Ok, should i be wiping down with acetone or cellulose thinners before painting my chassis?

I've handed the chassis a hundred times and probably had wd40 etc sprayed over it occasionally.

Want something that will get rid of the grease / anything else prior to hitting it with the paint.

(fast answer appreciated as I've just ordered acetone and then panicked thinking it should be cellulose thinners - should still be able to change the order (i hope)).

i thought you were going to get it powdercoated?

yeah - but i figured i've got a week between jobs and a garage full of tools.

Its got to be easier to wipe, clean (emery cloth / angry grinder), wipe, let dry, paint than stripping the car, organising trailer and tow car, taking it to place, getting them to do it, bringing it back, returning stuff.

aka i'm cheap bottomed person from the higher lattitudes - thats cheap ass northerner to you.

(although i'm still tempted with blasting as i could prob hire a van for a day, get it in, get it done and be back and spend some of my redundancy - just struggle with the spending cash bit & worry about getting a poor job).

i'd have thought cellulose would be better, but i recon acetone will do a decent job too

edit: but doesn't acetone leave a slight oily film?

[Edited on 19/2/10 by blakep82]

I rubbed mine down with wet and dry (all i had ), wiped over with white spirit and painted with hammerite (by hand so as not to waste paint)

Either will be fine, but use paper towels first and keep chucking them away, that way you dont just spread the oil all over in a thin layer.

A final wipe with a thinners damped lint free cloth to get the paper bits off and away you go.

acetone will be o.k... use it to really clean stuff at work (for the space industry). Nasty stuff though, get some good ventalation...

Dan

I seem to recall meths is okay but white spirit has oils in it (or that is what I was told in relation to cleaning the protective film off new brake discs).

quote:

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Originally posted by BenB
I seem to recall meths is okay but white spirit has oils in it (or that is what I was told in relation to cleaning the protective film off new brake discs).

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so acetone is ok - but which out of the two is better?

ie if acetone is ok, but cellulose is better, i'll get the cellulose.

(yes, i'm having a friday panic - 10 years to get this far, i don't want to mess up now!)

quote:

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Originally posted by r1_pete
Either will be fine, but use paper towels first and keep chucking them away, that way you dont just spread the oil all over in a thin layer.

A final wipe with a thinners damped lint free cloth to get the paper bits off and away you go.

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i bought 5ltrs of cellulose thinners for £8 the other week, so not a major expense

What ever you use, take real good care of yourself. ALL of these solvents are nasty!

Please use the proper protective clothing. Decent solvent proof gloves eye shields, and have the place properly ventilated even if you half freeze to death.

These solvents are absorbed by the skin and can attack your nervous system.

It isn't worth injuring yourself through your own neglect.
Believe me... I've been there



[Edited on 19/2/2010 by wilkingj]

go to your local paint supplyers and get a tin of pannell wipe..

Each time I have to paint something I use Wine Vinegar. An old painter told me why it was the best to do but I don't remember. Anyway it always remove the oil and protect the parts until you spray it.

Don't try Alcool vinegar, just wine vinegar. I know it's strange but I will ask this old painter soon to tell me what is the reason.

Panel wipe, its specifically made for the job.
Cheers,
Bob

panel wipe is good plus its not as bad for you as acetone etc.

As you have ordered the acetone you may aswell use it otherwise youl just have it sitting there for years.

Suspect i'll use a combination of acetone pre chassis clean and panel wipe post.

The left over acetone can be used to clean the g/f nails - once i've persuaded her to start wearing nail varnish

(although getting tempted with the 300 quid blast, epoxy 2 part zinc primer, powder coat from the local blasting place BG Perry in coventry. Its hassle to get it to them and not cheap - but it should be a decent long lasting finish).

Sounds fair enough to me.
- Ive just repainted the rear of my chassis, it was flithy, so i started with a pressure washer and fairy!

But i then used then some marine clean which seamed to work really well.



Daniel

Did the whole chassis with The Tool (probably pleased the neighbours no end). Then white spirit followed by Cellulose thinners to take off any residue!

Cheers,
James

I bought 5 litres of panel wipe from a local car paint supplier - not that expensive. Volatile stuff, so I decant some into a small bottle for day-to-day use.

You should wipe your panels with Panel Wipe...

You should also pick up a small pack of Tack-Rags whilst your there, they help no end with stuff like cloth and paper bits and don't cost much. (a small pack will last years!)