VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Cleaning Question

Have my frame in the shop getting powder coated. Wondering how to clean the rear axle, front axle etc. How do you get 82 years of gunk off? Thought I may some time asking someone who has been through this. It is a 28 National. Thanks....

The first step can be to make it a bit softer by spraying with a little diesel fuel or kerosene. Let it soak in and spray again. It takes some time for the solvent to penetrate through the hardened dirt/grease/oil mixture. Then scraping and wire brushes with liberal muscle applied will remove the bulk. Then you can use a stiff bristle brush with more diesel to wash off the remainder. Pressure washing at the local car wash (if the owner is not around) can also be effective in getting some of the stuff off. Steam cleaning works well particularly if the stuff is softened with diesel first.

Thank you, I will give it a try!

I just finished one recently. Get all the liquid and soft grease off. Have it sandblasted. If your sandblaster man is as good as mine was the frame will be in excellent shape for the powder coating.

Consideration: When your car is assembled there will be a considerable area on the back of the frame that is visable. Instruct the powder coat people to apply high gloss to this area. The remainder of the frame will be semigloss.

This process will be somewhat expensive, but the results will make you smile.

You should also consider powder coating the complete undercarriage, the rear axle, torque tube, front axle, tie rods and linkage, all springs, all brake rods and hardware, and a special coat on the transmission case and tower.

I always used kerosene, but a cousin of mine who restores some very old and rare tractors told me oven cleaner works super good. He said he buys a bunch of cans of the old type or "heavyduty" and sprays down everything in the evening so it doesn't sun bake or dry out as easy recoats if nessesary to keep it wet and by morning it is ready to powerwash. He said it takes off old paint,rust and all and leaves the metal bare and nice, ready for metal prep washing. Sandblasting can remove detail in frame bends and it changes the apperance of cast iron slightly especially on engine number stamping pads and cast letters and the like, but the oven cleaner leaves all the detail intact. I have seen his tractors and they are NICE!. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I do know that lye can clean a completly rusty old antique pancake griddle that was found in a barn dirt floor and bring it back to shiny new looking condition and oven cleaner has lye. I would NOT let any oven cleaner get on aluminum parts though, it will eat them alive.

You gotta be careful using oven cleaner on the engine compartment. I used some and thought I got it all washed off....it is really an eye irritant, the stuff stung my eyes for months after I started driving the car. I would never use it again on one of my cars. Just my opinion!

Some oven cleaners contain Lye or Sodium Hydroxide or Caustic Soda. Those are three names for essentially the same thing. So read the label on the container carefully.

Lye was historically obtained from wood ashes and can also contain Potassium Hydroxide also. It reacts with Aluminum and Zinc so keep it away from any die-cast or white metal. End of chemistry lesson and on to hazard warning!

Lye or Sodium Hydroxide is extremely dangerous. It not only will it remove rust and paint but ALSO YOUR SKIN. If any gets into your eyes you have SECONDS to get it out without possible permanent damage. Applying oven cleaner from a pressurized can is asking for trouble unless you have the proper protective safety equipment. Chemical workers goggles, full face shield, long sleeved clothing, rubber gloves and apron are the minimum specified for chemical workers handling the stuff. See below.

The following is copied from the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for Lye.

Section 3 - Hazards Identification
Emergency Overview
Appearance: White solid.
Danger! Causes eye and skin burns. Causes digestive and respiratory tract burns.
Hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air).
Target Organs: Eyes, skin, mucous membranes.
Potential Health Effects
Eye: Causes eye burns. May cause blindness. May cause chemical conjunctivitis and
corneal damage.
Skin: Causes skin burns. May cause deep, penetrating ulcers of the skin.
Ingestion: May cause severe and permanent damage to the digestive tract. Causes
gastrointestinal tract burns. May cause perforation of the digestive tract. Causes
severe pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and shock.
Inhalation: Irritation may lead to chemical pneumonitis and pulmonary edema.
Causes severe irritation of upper respiratory tract with coughing, burns, breathing
difficulty, and possible coma. Causes chemical burns to the respiratory tract.
Chronic: Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause dermatitis. Effects may be
delayed.

