anybody got a good way to degrease a K frame??

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moparmat2000

moparmat2000

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hi Y'all

anybody got a good way to thoroughly degrease a K frame specifically inside the damned thing. i used some easy off oven cleaner on my 74 A body K member after scraping most of the really thick dried crust off of it. i let it sit in the bed of my pickup for a few hours in the sun with the oven cleaner on it, and used some small wire brushes to work the grease off it before blasting it with a pressure washer.

the outside looks great. clean as a whistle, however the inside of it where the 2 large triangular holes are in the center underneath it is packed with about an inch of dirt and grease to hold it all together in one big clump.

i got in there as best as i could with a small screwdriver and chipped most of this out, but its really hard to get in there and thoroughly clean it.

i want to temp bolt it into the chassis as a jig, then redo all the welds, and stiffen up the steering box and idler arm areas. then i want to send it off to the powdercoater. for the powdercoat to come out its best it has to be really clean. and sandblasting wont get this off on the inside of the K frame. plus the 250 degree heat to powdercoat will get the grease to moving and probably ruin the powdercoat job.

i was thinking of seeing if the local engine rebuilder shop would put it in their engine block caustic hot tank. this would definitely clean it inside and out, really didnt want to deal with the added expense tho.

anybody got a better idea??

matt
 
Maybe find someplace local to you to acid dip it. I took a nasty block to a place once that did this and it came out looking great. not a spot of anything on it.
 
I would contact a local pressure washer company and have them hit it with high heat.
I used to do this until I closed my business in 2005 and would have been able to direct the heat and water into the areas you are talking about. Although it wouldn't be able to hit all spots it could do the majority of it.
When you have someone look at it make sure they are able to get in there before letting them do the work. Most of these people can create steam which melts the grease away.

Other than that I would use a hot tank and dip it.
 
I hot tanked one to get the grease and oil off then hit it with the sand blaster before having it powder coated.
 
The powdercoating company is gonna prep it anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. I know someone that manages a shop & their concern is that the surface is prepped right so their powder will stick. As a reswult they prep it "their" way so actually, at this point you're kinda worrying over nothing. Just drop it off....
 
Just keep doing what your doing. Oven cleaner,screwdriver,high pressure hose,air-hose,repeat.You will end up getting most of it out.
Hand it to the powder coater,done.
Was in the same boat as you,here is the final outcome with the steps above.
 

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I would use 2 cans of Gunk engine degreaser and spray the inside full then put the frame in a large heavy duty black plastic trash bag. Set it in the sun for a day and flip it over a few times. You can then wash it out with very hot water or a pressure washer. We've done this in the past and it works very well. You might be out $10 or so for the Gunk and bags. 75Sport
 
hemicop said:
The powdercoating company is gonna prep it anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. I know someone that manages a shop & their concern is that the surface is prepped right so their powder will stick. As a reswult they prep it "their" way so actually, at this point you're kinda worrying over nothing. Just drop it off....
Click to expand...


A big x2 here ... we're 'kinda' particular about cleaning methods so let your pro handle it.

And just as an FYI moparmat2000, your k-member is going to be heated up closer to 400-500 degrees to do the powder work rather than only 250.
 
powder coating lol its about 100$ to have one done here the bake it at liek 400 for 3 hrs to burn it all off the blast it and coat it
i had same problem so 70$ to a eng builder or 100$ and have it nice and poweder coated
 
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