Paul Falabella Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Anyone have any suggestions on how to clean up some of this 60 year old chassis schmutz? Not looking for a new look, just something a little neater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 A scraper, wire brush and mineral spirits are my weapons against chassis crud. Finish with degreaser and some black paint of your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfre Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Oven cleaner and garden hose it does not touch good paint but old dead paint will be removed and all grease will be gone.Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Falabella Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 You mean like Easy Off? Doesn't that need to be heated? I thought about Gunk but always used it on a hot engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Hot will work better but it will still work on cold stuff if you scrape away some of the really heavy stuff. Get some cheap disposable plastic scrapers in the hardware section of your favorite store, and some old newspaper to catch the heavy deposits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 If you have access to a power washer it would help get the big loose stuff off before you dive in with a toothbrush. On big degreasing jobs, I've had access to a hot washer...well worth it! If you go in this direction, make sure you keep clear of soft parts that could get damaged by the high pressure water stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 If you have access to a power washer it would help get the big loose stuff off before you dive in with a toothbrush. On big degreasing jobs, I've had access to a hot washer...well worth it! If you go in this direction, make sure you keep clear of soft parts that could get damaged by the high pressure water stream.Important note: If you hook a water hose up to the hot water line at the washing machine, make sure the hose is a good rubber one that can hold pressure and not a cheap vinyl one or else it may burst and you may have water damage in the laundry room. Please don't ask me how I know this, I am still trying to forget that day.....and that blood curdling scream from the wife....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 That's why you pay the big bux and rent a hot washer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Reminds me of the time I hooked a hose to the drain on the hot water tank, and used that to wash the car in the middle of the winter. Luckilly it was an unfinished basement with a drain.... In this house, when we had the new water heater installed in 09 I had it hooked up to the outside faucet. So now I can get soft heated water outside with the flip of a few handles... Now I just need gloves with built in hand warmers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob McDonald Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Of course you guys are missing the nasty part of all this - poor Paul has to crawl under his Buick and shower himself with hot water, oven cleaner, and accumulated schmutz. Unless he does the smart thing, of course, and rolls the car on its side.Approved PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for the task. "Dave, I can't let you do that." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Falabella Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 To paraphrase Blazing Saddles, "someones gotta go back and get a #@$%load of wire brushes". Crimson Tide ain't the only tough stuff in Alabama, that dirt is like asphalt. And one job leads to another. As I free the dirt encased bushings, I see how deteriorated they are.So who sells the best front end kits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 (edited) My easy fix has always been first scrape with sharp sturdy plastic hand tools designed for this purpose. Then I soak the parts over a weeks time with Orange Blaster. Then come back and scrape again, then apply a heavy coat of Orange Blaster as I am scraping. The crap comes right off and while doing this I switch to a very stiff plastic parts cleaner brush, then soak with Orange Blaster again and let it rest for a day or two. Then come back with the hot water / hose treatment under pressure for a final rinse. Looks great every time and nothing is scraped up from using wire or steel implements.Edit: Oops I forgot. I then shop air dry everything and area. Then spray on Marvel Mystery Oil (mmo) over everything. This will prevent any rusting from occurring and make the parts look great and mmo does not attract dirt and dust as it is really a fluid and not an oil. Edited January 9, 2013 by buick man (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Texas Old Car Guy Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 (edited) Buick Man (David):I got a chuckle reading your list of vehicles owned in your signature area - first time I've seen someone list their lawn tractor and point out that it is low hours and then add the color! Guess I should update my signature list and add my one-owner low mileage Viking Orange Husqvarna 440-e series Chainsaw, my metallic blue Craftsman 2-ton hydraulic floor jack and my wife's one-owner Artic White Kitchen Aid mixmaster. Reminds me of one night in the Army in basic training after the lights were all turned out, everyone was lying in their bunks and the guys were talking across the room, "I sure miss driving my GTO I left back home", "Yeah, I miss my Impala convertible", "Sure wish I had my Corvette here with me", etc. and a voice from the other side of the room with a very heavy Arkansas drawl chimes in, "My brutter has a '51 Ford with a chrome-plated tar-tool." The room erupted in laughter and from that day forward that guy was affectionately known as "Tar-tool."FredP.S. Just noticed you live in Sausalito - I was stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1968-69 and we used to love to go to Sausalito and watch the turtle races at Zacks. Edited January 9, 2013 by Texas Old Car Guy (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetpotato Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I once thought I would increase the effectiveness of my pressure washer by hooking the input water hose to my laundry room hot water faucet. I discovered that the machine has some kind of temperature sensor which won't allow this. Anybody know how to disable this feature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Guess I should update my signature list and add my one-owner low mileage Viking Orange Husqvarna 440-e series Chainsaw, my metallic blue Craftsman 2-ton hydraulic floor jack and my wife's one-owner Artic White Kitchen Aid mixmaster. ....LMAO... That is cracking me up!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chevy_dude97 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 I once thought I would increase the effectiveness of my pressure washer by hooking the input water hose to my laundry room hot water faucet. I discovered that the machine has some kind of temperature sensor which won't allow this. Anybody know how to disable this feature?You do not want to hook up your pressure washer to any hot water source. Unless it has a self contained water cooling system. The majority of washers out there utilize the cool water coming through the pump to cool the engine or motor(gas or electric) And every heated water pressure washer I have ever seen has the heater inline after the pump.(so as not to increase in temp) So in short if your washer is smart enuff not to let you run hot water through it then there is a good reason for it. -Jessie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 P.S. Just noticed you live in Sausalito - I was stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1968-69 and we used to love to go to Sausalito and watch the turtle races at Zacks.Yeah the local self confessed neo-Liberals around here have made the Presidio into an exclusive corporate play ground after it got shut down. Have not got around to privatizing the parking meters and the water yet buy I am sure if not stop by some kind of a sharp object they will continue to chew away at things like this currently belonging to our commons in general. Kinda miss going over to the nice mess hall for inexpensive but hearty meals. They have also recently changed the ingress and egress to the Golden Gate by a large margin. The entire area was literally untouched for decades until the last 8 years or so. Sounds like an easy tour considering it was 68-69 and all. Glad to hear you enjoyed our hospitality. Here at the Hotel California, they sometimes allow us to have peanut races from off of the upper mezzanine when the main hotel boss is away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Texas Old Car Guy Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) Sounds like an easy tour considering it was 68-69 and all. Glad to hear you enjoyed our hospitality. David:Guess Uncle Sam was trying to make amends for having me spend the previous 13 months in Southeast Asia so he sent me to the "country club of the Army" - The Presidio of San Francisco. Probably 98% of the guys stationed there had just returned from Vietnam. The MP Battalion I was assigned to was created by the Army in response to the Watts riots in LA and we served as the Army's S.W.A.T. Team for any riots west of the Mississippi. We had undercover MP's who were ordered to let their hair grow long and hang around UC Berkeley to infiltrate the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), Black Panthers and other anti-war organizations as part of our intelligence gathering; they let us know when the next protest would be. It was the time of the Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix Experience, peace signs, psychedelic music, wearing flowers in your hair . . . ahhh, the peace and love generation. For an interesting look back at those times just google UC Berkeley Riots 1968 for a refresher course.People outside of San Francisco may not realize it but the Officers' Club on post at the Presidio is the oldest building in San Francisco, perhaps the oldest in California, built in 1776 by the Spanish Army using Indian labor (of course you knew that, right?).Loved driving my one-year-old 1967 Buick GS400 up to beautiful Muir Woods on weekends!Fred Edited January 10, 2013 by Texas Old Car Guy (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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