Section 4 - First Aid Measures
Eyes: In case of contact, immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for a t least 15
minutes. Get medical aid immediately.
Skin: In case of contact, immediately flush skin with plenty of water for at least 15
minutes. Immediately remove contaminated clothing and shoes. Get medical aid
immediately. Wash clothing before reuse.
Ingestion: If swallowed, do NOT induce vomiting. Get medical aid immediately. If
victim is fully conscious, give a cupful of water. Never give anything by mouth to an
unconscious person.
Inhalation: If inhaled, remove to fresh air. If not breathing, give artificial
respiration. If breathing is difficult, give oxygen. Get medical aid.
Notes to Physician: Treat symptomatically and supportively.

Personal Protective Equipment
Eyes: Wear chemical splash goggles and face shield.
Skin: Wear gloves, apron, and/or clothing made of butyl rubber, nitrile rubber,
and/or polyethylene.
Clothing: Wear appropriate protective clothing to prevent skin exposure.
Respirator: A respiratory protection program that meets OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.134
and ANSI Z88.2 requirements or European Standard EN 149 must be followed
whenever workplace conditions warrant respirator use.

YIKES!!! He did say he wore several layers of clothes that were destined for the trash can and a face sheild and an old hat since he is folically challenged. I would say anyone doing that be sure to flush everything down good with a gentle stream of water first before getting out the power washer. He did say do it on a gravel driveway as it will kill grass and make a big mess when all that crud comes off. He didn't want grass in his drive to the work shed anyway.

I know someond wil disagree with me but I used Colgate Tooth Paste and a hand brush like a surgeon uses before surgery to clean the white top on my 70 Impala Hardtop. It came out white as snow. I used one of the name brand cleaners on another car and could never keep it from running down over the windows. If I ever clean another top it will be colgate.

I cleaned my greasey and dirty pieces with a rotery wire brush on an angle grinder. Worked great.

As per thutch7244 I did my whole under car with a rotary wire brush and angle grinder during a second mini resto 4 years ago. This worked well for me as when I first restored the underside 35 years ago I did not have the tools or inclination to remove all the rust, and to my amazement there were places I had painted over dirt and rust. That is now not the case. As I recall I went through about 6 rotary wire brushes.

I am in the powder coating business so I will weigh in on that su-subject of this thread.
Powder coating is an excellent chioce for chassis components. Blasting will remove old paint and rust but heavy grease and oil, along with the dirt they attract, should be removed by scraping and/or power washing prior to blasting. These areas will absorb the impact of the blast media. When they are finally blown away, the media has pounded them into the new pourous surface left by the blasting. They can be troublesome to remove in the normal prep for powder coating.
Furthermore, ANY gearcase should be stripped of all components and cleaned until you're sick of it before blasting. Once again the sand or other media will collect in any area where oil/grease is left behind.
The powder coating process heats your item to about 400F (twice if you bring it to me) which has a tendency to make any remaining oil/grease flow from where ever it might have been hiding and ruin the newly applied finish during the cure.
Ray's mention of two different gloss levels for the frame is do-able but I have never had a request for it.

Mike

I think that the customer did not know that you had that capability. That is something you should suggest to your customer. This division is not for all frames, just the ones that protrude back from the body and therefore are exposed.

Another trick? have the handle of the transmission coated with high gloss, you can improve the appearance of many parts by having them sanded and ready for coating. Have the bottom cover of the transmission coated with a natural coating that looks like bare metal, and have the transmission case coated with the same coating.

Ray,
Do you think Chevrolet sold these vehicles with a different gloss paint on the rear portion of the frame?
Every time I change colors it is like a different job. I have a minimum charge for this because it takes time and time is all I have to sell.

Mike

The gloss paint on the rear of the frame is for appearance purposes. I am 99.99% sure that no special coating was applied to the frames after they were dipped at the frame factory.

I am also sure that all cars were painted with the base coat clear coat system, and all cars had whitewalls.