Re: To rust proof the Italian way

[Scott Fisher <sefisher@domain.elided>]

Fred hits it on target, as usual:

> look under the car where leaking oil and dirt has covered 
> cross members and chassis parts, you'll find no rust
> underneath.  

Actually, to combine two threads, I've always referred to this
amalgamation of self-generated rustproofing material as "character."  As
in, you know how people always say our cars simply ooze character? 
Well, this stuff must be the character that they ooze, dried and stuck
onto the crossmembers and panels.

Should you ever want to remove a thick encrustation of dried character
(such as from the front suspension crossmember while the engine is out),
the best thing I've found for the job is this:

1 2-liter plastic soda bottle (or pop/tonic bottle, depending on 
  where you grew up), empty and washed, cap included
1 small finishing nail
1 set Bondo scrapers
1 set sponge-rubber brushes
Simple Green brand household cleaner
Hot tap water as required

Take the small finishing nail and pierce the cap of the soda bottle. 
Fill the soda bottle about 1/4 to 1/3 full of Simple Green or
equivalent, then carefully fill the rest of the way with hot tap water. 
Fill slowly or the mixture will simply foam up inside the bottle.

Hold the soda bottle (or tonic bottle, as my colleague Brian Shorey may
have learned to call them) with the cap end downward.  You'll notice a
small amount of the mixture dribbling down onto the thickly encrusted
layer of character.  That's the point: you can have a constant drip of
this cleaning mixture on the surface you're cleaning, or you can squeeze
the bottle to get a stream.  Steady pressure of the hand holding the
bottle will result in a constant small stream of hot degreaser.  You can
direct this stream wherever required.

In your other hand, start by using the sponge brushes to rub the
cleaner/degreaser into the top layer of the character.  This will merely
soften and spread the character around, however.  To remove it, take the
plastic Bondo spreader and scrape it up.  Keep up a stream of degreaser
while doing this.  You'll need to wipe the character off your Bondo
spreader every few swipes.

The first time I did this to a car's crossmember, the paint came off
along with the character.  But the metal underneath was brilliant and
rust-free.  As long as the engine was out, I primed it and gave it a
coat of rust-proofing satin black paint.  Looked great.

I've done this on painted metal surfaces and also on aluminium; it's a
good way to get baked-on drips off the side of an Alfa engine block, for
example.  It isn't a good technique for paint intended to remain shiny,
however, as the rubbing of the grit by the brushes and scrapers will
harm the finish.  For a really grimy engine bay, however, it'll make a
stunning improvement.

Simple Green household cleaner is biodegradable and nontoxic.  It will,
however, kill ants fairly quickly, but that's because the surfactant
(which makes it such an effective degreaser) dissolves the wax between
the plates in their exoskeleta, suffocating them quickly (insects
breathe by aspirating through the gaps between these sliding plates). 
Oh, and the "fresh minty smell" is actually sassafras leaves.

BTW, for getting character spots off the driveway, try grinding a little
kitty litter into the concrete (such as sprinkling it over the worst of
the spots, then crushing it with your shoe), then brushing it away.  The
clay will absorb the character even after it's soaked into the pores of
the concrete, and any clay left will lighten the driveway to a uniform
color.  

- --Scott "Remember, the middle R is for Reuse" Fisher

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