Effective way to remove nails from corner of skin, under j r

I use a very, very small pry bar to get under the wrap around roof metal and pry up slightly to grab the nail head. 

I pry slightly forward so as not to put pressure on the exposed wall skin. You just want it loose enough to grab the nail head with needle nose or the pliers Mobiltec recommended...which I like a lot...and I can't remember the name.


Does that make sense?

I ordered them online but it's been a couple of years now. They're great for removing nails. Grab, twist, pull. Don't pry if it can be avoided.

Did you find them in Mobiltec's video?

I have found that most of these nails will pop right out once you get the head lifted.  Lifting it disturbs it enough to loosen the length of the nail from the wood.  Many of them have come out by using a wide-blade scraper and pounding it in lightly beneath the fold of the skin and as close to the nail head as possible. I have long used a set of 6" vice grips for such occasions, also works good for stubborn screws.

Further note: A lot of the old rusted nails popped the heads completely off when I tried to push underneath them, and when this happens it is best to lift the aluminum and pull it through. This gives you more to grab hold of rather than trying to dig them out of the top layer of aluminum. New nails will often cover the hole, and if not, it is all under new putty anyway. When replacing the putty between the layers of skin, it may be quite necessary to seat it all back together using a hammer to tap it all in tight, so if there are small folds, pulls, and irregularities from taking it apart, it all works out when it goes back together.

I have a little pry bar, too. It even has a little hole in it for grabbing the nail head. I think it came from Lowe's and it's priceless. My favorite tool. Once I get it pried up, I sometimes grab it with channel locks. Yes, channel locks. The little grooves are great at getting a good bite on the nail head.

This isn't exactly like mine but it's similiar, mine is not forked but forked is probably better. 

www.lowes.com/pd_117699-16878-62897___?productId=4777013&pl=1&Ntt=small+pry+bar+multi+tool

Home Depot sells a very small cat's paw that looks like a screw driver but with a cats paw at the end. I slip that under the skin to the nail and then pry up a bit. Then a small tap with a small hammer right next to the nail head will tap the skin down enough to expose the head which can now be grabbed by a pair of normal pliers and pulled out.

The thing they are talking about is a screw removal tool. The mouth is too big for these nail heads. I've pulled thousands and thousands of those. I have bad dreams about pulling them and wake up screaming in the night "THERE MUST BE AN EASIER WAY!"...

Oh I'm ok now...

Im pretty sure I show this process in more than one video...

I use an air stapler to put it back though. What ever you do, as much as I like Harbor Freight, one tool to stay away from is their air staplers. I went through two of them just to make sure it wasn't just a bad one in the lot. They both failed within a few hours. When you are trying to save time there is nothing worse than a tool that is always jamming. Get a good 1/4 inch stapler that will handle up to at least one inch long staples. They are called Crown Staples actually. 

Remember you only have to remove the old nails once. It's all down hill from there. So take your time and don't hurt the aluminum.