undercarriage paint??
05-22-2012, 12:30 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
undercarriage paint??
Hey all..I have the car on jacks for a couple more days, waiting for parts to put tranny back together..
Looking for suggestions on making the undercarriage all purty..
thnx
Looking for suggestions on making the undercarriage all purty..
thnx
05-22-2012, 01:49 AM
#2
Chronic Tool Dropper
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Unless the original paint is damaged, getting it super clean is usually best. If it needs to be repainted, it will need to be super-clean first anyway.
A year or so ago a lister posted pictures of his refurb'd undercarriage. He'd removed all the aluminum bits like heatshields and suspension points, and repainted the tub to look new. Easy I guess if the driveline, exhaust, and all the suspension are out on the floor and it's just the tub sitting on the lift pads. All his undercarriage bits were cleaned/plated/anodized, and the cast parts like control arms and brackets were acid-cleaned and clearcoated so they would stay bright. Looked great, but his obsession is greater than mine; I just keep it all clean and pretty, not quites so new and pretty, uh, purty.
A year or so ago a lister posted pictures of his refurb'd undercarriage. He'd removed all the aluminum bits like heatshields and suspension points, and repainted the tub to look new. Easy I guess if the driveline, exhaust, and all the suspension are out on the floor and it's just the tub sitting on the lift pads. All his undercarriage bits were cleaned/plated/anodized, and the cast parts like control arms and brackets were acid-cleaned and clearcoated so they would stay bright. Looked great, but his obsession is greater than mine; I just keep it all clean and pretty, not quites so new and pretty, uh, purty.
05-22-2012, 02:23 AM
#3
Three Wheelin'
I removed my crossmember, stripped it (LONG TIME), cleaned it thoroughly, primed it, and painted it with VHT red Engine Enamel, i baked it for a long time until the coating was rock hard. It produces a nice finish that is glossy and breathes a bit of color into your engine bay but very durable. I did 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of engine enamel. Personally i do believe that the most durable method of coating undercarriage is with fancy shmancy things like powdercoating, plating, etc, but, if you prep right (it's all in the prep), you'll have a long lasting finish.
I hate when people on other forums (Civic forum, Mustang forum, Hot Rod forum) bash certain high temp coatings as being cheap and crappy when they think they can just spray the stuff on and have beautiful parts. I think painting with spray can coatings should involve TONS of prepping, cleaning, and re-cleaning, i think the spraying the stuff on is 5% of the actual job.
I hate when people on other forums (Civic forum, Mustang forum, Hot Rod forum) bash certain high temp coatings as being cheap and crappy when they think they can just spray the stuff on and have beautiful parts. I think painting with spray can coatings should involve TONS of prepping, cleaning, and re-cleaning, i think the spraying the stuff on is 5% of the actual job.
05-22-2012, 03:14 AM
#4
Three Wheelin'
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There is a product called U-POL. It comes in quarts thick enough for a pressure gun and in spray cans as well. I can be applied with with a sponge and can be sanded when dry to give a smooth bumpy look. The color is a light grey the same as the Porsche original under coating and drys about the same way.
The bigger glitch is the cosmoline. During WW II the US shipped tons of guns to German in barrels of cosmoline. When Porsche first started shipping cars to the US they found they were often rusted on arriving. To fix the problem and with excess cosmoline they sprayed the under carriage of all cars shipped. This crap is the yellow waxy junk covering everything under the car. It loves to bond with grease and dirt but general cleaners will not touch it. The best I found was hot water from a pressure washer or some Easy Off (in the yellow can) scrubbed into the cosmoline and then washed off with water pressure.
A pressure washer will do a pretty good job of getting the heavy grease and dirt off.
The U-POL is paintable and can be used to touch up the gravel guard on the rocker panels.
The bigger glitch is the cosmoline. During WW II the US shipped tons of guns to German in barrels of cosmoline. When Porsche first started shipping cars to the US they found they were often rusted on arriving. To fix the problem and with excess cosmoline they sprayed the under carriage of all cars shipped. This crap is the yellow waxy junk covering everything under the car. It loves to bond with grease and dirt but general cleaners will not touch it. The best I found was hot water from a pressure washer or some Easy Off (in the yellow can) scrubbed into the cosmoline and then washed off with water pressure.
A pressure washer will do a pretty good job of getting the heavy grease and dirt off.
The U-POL is paintable and can be used to touch up the gravel guard on the rocker panels.
05-22-2012, 07:01 AM
#5
Three Wheelin'
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Link to U-POL products....,
http://www.u-pol.com/documents/catal...talogue-EN.pdf
Ken
80 928 S
5 Speed
UK
http://www.u-pol.com/documents/catal...talogue-EN.pdf
Ken
80 928 S
5 Speed
UK
05-22-2012, 08:51 PM
#7
Team Owner
you might find that cleaning the underside with first some engine gunk let it sit,
then scrub with a brush,
then rinse off with pressure washer
then follow up with simple green will remove most of the cosmoline and the other dirt thats on the body,
the painted underbody has good paint and undercoating so covering it with fresh paint might not be the best course of action
then scrub with a brush,
then rinse off with pressure washer
then follow up with simple green will remove most of the cosmoline and the other dirt thats on the body,
the painted underbody has good paint and undercoating so covering it with fresh paint might not be the best course of action
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05-23-2012, 12:30 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
ok cool..I dropped the exhaust and continued cleaning..Now i am thinking of cleaning and painting the exhaust and heat sheilds..Whad do ya think..
