Degreaser

Thanks as always 70D

Frank

I like the stuff they sell at Home Depot and auto supply stores that is commonly called "Purple Cleaner" and I use in my power washer to clean the chassis. Be prepared to wash it several times, because you will not get it clean enough to paint by just washing it one time.

Also, if you have many greasy spots, I like to spray the whole thing down with diesel fuel and let it soak for one or two days to soften the caked on stuff. Then, if you want to remove any old paint and grease down to bare metal, I apply my lye gravy recipe which will most likely remove the original synthol paint. If you apply that one or times, hose it off to remove the slop, then hit with a power washer, it will be very clean and probably stripped. Spray some phosphoric acid on the bare spots (or all over it), let it dry, and then powerwash that off. It will take some more dirt and debris with it, and let a bit of phosphate coating behind on the bare metal.

You can try some Tri-sodium phosphate as a final wash down as it is claimed to remove more grease, but I generally finish with some foamy dish soap and then power wash till no suds remains.

My experience is that it will take you tons longer to clean and prep it than to paint it !

Frank-in-Tallahassee
70D // 855

There's more information including some pictures in my article in Green Magazine this month, but here is the basic recipe. If you type "lye gravy" into the search up above, you'll see a lot of discussions about it.

I prepare the gravy by dissolving 1 can of Red Devil Lye (NaOH) into about 2-3 (not critical) cups of water in a 1 gallon jug (be cafefull here...as the lye dissolves it gets HOT !). Then I blended few tablespoons of corn starch in a about 1/2 cup of cool water, then added this to the jug. Carefully and gently agitate the jug to mix. When the mix has the consistency of gravy, it's ready. You just want it stiff enough to cling to vertical surfaces. If it gets too stiff, just add some more water. If too thin, add some starch.

Frank