Paint/Grime Removal Advice

Ja_cain · Nov 3, 2020

Looking to clean up my old K&T 3K and possibly put a coat of paint on her. Was long for advice on the easiest way to remove the remnants of old paint (at least two layers) and grime. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Justin

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dalmatiangirl61 · Nov 3, 2020

Purple degreaser works great on grime, let it set a few minutes and it will lift the paint too.

beckerkumm · Nov 3, 2020

Needle scaler and wire wheels on pneumatic die grinders. Machine will be clean but everything else in the hemisphere will be covered with crap. Dave

Ja_cain · Nov 3, 2020

dalmatiangirl61 said:
Purple degreaser works great on grime, let it set a few minutes and it will lift the paint too.

Good deal. I have some Purple Power. Thanks!

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Ja_cain · Nov 3, 2020

beckerkumm said:
Needle scaler and wire wheels on pneumatic die grinders. Machine will be clean but everything else in the hemisphere will be covered with crap. Dave

Have some wire wheels. Will look for a needle scaler. Thanks!

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dalmatiangirl61 · Nov 3, 2020

For main body of machine soak paper towels or shop rags with purple, lay over area to clean, maybe spray on more as needed, depending on paint it will wrinkle and lift in 3 to 30 minutes, usually 5-10, scrape away loose paint goo. If that does not work, wire wheel on an 4.5" angle grinder will do the trick.

Richard King · Nov 3, 2020

I have the best results using super HOT water and industrial soap. Use a long handle bristle brush and scrub hard. Go buy some cotton rags at Ragstock and then on the rough spots. Use a hand scraper or sharpened file and scrape off the paint. Then as the other guy said use an orbital sander. Be sure to wipe it with lacquer thinner before painting on primer.

Peter from Holland · Nov 4, 2020

Lye works great for cleaning If stronger on some paints too
Wear gloves and goggles
We use industrial soap now as I am not doing it myself anymore Otherwise I would use lye

Peter

M.B. Naegle · Nov 4, 2020

I'm a fan of using Mineral Spirits and a stiff brush to break down grime. I've never had a machine it couldn't clean. It's very harsh on oil and yet doesn't break down the original paint. We will even use it for routine machine clean-up at times (just keep the area ventilated). If it is breaking down the paint, it wasn't very good to begin with. I wouldn't focus so much on removing the paint completely unless it's loose already or otherwise a bad paint job. IMO it's often easier to "fix" the original paint or at least use it as a base for the new coat. If the paint is cracked and chipping, wire wheel on a die grinder works extremely well. If the wire wheel doesn't take it off, it's solid enough to remain. Needle scaler works well too but I find that a wire wheel will polish bare metal surfaces and "blend" the old paint edges in. I've also had cases where the needle scaler will mar metal so I prefer to only use it on painted cast iron surfaces and avoid the edges of the machined areas.

Use a good bit of Lacquer Thinner on a rag to clean the surface before primer/paint and leach any residual oil out. There are a lot of different primers and body fillers that you can employ to level the surface and give a better surface for the paint to stick to, but all of them need to have the oil removed from the surface or it is more likely to scratch and peel later. I'm a fan of sticking with the OEM colors or at least keeping close to them so that if it DID get a scratch, you don't see a rainbow of colors.

Marcuschrist · Nov 4, 2020

I found about G101 from one of the guys in our local machine rebuilding group earlier this year and its been life changing, when used straight or 50/50 cut with water it melts away hardened grease and grime with ease without effecting the original paint unless that paint has already oxidized and is already flaking. it breaks down any oils or grease and can be hosed off with water and after drying can be immediately sanded and prepped. I actually even use the stuff heavily diluted to mop the floors of my shop and it works a charm.

dalmatiangirl61 · Nov 4, 2020

Marcuschrist said:
I found about G101 from one of the guys in our local machine rebuilding group earlier this year and its been life changing, when used straight or 50/50 cut with water it melts away hardened grease and grime with ease without effecting the original paint unless that paint has already oxidized and is already flaking. it breaks down any oils or grease and can be hosed off with water and after drying can be immediately sanded and prepped. I actually even use the stuff heavily diluted to mop the floors of my shop and it works a charm.

