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John: I've tried many different methods of cleaning, and I can't say that any one is the best. It really depends if you need to clean and leave the old finish behind unblemished. If that's the case, you'll be limited to light alkali cleaners, like the purple stuff. or simple green. For that, I spary it down a couple times with diesel fuel which will help loosen and dissolve the grease and oils. The alkali soap will remove the oil film and dirt. Using a scrub brush will help alot. Follow each application with ALOT of hot water pressure washer time. Get yourself a poncho, and you'll get very wet. Remember, the majority of the filth is on the underside of everything. so I spend wuite a bit of time on my knees and even laying down under it. It's not a pretty sight. Finish up with some dish soap to give a real bath, and pressure wash it thoroughly. If you want to remove the old finish, or at least the flakey paint, along with the grease, the oven cleaner mentioned does work very well. I didn't like the fact that it was so expensive, so I make my own paint removing slurry out of lye, corn starch and water. Mix about a cup of lye in a couple or three cups of water, and add corn starch slowly until it's thick enough to apply with a brush and stay put. I sometimes use an undercoating gun to slop it on. If you let if sit for overnight, it works very well. Take a garden sprayer filled with some more lye water spray it down now and again, so that it doesn't dry out. Once it's been working, stir it around with a stiff parts cleaning brush, and it will do a fine job. when you're ready to hose it off, just use a low pressure so you don't spray it into your eyes. After it's thinned out, turn to your pressure washer, and take the paint off with the dirt. It may take several applications, but the ability for it to remove the old paint is pretty amazing. Give it a try. it's fairly cheap and it works. Frank
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