Good Degreaser? Sponge or Bristle Brush?

cmfisher4

cmfisher4

Promoted Users
I've got the frame of my TR4 all stripped of mechanical parts and I need to clean it in preparation for epoxy primer. Two questions for the gang, if you don't mind:

First, I intend to paint the epoxy with a brush vice spraying. I'm not incredibly concerned, but does it matter if I use a foam brush or a bristle brush to minimize the generation of brush strokes? I have a feeling the epoxy will flow enough to prevent any texture, but I've not used a brush with it before in large areas.

Second, the frame has quite a bit of built-up mung and grease in hard-to-reach areas as you'd expect from a 60+ year old British car. I'm not in California, but with chemicals not being what they used to be, can anyone recommend a good degreaser that I can spray on, let sit, and then nail with a pressure washer that will help break up the thick stuff? I use Purple Power for most stuff, but that doesn't work so hot on the built-up stuff. My guess something foaming would be best.

As always, thanks to everyone for your continued help!

Cheers,
Chris
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Thanks, I assume, by blasting, you mean media blasting. I'm not prepared to do that (no personal equipment and limited choices around me for getting it done commercially), but I will look into it.
 
If you’re willing to travel a couple hours there is Classic Car Blasting in Hampstead, NH. I have not personally used them yet, but the couple people that I talked to that have were happy with them. They are just under $400 for a frame.

classiccarblasting.com

Media Blasting

Antique, Muscle and Classic Car Sandblasting in NH, MA, ME
classiccarblasting.com classiccarblasting.com
 
Spray your frame down with diesel fuel and let it set overnight, then spray it (I use the cheap hand pump sprayers) with Zep purple cleaner the next day (relatively cheap at Home Depot).
Get the concentrated Zep cleaner and use hot water when you mix it to whatever dilution ratio suits your needs, let the zep set on the frame for an hour or longer but do not let it dry, keep it wet with repeated spraying and then go at it with the pressure washer. Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) is one of the main ingredients in the purple cleaner so be sure to use required safety equipment. This will get the frame very clean but it does not remove the rust but it will keep you from sanding or blasting the dirt and grease into the metal.
 
down here, to sand blast and powdercoat a frame is $500 and takes 2-5 days depending. drop off pick up done. considering how long it would take to scrape, pressure wash, repeat, then brush epoxy....might be worth it. to check prices in your area

if u want foaming degreaser, maybe easy off oven cleaner.
 
As for a degreaser, I recommend Spray Nine. It's inexpensive (About $12 a gallon) but works extremely well on grease and grime.

You can get a small pressure pot type media blaster and use the cheaper blast media on a frame like that. It takes longer but you don't have to pay anyone's labor charges if you do it yourself.

Though if anyone in your area will do the job for $500 including powder coating, I would jump all over that.
 
$700-$900 for a mobile blaster (just the blasting). I'm sure I'm paying for the convenience of them coming to me, but that's a bit more than I expected.
 
EricB said:
If you’re willing to travel a couple hours there is Classic Car Blasting in Hampstead, NH. I have not personally used them yet, but the couple people that I talked to that have were happy with them. They are just under $400 for a frame.

classiccarblasting.com

Media Blasting

Antique, Muscle and Classic Car Sandblasting in NH, MA, ME
classiccarblasting.com classiccarblasting.com
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That's a heck of a deal. I'd be all over that. The time and mess not having to deal with it, is well worth the money.

What do you get for your money, a perfectly cleaned frame ready for epoxy.
 
I finally pulled the trigger and got the frame blasted. Guy was great and checked several times to make sure I was happy as he was doing it, so the thing is darn near immaculate. And no damage found, so that was good. A touch too cold to get it in epoxy yesterday (blasted on Friday), but I should be able to do it by the end of the week. It's been pretty dry here, so hopefully it'll only be some minor surface rust (which I think I've read I can paint over). Thanks for everyone advice - money well spent!

Cheers,
Chris

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Looks great, nice clean metal. If that is where the frame will sit for the next week, I would place a plastic tarp on the ground. There is a lot of ground moisture which will accelerate the rusting cycle. It also will help to cover the top of the frame with a blanket to keep the rust cycle at bay.
 
cmfisher4 said:
No, I got it inside. Not a climate controlled space, but it is dry (concrete floor). Hopefully it won't be too bad. Thanks!
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Glad to hear it's stored inside. They will help greatly. I have my vehicle in a garage. Even then, I'll get surface rust if the bare metal panels sit for 3 to 4 days. I'm sure it's just the climate I'm in.

However, I did learn that placing a blanket over the exposed metal, I could go for weeks, even months with no visible signs of rust.

One accidental lesson was learned when I placed some sheetmetal on my welding table. The welding table has open slits on the table top. Anyway, I covered the top of the sheetmetal with a couple of towels. It was about 2-1/2 - 3 weeks before I took the towels off to use the sheetmetal. What was interesting, the top of the sheetmetal showed no signs of rust, however, the bottom side that was just as clean as the top when stored, had rust all over it.

I've come to the conclusion, that any air, whether outdoors or indoors has a certain amount of moisture in it.......... and any exposed bare metal is subject to rusting if it's not covered with a material that will absorb the open air moisture.
 
I got it covered last night, but the underneath is not sealed, so I'll see if I have the same results you did. Plan on painting tomorrow, though (one side), so it may not have enough time to build rust.
 
I had a truck cab in my shop in bare metal for over 10 years not covered . The only rust it had was where people touched it. It had been dipped by Redi Strip.
 
Wow. That would be nice. I'm on the edge of temperature requirements for the epoxy (65F). While I'll be upset if I don't get it painted before the temps just get too cold, I'm also not going to take any chances. I'm hoping that the warmer temps we have coming will be enough to keep temps up for the 24 hours.
 
^^^ how exciting, looks fantastic!

Pro tip...... when you go to flip it, put wax paper on the saw horses where the fame will be resting on. The paint is still fresh and soft. This will stop the frame from sticking to the saw horses.

I use wax paper often. It can be purchased at any supermarket.
 
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