Is that just another alkaline based cleaner? Will it lift paint if left on too long? Purple is great for grime, but you have to spray and wipe, let it set for a minute or 2 and its taking up paint. I've tried mineral spirits first on the last few machines, it did not cut the grime so switched to purple.

bmikkalson · Nov 5, 2020

The last machine tool I cleaned up, I rented a hot water pressure washer. It made the job a pleasure!! Goo just melted off.
Sucked up the crap with a shop vac.

Ja_cain · Nov 5, 2020

bmikkalson said:
The last machine tool I cleaned up, I rented a hot water pressure washer. It made the job a pleasure!! Goo just melted off.
Sucked up the crap with a shop vac.

If the machine was outside, I would definitely do this! My boss would have a heart attack. Lol!!!

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Ja_cain · Nov 6, 2020

This is what I'm working with. Definitely don't care if the paint/layers of paint come off. Lol! Probably just try the rags soaked in Purple Power first.

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dalmatiangirl61 · Nov 6, 2020

I would advise against pressure washing, unless your next step is an immediate tear down to individual components. High pressure water WILL get into bearings and places it cannot escape from.

Ja_cain · Nov 6, 2020

dalmatiangirl61 said:
I would advise against pressure washing, unless your next step is an immediate tear down to individual components. High pressure water WILL get into bearings and places it cannot escape from.

Exactly. I know some people have done it if going that route.

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swatkins · Nov 6, 2020

This was my axelson 16" I sold this one and the guy took it on and has really , really done a nice job... Needle scaler is the way to go! Probably took 8 to 10 hours to get this down to bare metal... Wear a mask, you do know how to by now...

After scaling it he wiped it down and he started applying a Sherwin Williams DTM paint that is fairly new. DTM is direct to metal and needs no primer. It dries hard and is not affected by oils and coolant. Most of the lathe is hand painted with some parts sprayed. It all depended on where it was and how hard it would be to mask off the machine.

Biggest problem was getting it thinned out to flow , said it was a really "sticky paint" After some experimenting he got it just right and the results speak for themselves...

And I just love the color

Getting the paint on was much harder than getting it off with the scaler

Pictures are in this thread...

Ja_cain · Nov 6, 2020

swatkins said:
This was my axelson 16" I sold this one and the guy took it on and has really , really done a nice job... Needle scaler is the way to go! Probably took 8 to 10 hours to get this down to bare metal... Wear a mask, you do know how to by now...

After scaling it he wiped it down and he started applying a Sherwin Williams DTM paint that is fairly new. DTM is direct to metal and needs no primer. It dries hard and is not affected by oils and coolant. Most of the lathe is hand painted with some parts sprayed. It all depended on where it was and how hard it would be to mask off the machine.

Biggest problem was getting it thinned out to flow , said it was a really "sticky paint" After some experimenting he got it just right and the results speak for themselves...

And I just love the color

Getting the paint on was much harder than getting it off with the scaler

Pictures are in this thread...

Awesome job on that lathe. Those needle scalers are awesome. I remember the navy guys chipping paint on the other side of the bulkhead with one while I was trying to chillax. Lol! They would start at one end of the ship at the beginning of the float and finish it at the halfway point of the deployment And then start on the other side. Lol!

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Chip Chester · Nov 6, 2020

Here's a tip for wire brushing -- in drills, not grinders. Reverse every now and then to use the 'sharp' sides of the bristles. Probably a high-school shop 101 thing, but I never took shop...

Ja_cain · Nov 6, 2020

Chip Chester said:
Here's a tip for wire brushing -- in drills, not grinders. Reverse every now and then to use the 'sharp' sides of the bristles. Probably a high-school shop 101 thing, but I never took shop...

Yup! Do this all the time! Really gets to biting when you throw her in reverse. Lol!

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Paint/Grime Removal Advice

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