How do you remove plastic floor tiles?

[janet8]

I have just moved into a house with plastic floor tiles stuck to the wooden floor in one of the rooms. How do I get them off? – they seem to be stuck down with a black tarry substance.

 

[AnonymousImport]

Try warming them up with a hot air gun whilst prising them off. Be warned - this may be a bit smelly, so open a window or something.

 

[petermccann]

The idea of using the hot air gun is good and works. The problem I faced was how to get rid of the black tarry adhesive afterwards - it was still tacky and could not be sanded out. Any ideas how to remove this horrible stuff.

 

[AnonymousImport]

I had the same problem with my stairs when i pulled up the old carpeting i found black tar on them. I think it was used to glue down plastic stair pads at one time. I used a standard paint remover, however this will remove the finish from the wood also.