How to take the coating off a Milodon oil pan

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Yea, I've found the cad plating on Milodon products is pretty lousy. I was cleaning oil leaks off of my pan with basic mineral spirits and it started wiping the cad off. Hit it in another spot with brake clean and whoosh, cad was gone. Bummed me out as I wanted to leave the cad on it, but with a few bare spots, felt I had to paint it to keep it from rusting. Last time I had it off and was wiping down things in the interior, I noticed the plating was getting thin when wiped and having nothing more than oil having been in it.
 
HPP said:
Yea, I've found the cad plating on Milodon products is pretty lousy. I was cleaning oil leaks off of my pan with basic mineral spirits and it started wiping the cad off. Hit it in another spot with brake clean and whoosh, cad was gone. Bummed me out as I wanted to leave the cad on it, but with a few bare spots, felt I had to paint it to keep it from rusting. Last time I had it off and was wiping down things in the interior, I noticed the plating was getting thin when wiped and having nothing more than oil having been in it.
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I was surprised that Evaporust took it right off like that. I wonder how much of that coating dissolves into the oil and just circulates around the engine?

I didn't even think to try mineral spirits, but that makes sense. I wonder if that's a different process chemically than the Evaporust.

I'd love to know if there's a chemist on the board. Someone who could say if one is stripping it off and the other is chemically bonding to it and removing it. Like if there's different chemical processes at work.

I wouldn't buy one of thse pans brand new after this, but I got this one used at a good price and it looks like it just sat on a shelf for years.
 
I bought one 10 years ago and it was crap then

If I had to choose between running a million Pan and a custom one made by my 6 year old out of cardboard and duct tape, the 6 year old would get the job
 
There I'll disagree for my applications. My Milodon pans are very nice for their intended applications and in the case of their pro-touring pan, no one else offers a high capacity, properly baffled pan designed for right and left turns as well as accel and deccel oil control at their price point. Obviously one can always have a custom pan made by a few select manufacturers, but you will pay plenty for these.
 
HPP said:
There I'll disagree for my applications. My Milodon pans are very nice for their intended applications and in the case of their pro-touring pan, no one else offers a high capacity, properly baffled pan designed for right and left turns as well as accel and deccel oil control at their price point. Obviously one can always have a custom pan made by a few select manufacturers, but you will pay plenty for these.
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Maybe you are using antique ones, or perhaps you just got lucky

The one I had was leaking like a siff AND didn't even fit the advertised application
 
HPP said:
I've found the cad plating on Milodon products is pretty lousy.
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It isn't cadmium plating.
It is a chromate conversion coating applied after a layer of zinc is applied to the cleaned steel. The steel is cleaned using acid.

HPP said:
I was cleaning oil leaks off of my pan with basic mineral spirits and it started wiping the cad off.
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It isn't cadmium plating.
Don't use mineral spirits either, but now you already know. :p

HPP said:
Hit it in another spot with brake clean and whoosh, cad was gone.
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Definitely don't use chlorinated cleaners on chromate conversion coatings.

Using isopropyl alcohol or MEK on a linen rag should be alright to wipe off the surface.


HPP said:
Last time I had it off and was wiping down things in the interior, I noticed the plating was getting thin when wiped and having nothing more than oil having been in it.
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What was on the rag you used...residual solvents? Also, paper towels are abrasive. Use lint-free linen (cotton) rags.

Nothing to worry about. You probably have more chromium atoms in your oil from normal wear sources (e.g., journals, camshaft lobes, etc.) in the engine than from the chromate conversion coating over zinc.

Let's say all of the chromate coversion was gone. Then, you're left with the zinc plating on the steel pan...now you don't need to add more zinc to your oil. :D

AMC Diplomat said:
was surprised that Evaporust took it right off like that.
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See post #10

AMC Diplomat said:
I wonder how much of that coating dissolves into the oil and just circulates around the engine?
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Nothing to worry about as stated above.


AMC Diplomat said:
I'd love to know if there's a chemist on the board. Someone who could say if one is stripping it off and the other is chemically bonding to it and removing it.
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I am not a chemist, but I worked in the aerospace industry for almost 45 years. Lots of quality time working with materials and processes people over the decades.

Lots of aluminum parts of course in aerospace and chromate conversion coatings are used directly on clean aluminum. Chromate conversion is NOT used directly on steel. The steel has to be cleaned first (using an acid) and plated with zinc before the chromate conversion coating process.
 
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DeltaV said:
No, sorry. My bad.

Chelating agents probably formed over the chromate conversion/zinc. Only a guess.
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Yeah that's what I was wondering, if it's the chelating properties of the evaporust reacting with the zinc.

I mean, they give people chelation therapy if they have too much zinc in their bodies. I know that's not the same thing as evaporust.
 
Just saw this thread and remember i had a post about testing a mixture like evaporust but like 1/15th the cost.. i just put it up and thought i would mention it incase you guys ever need more.. they charge too much for that.
www.forabodiesonly.com

Better than Evaporust and WAY cheaper...

I just saw someone mention evaporust in a thread here and remembered a thread i had posted on FBBO but not here.. just gonna put the link.. this mixture is amazing and costs nothing compared to Evaporust... i just hate wasting money and that **** gets expensive...
www.forabodiesonly.com www.forabodiesonly.com
 
I knew brake clean wouldn’t remove Cad plating ,,,,,I was saying out Loud to myself here,,, that it must be something else.

Tommy
 
Well, the Milodon pans I've used were purchased in 1995, 2008, and just last month. I don't know if that qualifies them as antiques, but they have all worked well for me and didn't leak, at least in the time I used them. I will admit getting the engine installed with the pro-touring pan was a pain in the arse because its so freaking wide, but I was willing to accept that because of its design. Of course, any pan/gasket combo can develop leaks over time, but like many things, individual experiences with various combinations can vary.

If Milodon is using chromate conversion instead of cadmium plating, then that explains why solvents can remove it. Yes, I'll have to be more careful with cleaning them in the future.
 
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I'm starting to feel kinda funny...I only run stock pans
 
4fortyDemon said:
Wonder if I could spray clear over it to "save" the color coating? Would it work?
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It would be as resistant to chemicals as any other clear coat finish. If its catalyzed, like elsewhere in the engine bay, it may be even more resistant. Brake fluid would still be a problem and I'm sure there are some very caustic cleaners that could dull it, but I doubt it would simply wash off like what I saw.

I know there are other pans out there that work well, like Moroso and Canton, for a range of applications. Milodon is not the only player in town, for the vast majority of uses. But they are the only place that semi-mass produces a road race capable pan that doesn't cost as much as a crankshaft.

If Milodon hate gets some of us cheaper pans, then I'm not opposed to that.
 
HPP said:
It would be as resistant to chemicals as any other clear coat finish. If its catalyzed, like elsewhere in the engine bay, it may be even more resistant. Brake fluid would still be a problem and I'm sure there are some very caustic cleaners that could dull it, but I doubt it would simply wash off like what I saw.

I know there are other pans out there that work well, like Moroso and Canton, for a range of applications. Milodon is not the only player in town, for the vast majority of uses. But they are the only place that semi-mass produces a road race capable pan that doesn't cost as much as a crankshaft.

If Milodon hate gets some of us cheaper pans, then I'm not opposed to that.
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Thanks, I appreciate the response. Screw it, I'm going to clear it. If it doesn't last, I atleast tried.
I haven't bought a milodon pan in 30 years. It worked well, was spending at the time compared to moroso, but it seemed like a higher quality piece then.
 
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