeably not level then use a floor leveler material. Now add your 1/4 inch subfloor and you’re ready. There is one chance to do it right and when you do what’s required you’ll feel a whole lot better about things.