Dry Ice Blasting or Similar for Undercarriage? (1 Viewer)

[spazzyfry123]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but does anyone have any experience with cleaning the underside? I've got one in great condition, but an earlier upper pan leak has generated a bit of a mess over time that I wouldn't mind addressing. No experience with this type of process, but any ideas/suggestions? What does something like this typically run? I've heard figures ranging from $800 to $200/hour.

Thanks!

 

[PAToyota]

I'm not sure that there would be a benefit to the extra costs of dry ice over conventional media for what you're doing.

Typically dry ice is used if you need "gentle" cleaning or are in a situation where the waste disposal is an issue.

 

[spazzyfry123]

I'm not sure that there would be a benefit to the extra costs of dry ice over conventional media for what you're doing.

Typically dry ice is used if you need "gentle" cleaning or are in a situation where the waste disposal is an issue.

Intention is to retain any coatings and to remove the grime. Dry ice came to mind after a friend showed me the outcome on his sports car, but I’m all ears on alternative methods!

 

[PIP]

dry ice blasting is very delicate so it can selectively remove layers of paint, but it still easily removes paint.

The standard approach to chassis cleaning is a steam cleaner.

 

[PAToyota]

Yeah, as PIP says, it is likely to remove more than just grime. Even a pressure washer goes a long way to cleaning things up, but the next step up from that would be a steam cleaner.

 

[spazzyfry123]

What are you folks using for a steam cleaner? I don't mind getting dirty - I've got Tyvek suits laying around

 

[PIP]

What are you folks using for a steam cleaner? I don't mind getting dirty - I've got Tyvek suits laying around

Jenny is a good brand.

A steam cleaner alternative is to connect a pressure washer to your water heater's flush valve.

 

[PAToyota]

Just don't turn the water heater up too hot. I had a neighbor melt a garden hose that way...

Hotsy and Jenny are the two brands I'm familiar with. There are others. Likely something you're going to rent rather than buy - so it would mostly depend on what your local shop has - although they are useful when you have them around...

 

[spazzyfry123]

Jenny is a good brand.

A steam cleaner alternative is to connect a pressure washer to your water heater's flush valve.

It's funny, I was putzing around my tankless water heater trying to come up with a way to do just that. Plumbing doesn't look like that I have anything in place to make it work out the gate.

Just don't turn the water heater up too hot. I had a neighbor melt a garden hose that way...

Hotsy and Jenny are the two brands I'm familiar with. There are others. Likely something you're going to rent rather than buy - so it would mostly depend on what your local shop has - although they are useful when you have them around...

I had found our Sunbelt Rental has this one for $60/day. Steam pressure of 50 psi seems low, though? Am I an idiot and this is for carpets or something?

Steam Cleaner Rental | Sunbelt Rentals

A steam cleaner that utilizes high-temperature steam to remove dirt and grime from smooth surfaces. Perfect for around the home or in the office, our steam cleaners feature a lightweight design and the portability that you need to get the job done. They feature a large water tank which provides...

www.sunbeltrentals.com

 

[PIP]

A real steam cleaner is very nice to use. $60 would be a great investment if you can get to all the areas you need to clean underneath.

 

[PAToyota]

A steam cleaner isn't going to have the pressure of a pressure washer, so 60psi seems about right. As you can see in the description, it's for hard surfaces and not carpet.

 

[PIP]

I didn't look closely at your link before I commented above. That does not look like a real steam cleaner to me. I would be hesitant to rent that.

A steam cleaner I'm thinking of weighs hundreds of pounds and has a diesel fired tube boiler and an electric motor driven pump.

There are also hot water pressure washers that look more like a pressure washer that run at high pressure. They will have a much larger motor and pump for the high pressure. Hot water pressure washers don't get as hot so they aren't as good for cleaning greasy stuff. A steam cleaner will have a motor and small piston pump around 1/2HP or so.

With a real steam cleaner you're using very wet steam and not much pressure to clean with, but they work amazing on greasy gunky stuff.

 

[PAToyota]

What PIP is describing is along the lines of the Steam Jenny and Hotsy links above. Definitely a bit more heavy duty than the SunBelt one you linked.

I went and looked up that model: Commercial Vapor-Steam Cleaner - https://www.goodway.com/products/dry-steam-cleaning/commercial-vapor-steam-cleaner

For comparison, the SunBelt one is 0-90psi and 290°F whereas a Jenny specs out at 100-200psi and 325°F.

It really comes down to how bad your situation is. I'm picturing the underside coated with motor oil and then covered in dirt from driving. Honestly, the SunBelt unit may be enough for that. If you're talking grease and caked on dirt from years of abuse, then I'd definitely seek out a Jenny/Hotsy type unit.

Just remember that more pressure and more heat can also lead to stripping things away you may not want stripped away. A lot of the rustproofing solutions are oily/waxy based and are going to be stripped off by more heat. Likewise, more and more pressure can damage softer items like rubber and such.

As a Registered Architect, I've seen some pretty incredible damage that people (including "professionals") have done to buildings with pressure washers - wood and vinyl siding/trim ripped away; water injected into walls causing mold, mildew, and rot; broken seals on windows; etc.

 

[PIP]

Is there a gpm or btu spec you could compare? My bet would be the volume of water and/or heat is going to be very different whereas the pressure and temp will be about the same as thats what classes them both as steam cleaners.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Excellent discussion - exactly what I was after. Especially considering I have no real experience in this. Sure, I have a Ryobi gas-powered pressure washer that does well cleaning my driveway. But I don't want to hit my undercarriage with 3000 psi.

My situation isn't bad compared to what I see with a lot of folks. I put minimal miles on the truck and the oil/dirt combo is enough to keep me up at night, but I wouldn't say that it's "bad." I use the truck, no denying that - it's a toy pure and true. Just not a fan of "putting it up wet" if you know what I mean.

No interest in blasting away factory coverings/paint/etc. Just enough to get some grime off the bottom side and get back to square one.

Here’s a shot I snapped a couple months back when I was trying to find this plug’s replacement. You can see the wiped area I just hit with my finger rear quick.

 

[PAToyota]

I'd start by just spraying it down with a degreaser, let it sit for awhile, and try to spray it off with a garden hose - or go to the car wash. That will let you know how much of an ordeal it is going to be and you can go from there - continue with the degreaser and hose or to bring in the heavy artillery.

 

[PAToyota]

I'll say that my first line of attack is often just Purple Power and a garden hose - and a stiff bristle brush if it needs a bit more scrubbing.

 

[dilonious]

I'm having my truck dry ice blasted in the next few weeks.. will update with photos.

It's $900 to blast the entire undercarriage and paint. The before/after's I've seen are pretty damn great.. and you don't have sand/media stuck in your frame rails/nooks/crannies forever.

 

[spazzyfry123]

I'm having my truck dry ice blasted in the next few weeks.. will update with photos.

It's $900 to blast the entire undercarriage and paint. The before/after's I've seen are pretty damn great.. and you don't have sand/media stuck in your frame rails/nooks/crannies forever.

Why paint? Just something that you want to do or is there a necessity?

Seems like a fair price!

 

[dilonious]

Why paint? Just something that you want to do or is there a necessity?

Seems like a fair price!

My plan is to paint it for appearance and then have it coated with some lanolin based undercoating before each rainy season. The blaster can do POR15 or other similar paints/coatings after dry ice blasting.