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:
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. Rod
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