mishu 0 Posted July 11, 2006 Hello, I'm planning to take my car apart and replace some parts with parts from a GTi (suspension and instrument cluster, mostly). Given this opportunity, I was thinking of also stripping the underside of the car, cleaning it and putting some hammerite on. The same applies to the gearbox and engine block .. But I was helping a friend today to the same thing to a much older car ('69 Fiat 124 Coupe) and soon learned how much work it is to clean the gearbox of all that filth gathered through the years. We decided to use a very powerful solvent, and then later added some caustic soda for good measure. Anyway, it cleaned everything up, but there are 2 things which worry me: 1) the aluminium got a bit darker (could be removed by rubbing with a cloth) -- any long term effects of that? 2) what about iron? caustic soda is, well.. caustic, so using it on metal would cause a lot of rust fast. So, what do you guys use to clean up really dirty parts? Some descriptions (or maybe links) will be appreciated, as we probably don't have the same stuff available here (although I managed to find Hammerite ). Sorry for the long post, but the rebuild is getting close, and I want to stock up. mishu Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TEKNOPUG 3 Posted July 12, 2006 It's not dirt and oil; think of it as rust protection Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Veero 1 Posted July 12, 2006 It's not dirt and oil; think of it as rust protection Haha I have the world's best rpeserved subframe in that case I wouldn't use Cuastic Soda on ally parts. You can use caustic soda to help unseize aluminium seat posts from steel bike frames as it eats away the aluminium oxides, however if you leave it on long enough it starts to dissolve the ally too Veero Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
inferno 1 Posted July 12, 2006 i normally go for desel, or industrial car degreasing products... spray it on, aggitate if need be, then pressure wash it off. takes a bit of time to get it spanking but well worth it solong as u paint to prevent rust, and fix all oil leaks!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sonofsam 5 Posted July 12, 2006 Its cheap, its nasty... its Paraffin! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brianthemagical 1 Posted July 12, 2006 swarfega, slightly diluted in an atomizer, toothbrush, brass brush, paint brush, atomiser filled with water/ hose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sorr 0 Posted July 13, 2006 (edited) I would not bother spent ages cleaning my last engine. After 6000 miles it was back to being filthy and that was without any oil leaks. Edited July 13, 2006 by sorr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