This WYAI is like a disease..lol
This WYAI is like a disease..lol
05-23-2012, 02:03 AM
#10
Three Wheelin'
I wouldn't touch the heat shields if they're in good shape visually. You could use header paint if you really wanted to do them but it would require very good prep to have a long lasting finish, and proper curing is a must if it's going to last any amount of time. Remember the 928 exhaust system was made of SS, so rust protection shouldn't be an issue.
05-23-2012, 04:20 AM
#11
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Eastwood makes some good high temp paint. There is a Grey that is used on manfolds that I use of brake parts and other high heat parts.
I have tried simple green on cosmoline and no luck. The only think I have found to be effective is hot water from a pressure washer or Easy Off Oven Cleaner in the yellow can. Even then it needs to be applied generously, allowed to soak in and then mixed up with a plastic brush. After that water takes most of it off.
In fact other than getting rid of termites I have found Simple Green to be next to useless. ZEP makes a purple driveway cleaner sold at Home Depot that is very good at cleaning grease and getting grease out of the pores of the aluminum parts. Just do not let aluminum soak in it too long. I use the purple stuff in my sonic cleaner.
For the heat shields there is some insulation sold on Amazon than is the same as the aluminum and firber glass insulation. Very reasonable. Columbia products also sells a high temp powder coating that works well on exhaust manifolds and heat shields.
I have tried simple green on cosmoline and no luck. The only think I have found to be effective is hot water from a pressure washer or Easy Off Oven Cleaner in the yellow can. Even then it needs to be applied generously, allowed to soak in and then mixed up with a plastic brush. After that water takes most of it off.
In fact other than getting rid of termites I have found Simple Green to be next to useless. ZEP makes a purple driveway cleaner sold at Home Depot that is very good at cleaning grease and getting grease out of the pores of the aluminum parts. Just do not let aluminum soak in it too long. I use the purple stuff in my sonic cleaner.
For the heat shields there is some insulation sold on Amazon than is the same as the aluminum and firber glass insulation. Very reasonable. Columbia products also sells a high temp powder coating that works well on exhaust manifolds and heat shields.
05-23-2012, 10:39 AM
#12
Three Wheelin'
Eastwood makes some good high temp paint. There is a Grey that is used on manfolds that I use of brake parts and other high heat parts.
I have tried simple green on cosmoline and no luck. The only think I have found to be effective is hot water from a pressure washer or Easy Off Oven Cleaner in the yellow can. Even then it needs to be applied generously, allowed to soak in and then mixed up with a plastic brush. After that water takes most of it off.
In fact other than getting rid of termites I have found Simple Green to be next to useless. ZEP makes a purple driveway cleaner sold at Home Depot that is very good at cleaning grease and getting grease out of the pores of the aluminum parts. Just do not let aluminum soak in it too long. I use the purple stuff in my sonic cleaner.
For the heat shields there is some insulation sold on Amazon than is the same as the aluminum and firber glass insulation. Very reasonable. Columbia products also sells a high temp powder coating that works well on exhaust manifolds and heat shields.
I have tried simple green on cosmoline and no luck. The only think I have found to be effective is hot water from a pressure washer or Easy Off Oven Cleaner in the yellow can. Even then it needs to be applied generously, allowed to soak in and then mixed up with a plastic brush. After that water takes most of it off.
In fact other than getting rid of termites I have found Simple Green to be next to useless. ZEP makes a purple driveway cleaner sold at Home Depot that is very good at cleaning grease and getting grease out of the pores of the aluminum parts. Just do not let aluminum soak in it too long. I use the purple stuff in my sonic cleaner.
For the heat shields there is some insulation sold on Amazon than is the same as the aluminum and firber glass insulation. Very reasonable. Columbia products also sells a high temp powder coating that works well on exhaust manifolds and heat shields.
Have you tried the heavy duty Simple "Green" that is purple? I got a jug of it at Crappy Tire and haven't used it on anything yet but give it a shot.
05-23-2012, 01:20 PM
#13
Chronic Tool Dropper
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I'm not at all a fan of using caustic on aluminum. Good for removing grease, but just chews on the aluminum. The "purple' degreasers are caustic, and warn you away from use on aluminum. It damages the surface, and leaves a dark non-protective coating of aluminum hydroxide when done. Contrast with the mildly acidic cleaners that strip off the old layer of oxide and gradaully cause a new layer. Look at old-school spray aluminum wheel cleaners, and at current marine products for some serious "brightening" with phosphoric acids. Diluted correctly,they can be used to "brighten" cast suspension bits if rinsed thoroughly and then clear-coated. Note that anodizing won't survive either caustic or serious acid cleaning.
Easy-Off oven cleaner isn't safe to use in the oven (fumes will chemically cauterize your lungs) , and probably shouldn't be anywhere near a car. For sure, ammonium hydroxide is the enemy of any aluminum that you want to save.
Easy-Off oven cleaner isn't safe to use in the oven (fumes will chemically cauterize your lungs) , and probably shouldn't be anywhere near a car. For sure, ammonium hydroxide is the enemy of any aluminum that you want to save.