BillGrissom
Well-Known Member
I know this post better fits the Body & Trim forum, but those readers sound like mostly high-end trailer queen builders who enjoy paying $200/qt for paint. Most early A owners have no dreams their car will command the high prices of later A's, so cheap bastard approaches are better entertained.
I pulled the oil pan on my 64 Valiant slant, mainly to install a better silicone gasket. Degunking w/ gasoline removed most loose paint, but I figured better to go down to bare metal before repaint (will prime w/ Rust Destroyer, then Rustoleum engine spray paint). I have a can of aircraft paint remover gel, but don't like using it because expensive and it stings when flakes get on you. I thought about how I never say a firewall under the master cylinder that wasn't bare of paint and rusted (one reason I use DOT 5 in most cars). I had a few bottles of used DOT 3 brake fluid from past flushes I was saving for things like freeing stuck piston rings (some claim).
I soaked some rags and newspaper in the glycol and covered the oil pan, wrapped in a plastic bag and left in the sun for a day. The photo shows how the paint lifted up real purty, so just a quick wipe off. Should work to renew an engine bay. I did both engine bays in my early A's, where p.o.'s had sprayed black rattle-can over rust. It wasn't fun w/ paint remover and wire brush. The paint remover softens it, but the paint quickly starts hardening again as it dries. Glycol fluid evaporates very slowly. Just don't let it run down onto painted surfaces you don't want to treat.
I pulled the oil pan on my 64 Valiant slant, mainly to install a better silicone gasket. Degunking w/ gasoline removed most loose paint, but I figured better to go down to bare metal before repaint (will prime w/ Rust Destroyer, then Rustoleum engine spray paint). I have a can of aircraft paint remover gel, but don't like using it because expensive and it stings when flakes get on you. I thought about how I never say a firewall under the master cylinder that wasn't bare of paint and rusted (one reason I use DOT 5 in most cars). I had a few bottles of used DOT 3 brake fluid from past flushes I was saving for things like freeing stuck piston rings (some claim).
I soaked some rags and newspaper in the glycol and covered the oil pan, wrapped in a plastic bag and left in the sun for a day. The photo shows how the paint lifted up real purty, so just a quick wipe off. Should work to renew an engine bay. I did both engine bays in my early A's, where p.o.'s had sprayed black rattle-can over rust. It wasn't fun w/ paint remover and wire brush. The paint remover softens it, but the paint quickly starts hardening again as it dries. Glycol fluid evaporates very slowly. Just don't let it run down onto painted surfaces you don't want to treat.
