[STATUTORY GRAPE]

I am painting some suspension parts (steering box, front crossmember, pitman arm, etc...) that are visible when the motor is in the car (motor is out now) and was wondering if the paint will stick to the old paint and bare steel if I just scuff it or should I use something like an epoxy primer or something else that will adhere better and paint on that? Some of the stuff is going to be hard to scuff because I can't get at it. Maybe an adhesion promoter

 

[OneMoreTime]

Got to get those pieces clean and yes they do need to be primed..I know those things can be tough to clean..takes about everything to do it including toothbrushes to get in the little corners..

Sam

 

[kenseth17]

Do you think they will be hard to remove? Some parts like that I find easiest to just sandblast, coat with epoxy and paint within the window for the epoxy or maybe even have them powdercoated. Check some prices. But if you do sandblast, you have to be carefull doing certain things and mask off, say if they have bearing or seals, (steering box?) as you don't want gritty sand or even paint wrecking the part cause it got where it shouldn't be. Other wixe clean well and sand the best you can.

 

[STATUTORY GRAPE]

Yeah, I've been using a small screw driver to clean some spots. Removing the parts is pretty much outta the question, it's the old k-member/torsion bar front suspension (NOT removing all that :thumbup. I've been scuffing and cleaning, I see that most of this stuff though had NO primer from the factory, it looks like one quick coat of paint and down the assembly line it went. I'm not even sure how much of this stuff will be seen when the motor is crammed back in but I don't want peeling paint. Epoxy was my first thought :thumbup: Is it a chemical reaction that helps epoxy adhere to plastic, if so how does it work on steel? I've sprayed it on both so I'm familiar with it just taking a more in depth look at how it works imp:

 

[crashtech]

For cleaning like that where disassembly or blasting will not be performed, I normally suggest HOT pressure washing along with a strong degreaser.

I think epoxy is your best choice, if you buy a good black epoxy it's probably all you need. Don't know much about the adhesion chemistry, but when I think epoxy, I think "glue".

 

[OneMoreTime]

If a fellow can rent a steam cleaner..those work well for that sort of thing..sometimes spray oven cleaner helps as well..No really good answers are out there that I know of other than it is a certain amount of work..

Good luck

Sam

 

[STATUTORY GRAPE]

Thanks for the advice guys :welcome: I had it degreased and pressure washed real well already so it was quite clean. This morning I hand sanded everything real well with 220/grit and hot water with dish soap, then rinsed, blow dried with the air hose and put the space heater on so it would dry fast, then cleaned with wax/grease remover, epoxy primed and painted. Makes a world of difference when everything is the same color and it looks NEW :thumbup: My epoxy primer was gray though, it's all I had on hand.