Need help paint/ resto question

[bflippinw]

Ok got all my sheetmetal replaced, built a rotisserie, been spot blasting, cleaning, priming where I'm finished. Now I got it on the rotisserie and the underside is coated in gear, tranny, engine oil which preserved the metal nice but to get rid of the 40 yr old grease I am using engine degreaser which got everywhere. Should I power wash it? Seems the only way but the sheetmetal is in various states of welded, bare metal or primed.most is not seam sealed. I used weld thru primer on everything. Need advice.

 

[needabronco]

A pressure washer will work, just blow out all of the seems and dry the bare metal as soon as your done. You can also wipe everything down with wax and grease remover when your done. I would also suggest you use a quality catalized primer, not the stuff in a can.

 

[Lennardlector]

Use gunk off or whatever degreaser you have to remove all the major gunk. If you power wash it now it'll just fling it on all the panels. Sit back, grab a beer and let the stuff work its magic. Go to your local paint stop and pick up a bottle of metal cleaner. It's either made by 3M or SEM can't remember but it's purple and smells like grape juice. Dilute, scrub on with scotch brite then cleans up with a damp towel.

They sell a bunch of products for this type of job so just go with whatever you can afford. Rocks, water, and other crap will eventually destroy your hard work so unless you prepared to dip the entire chassis and get it powder coated it won't last forever.

Leaving some oil and what not in those "hard to reach" areas might be a good thing. At my shop the cars that had the nice exterior paint and "tuned" engines always had some sort of floor and chassis rot. However, the daily drivers with the leaking engines ALWAYS had a better starting point....why spend extra money on a wax gun to coat the inside of your frame if your engine will do it for you for free?

 

[Broncmeister]

wax remover might help too.

 

[allenfahey]

I use lacquer thinner or wax and grease remover and a red scuff pad for the final cleaning of oily parts. If you have a Keystone near you they have the best price on wax and grease remover. I get a 5 gallon can of it for the price of one gallon in the Spies brand. To keep the oily mess from getting on your new metal cover it with plastic.

 

[bflippinw]

I would normally use the wax and grease remover to clean up but I sprayed the degreaser on with the body tilted sideways. The degreaser ran into all the seams and into the bed. I just don't know if the wax and grease remover will clean out the seams. Will power washing it screw me up? Anybody done this and had a problem?

 

[darcytribe]

don't they have power washers that have steam now? Would that do the trick?

 

[allenfahey]

Another way to do it is put the wax and grease remover or lacquer thinner into a spray gun. Turn the pressure all the way up and narrow the pattern and use that as a pressure washer to get in the cracks and crevices. This works amazingly.

 

[fablife]

the best way is to hand clean the bulk of it...I know, it sucks..
then use a steam cleaner with simple green. The grease will get everywhere, including your eyes.
for the seams, I use a wire wheel to get out the loose stuff. When putting new seam sealer, look at the clean up material and use a similar product (some are water based) to level out the new stuff, for a clean look. JD

 

[bknbronco]

cheep walmart carb cleaner takes crud off quick!