anybody clean / paint undercarriage? (1 Viewer)

[e9999]

OK, before I start taking this whole 80 apart, I may start by cleaning up the undercarriage (axles, knuckes, rods, pans etc). I don't mean mud (yes, I read about the sprinkler system), I mean gunk, oil, grease, surface rust, basically 6 years of dirt.
Ways to do this and not? High pressure hose ? Steam cleaning ? Metal brushes ? Degreaser ? what's the best way?

And then, to paint! Black probably best. Any particular type?

and yes, I know it'll get dirty again, but eh, either one's a cruzahhead or not, eh?

E

 

[landtank]

Hey Hazel don't forget to toothbrush the siping in the treads.

 

[e9999]

nope, that's Beo's job...
(he did the inside of the wheel polishing, remember, so that goes together...)

E

 

[turbocruiser]

My personal opinion, and this is arguable, is that it is not a good idea to use the regular degreasers as they can harm rubber, plastic and other materials. I like to use a citrus based cleaner that is specifically spec'ed safe for rubber, plastic, etc. I have a gas powered pressure washer that is specially set to max at 1600 psi (so I do not strip paint surfaces) and i have cut the stainless steel wand down so that it is only about eight inches long; this way I can crawl under the vehicle and get to everything easily. When I use the wand I use the fan setting not the pinpoint pressure as that too is too hard. As far as paint goes, dont use paint, use the POR-15 coatings as they will last much much much longer. HTH

 

[Harridig]

E -

Did you ever decide to clean up and paint your undercarriage?

If you did, what did you do to finally get rid of your layers of you know what?

I need to figure something out besides the sprinkler system, as it didn't work!

Anyone have any before and after pictures?

I was looking at slees tech pages and every picture on there has a spotless undercarriage!

Thanks!

Derek

 

[cruiserdan]

i have cut the wand down so that it is only about eight inches long; this way I can crawl under the vehicle and get to everything easily.

WOW!

I can't imagine cutting my wand down for ANY reason......

 

[e9999]

a resurrected thread!
and no, never got a chance to clean the thing....
This was early ownership delusions!

 

[turbocruiser]

WOW!

I can't imagine cutting my wand down for ANY reason......

Yes, hard to imagine cutting, however, keep in mind, AFTER the cut it was still eight inches! A more manageable size for the lady, and really done for humanitarian reasons!!!

 

[Harridig]

Is there an Ih8mud.com policy on resurrecting threads? How far back it too far? I thought I was doing a "good thing" by searching for a topic already discussed and this was the only one I could find! I would hate to be the source of flaming for not searching!

Are there any unforeseen problems that could occur with a dirty undercarriage? I guess it would be good preventative maintenance to keep all parts clean to ensure the proper life span of that part?

I can see where is would be a problem when working underneath your 80 and how dirty your parts are that you are working on.

Thanks for your comments -

Derek

 

[Bryan E.]

I've cleaned and painted undercarriage in my old 85 Toy, when I installed the lift kit and it looked better and lasted for years. I just used a flat black spray paint, Rustoleum I think. I haven't used the rust convertor paints, but those would probably do well. I was thinking of doing this on my current 80 series, and might use rustoleum primer, then brush on black oil based enamel. I've found this paint at Lowes, sometimes called farm implement paint. I don't know if it's availible in flat black, but for sure you can get black. We've used this paint on many things around our machine shop and it holds up very well, and at work, they don't ever even use primer so if done correctly it would probably last forever. The stuff is very thick and makes a heavy coat. I think it would be worth trying on sliders and bumpers as well.

 

[hoser]

Is there an Ih8mud.com policy on resurrecting threads? How far back it too far? I thought I was doing a "good thing" by searching for a topic already discussed and this was the only one I could find! I would hate to be the source of flaming for not searching!

Go ahead and go as far back as you want. Members come and go or may have NEW information to share.

 

[e9999]

Is there an Ih8mud.com policy on resurrecting threads? How far back it too far? I thought I was doing a "good thing" by searching for a topic already discussed and this was the only one I could find! I would hate to be the source of flaming for not searching!

snip

Derek

it's fine as long as you only resurrect threads from smart, well-informed, and handsome posters... So far, so good!

 

[tarbe]

it's fine as long as you only resurrect threads from smart, well-informed, and handsome posters... So far, so good!

I get under there with WD-40 and those heavy blue shop towels from Wally World.

I can't seem to keep up, though. I finally got it cleaned up from hunting season, and then went to the Razoback Ramble and yukked it all up again.

I think I'm going to go out to the garage right now and do some wiping. Gotta get it clean prior to the next outing...