Hey everyone,


The rear end of my car had flaky rust on it and a thick oily/dirt combination of gunk. I scrapped off the thick gunk, but couldn't get it all. Then, I used some wire wheels to knock off the flakes. After that, I used a degreaser spray and wire brush.

The wire wheel and degreaser just smeared the grease/oil around and created a smooth sheen which seems impossible for a primer to stick to.

I doubt I'm the first person to run into this.
I've read about Acetone, Mineral Spirits, Kerosene etc...
I don't want anything that will break down the rubber seals or dissolve the cover gasket.

If anyone has a game plan for getting the oily sheen off let me know.

I'd like to get it painted unless you guys think it'll be okay left as is. It's not gonna be a show car, but I want it to remain structurally sound.

I have to choose primer & paint too. Prefer a spray type, but welcome opinions.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

-Shawn

 

another...

 

IIRC, I used Purple Power Degreaser, a trip or two to the car wash, and then used POR-15.

JamesC

 

Please leave that garbage (Rustoleum) on the shelf, instead go with this:

 

I was cleaning the rear end on my car this past weekend with a can of brake cleaner and some old rags, just make sure you have some cardboard under your work area as that will drip all over the garage floor. It's a fast and cheap way to clean it

 

no matter what you use it's going to make a mess.... some simple mineral spirits will work fine...

or if you wanna fling grease everywhere, you can use a wire wheel like me

 

Too small (at least for me) to read the make. What is it?

 

Lacquer thinner
Eastwood Rust Encapsulator
Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black

 

Brake Cleaner and elbow grease, get the AutoZone brand, it'll cut through anything....

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. The rear end is at the shop getting new bearings, seals, etc right now.

Would you paint over the cover and bolts as one with the axle housing or would you mask of the edges of the cover for future removal and do it in two steps? (I doubt I'll be removing the cover anytime soon)

Also, would power washing or solvents have a chance getting under the seals and mixing with gear oil? Power washing especially concerns me, but I suppose if you watch your angles you wouldn't get it up in there.

The grease has been smeared into the metal a little and made smooth by the wire wheel, so I'm crossing my fingers that it can be removed for adhesion.

Thanks again!

 

If the rear is at the shop you should get them to clean it. Wouldn't make much sense to chance getting solvents in the new grease through the vent tube.

 

I used brake cleaner than a wire wheel and and epoxy paint

 

I agree if the rear end is off the car then clean it, wire wheel it then paint it real nice. POR 15 works awesome and will not let is rust again, but it cost alot and is nasty to work with. If you do use POR 15 make sure to wear gloves and long sleaves, you get that stuff on your skin you have a tatoo for at least a week LOL!

 

I totally second this idea

 

Start with Purple Power and a pressure washer, followed by a nice once-over with a wire wheel on a grinder to get the loose rust and crap off. Then you can do whatever you want as long as you stay away from that overpriced Eastwood garbage... If the rear is getting redone anyways from the inside out, you don't need to worry about getting anything in the housing. Heck, when I did mine, I didn't even have a cover gasket (still don't... probably ought to get it sealed on there and fill it with oil before I forget ) and no water got inside.

 

This should not be a real issue. You already knocked down all the rust and chunks of grease.

Now all you have to do is finish it off. Use a hard bristled scrub brush and used a 1:1 mix of heavy degreaser like purple power or super clean. Using full degreaser will leave a film. Make sure before you do this the rear is completely dry of any water. That is the most important.

Next rinse the rear with HOT water and the scrub with the brush you used earlier. Hose the rear off after you finish.

You may have to repeat these two steps once or twice before you get 99% of the grease off. Once again it is important that you apply the degreaser to the rear when dry. Applying to a wet surface allows the degreaser to just drip off and not soak into the grime.

Once you are pretty happy with the results, use wax/grease remover, or lacquer thinner to remove the degreaser film and whatever thin layer of grease there is. Don't worry about the gasket they are only a few $ and you should be replacing them. If you cant get over the idea of replacing them then just dont soak the area around them.

I would only use por 15 to coat. I have been using this stuff for years and have had nothing but great results with it. Eastwood makes a good product too but I like the durability of POR15 much better.

You want two things to finish the rear.
A rust converter and a finishing paint. Use these two as a system for a seriously durable finish.
The rust converter i recommend is por15's PREP and READY or PPG rust converter. POR15 is cheaper option and works great. The converter strips any surface rust that is inhibiting bonding as well as provides an etched pattern and zinc phosphate coating to chemically bond the finish to the metal.

The next step is the finish POR15 rust preventative paint. Its self leveling and can be applied with a paint brush to achieve pretty much the same look as if it was sprayed on. Chassis black is a good color.

Follow this and that finish will last the life of the vehicle. I have applied these finishes with stronger results than some powder coating processes.

 

I used Easy-Off oven cleaner on mine [yellow can], and didn't have any issues.

 

Oven cleaner, mineral spirits, wire wheel... they all will work.

Here is mine after the wire wheel and a lil mineral spirits


then some duplicolor wheel paint


then some duplicolor METALCAST red clear coat


Cleaned the whole thing with SOS pads + simple green. the wire wheel was flinging grease everywhere and made a bigger mess then anything else.


POR15 chassis black topcote rattlecan underbody. I don't like the POR15 rust paint because it dose not adhere properly if you don't have rust. I don't like the idea of inducing rust for the sake of painting. DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

 

Wow, that looks awesome! But isn't the sway bar upside down?

 

The sway bar is on the wrong side......