<VV> paint problems

[Tony Underwood]

At 07:39 hours 09/15/2005, Marc Sheridan wrote:
>Kirk,
>
>I'm no paint expert, but from my experience painting engine sheet 
>metal, you have to get rid of the oil that has been on them for 
>about 40 years. Dawn detergent is the best detergent I know of to 
>cut oil and grease, but even Dawn isn't enough to prep for paint.


I've degreased stuff like the undersides of shrouds with purple 
stuff, works much better on 40 year old caked oil-crud than you'd 
ever imagine.   Other stuff like transaxles etc which aren't so easy 
to get to...  pressure washer after spritzing everything with purple, 
blast it, spritz again, blast it, repeat until clean, won't take 
long.    Even worked on the insides of engine sheet metal and the 
outsides of transaxles which evidently had never been cleaned or 
degreased in their lifetime.

You  can get a small pressure washer from Harbor Freight pretty cheap 
these days.


>What I use is Easy Off oven cleaner. You have to get the original 
>stuff (yellow cap) that stinks to do the job. Not only will it get 
>rid of the ancient oil, it will take paint off too, so you can put 
>away the sand blaster.


You can also use old fashioned Red Devil lye.    Pick up a plastic 
wash tub from the hardware store (I use a plastic laundry sink) and 
fill it with hot water then add lye to flavor it to your own tastes 
although I recommend not skimping on the lye, will  remove ALL oil 
and grease as well as paint, converts oil/grease into a soap which 
washes off, breaks down most enamel and lacquer paints and eventually 
sloughs them off.

It should go without saying that honest to goodness lye is some 
serious stuff and nothing to play with.   Don't get it on you or it 
will convert your hide to soap too.  Wash hands with vinegar.    And 
be *careful* when adding the lye to the hot water.   Too much at a 
time can cause reactions.   By the way, the "hot tank" cleaning 
solution in which machine shops boil cast iron engine blocks to clean 
them is a solution of water and lye.    Wash with ordinary soapy 
water afterwards and dry, and you're done.

READ the warnings on the label.  Lye is nothing to play around with 
and do NOT attempt to clean nonferrous metals with it.   Steel and 
iron only.   It makes aluminum and galvanized coatings go away in a 
foamy gray mess that you'll have to clean up.    Make sure you have a 
practical means of disposing of the used soup when you're 
done.  Don't pour it down the drain if the plumbing has pot metal or 
aluminum in it.


tony..