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Antique Tractor Paint and Bodywork

removing hydraulic oil and grease

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David in So. Il

10-28-2006 20:51:07




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I'm in the process of repainting a 1600 Oliver it
has good straight metal. But, has many years of oil, hydraulic fluid, and dirt accumulated. I've scraped and cleaned, but how do I get the residue removed? Thanks for the help. This is my first attempt at painting. So I know very little.
David




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Carl S in NH

11-12-2006 19:29:18




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 Re: removing hydraulic oil and grease in reply to David in So. Ill, 10-28-2006 20:51:07  
Some of the other posters here have more experience restoring tractors than I do, and everything they've posted here is good advice. I can only add what I did on my tractor and what worked for me. I had 25 years of oil, grease & crud stuck to the remnants of the old paint. I used regular old gasoline, brushed on with a short bristled stiff paint brush. One that was partially hardened from old paint would be good. I used a plastic kitty little box to catch the drippings and a plastic sheeting under that to protect the environment from the gas. Oh, and work outside to protect yourself from the fumes! The brush gets into all the hard to reach areas where two surfaces meet, or where there are bolts etc. The gas really dissolves the caked on grease & oil. Then I used a wire brush on a drill. When it was clean, I wiped everything with paint thinner prior to priming. You can try this method on a little section to see if it works. I'm sure the oven cleaner, or degreasers work too. Another option is something like Simple Green or Purple Power, which I think are basically very strong detergents with some degreasers added.
Good luck!
Carl

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Carl S in NH

11-12-2006 06:48:23




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 Re: removing hydraulic oil and grease in reply to David in So. Ill, 10-28-2006 20:51:07  
Some of the other posters here have more experience restoring tractors than I do, and everything they've posted here is good advice. I can only add what I did on my tractor and what worked for me. I had 25 years of oil, grease & crud stuck to the remnants of the old paint. I used regular old gasoline, brushed on with a short bristled stiff paint brush. One that was partially hardened from old paint would be good. I used a plastic kitty little box to catch the drippings and a plastic sheeting under that to protect the environment from the gas. Oh, and work outside to protect yourself from the fumes! The brush gets into all the hard to reach areas where two surfaces meet, or where there are bolts etc. The gas really dissolves the caked on grease & oil. Then I used a wire brush on a drill. When it was clean, I wiped everything with paint thinner prior to priming. You can try this method on a little section to see if it works. I'm sure the oven cleaner, or degreasers work too. Another option is something like Simple Green or Purple Power, which I think are basically very strong detergents with some degreasers added.
Good luck!
Carl

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Yooper

11-01-2006 16:17:03




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 Re: removing hydraulic oil and grease in reply to David in So. Ill, 10-28-2006 20:51:07  
For first cleaning I use dawn dishsoap and a scrub brush followed by powerwashing. Works remarkably well on auto grease etc. Has the added bonus of giving you baby soft hands as well lol.



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don-Wi

10-31-2006 23:01:21




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 Re: removing hydraulic oil and grease in reply to David in So. Ill, 10-28-2006 20:51:07  
third party image

A 1600 eh? I did my grandpa's and just finished the paint this spring. My brother did all the spraying as he's an ex-autobody guy. I had it sand blasted ($800) and then we just wiped it all down with thinner on a clean rag before shooting the paint. We used Dupont Centari with a hardener in it, got the codes somewhere but it looks great. The Agco paint has a little too much green in the cover white.

It depends on exactly what you are looking to spend vs. the idal outcome. Bare metal is the best way to go. For the fenders that were rusted out, I had panels made and welded them on over the top. My brother did the filler and now you can't tell they've got new metal on the bottom unless you look really close.

Donovan from Wisconsin

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Rod (NH)

10-29-2006 17:01:15




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 Re: removing hydraulic oil and grease in reply to David in So. Ill, 10-28-2006 20:51:07  
Hi David,

I pretty much agree with CNKS. You need to get the obviously visible stuff off first. I do that with a combination of putty knife, screwdriver, oven cleaner, Gunk (the foamy version) and pressure washing. Mostly in that order. You need to get it down to where you really don't see any more grease or dirt accumulation. I guess you have basically gotten to this point already. If not, just keep repeating the above until you do. The next thing is to get rid of any oily film that cannot be readily seen. The dedicated "wax and grease remover" that CNKS mentions is the best product for that job. I use PPG's DX330, Acryli-Clean. The thing you need to know about wax and grease removers is how to properly use them. Here's a great description. Basically, it's apply on small areas, rub with a clean rag while keeping wet and then wipe essentially dry with a different clean rag. This is the best way, IMO, but it's not always practical in all cirmcumstances. If the configuration of the part has many odd corners and nook and crannies where accessibility is limited, such a practice becomes overly time consuming and may not be practical. I found this to be the case on my current project with some of the main parts. The engine base shown below is one of them. Click on the thumbnail for a full sized view:

third party image

The object here is a weldment where no further disassembly is possible without the use of a cutting torch. It had a lot of grease and crud buildup in difficult areas. In fact, the round slides are intended to be greased liberally. I got the visible stuff removed using the methods first noted. I then decided to use a product called Marine Clean from POR15 that I had left over from a different project. That is applied by a pump spray bottle (like Windex is), is left on the surface a while and is then pressure-washed off. I have no idea if it does as good a job as the automotive type wax and grease remover mentioned previously. Probably not. But it is better than nothing and I thought it was a more practical way to proceed on that particular part. The paint hasn't fallen off yet - although it has only been on for a few days. I think most of your tractor parts can be done with something like the DX330 however (or some equivalent) and I'd stick with that where you can. Cleaning effectiveness and method chosen also depends on the extent of disassembly that you plan on. The more disassembly, the better - and the easier it is to use the automotive wax and grease removers. Surfaces are never too clean for painting.

third party image Rod

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CNKS

10-29-2006 07:30:28




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 Re: removing hydraulic oil and grease in reply to David in So. Ill, 10-28-2006 20:51:07  
Buy a pressure washer, it does not have to be a high dollar one, that would be better. Make repeated applications of oven cleaner -- some on this site will use the term "lye gravy", all that does is make the stuff dry out slower, and is not worth the effort in my mind. Anyway a combination of oven cleaner, more scraping and intense pressure washing. Follow that by scrubbing with soap and water, household cleaners, whatever. Dry immediately or you will have instant rust. Follow that with a dedicated wax and grease remover, several applications of that until your rags come clean. Prior to the wax and grease remover you should remove all old paint with a wire brush on a drill/angle grinder, to get complete removal you may have to use a chemical stripper. You must remove ALL of the sripper out of every nook and crannie, or it will lift the paint. Use the wax and grease remover after the stipper. Others can add their three cents worth. What I have described works for me. It will clean the surface so that your paint will not fall off.

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