Wheel well prep

R

russ968

New member
Still working diligently for the Concours this weekend and thought I'd post my wheel well pics and process.



I degreased with Simple green in both 100% and 50/50 water solutions. Aluminum parts got scrubbed with a soft wire brush. Painted surfaces, where stubborn, got the dreaded toothbrush:D . I used mineral spirits on both metal and painted surfaces to remove some "calcified" cosmoline (sp?). I used an old soft credit card to clean the plastic inner wheel well in the front as not to scratch it too severely. Finished the painted surfaces with AIO & SG and dressed the plastic with Vinylex. Cleaned the brakes with brake cleaner solvent.



The Koni's and springs are pretty new so no heroics there, I just wiped them off. :up



Later,



Russ



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11555rearwheelwell2-med.jpg




11555rearwheelwell1-med.jpg
 
Wow very impressive. :bow Can you post any before pictures too!



You mentioned you used mineral spirits to remove old cosmoline, can you be more specif how you did it and which exact product you used. I'm have some spots that refuse to wipe off.



Griots Undercarriage also works very well on the wheel well and any black components. From what I can tell it also helps keep dust and dirt from adhering to the surfaces.



Good luck at the show and let us know how it turns out. By the looks of those wheel wells your headed for the top! :up
 
Thanks all for the comps...



MBZ 500E -- Product is from a manufacturer called Kleen-Strip. It is 100% mineral spirits which you probably already have. If not, the corner hardware store or Home Depot can fix you up. I know what you mean by cosmoline not wanting to budge. I applied by soaking a rag corner with the mineral sprits and liberally spreading over the area to be cleaned and let sit a few minutes to soften it up. In some areas the plastic inner wheel liners in particular I had to “chip� away as I did not want to risk damage to the plastic and the cosmoline was impregnated with road grim and very hard. I followed up by wiping and reapplying as needed until clean and then wiped with the 50/50 water/Simple green solution. On which parts needed cosmoline removal well quite a few including; up front, the inner wheel well liners, lower control arms and their associated suspension pick-up points, two plastic brake ducts (one of which I was not able to get fully clean) part of the steering knuckle and in the rear the upper part of the rear axle cross tube, its associated support mount, drive shafts (I only got one really clean) as well as some of the painted underbody and the exposed portion of the gas tank. Of course there are more spots than I’d like to admit that need more attention but getting this thing clean has been a process that I’m certain will continue.



I really want to do the rear dif and transmission since they are bolted together and access is pretty good but I'm not entering the class where my undercarriage will be judged yet.



No before pics as this has actually been a 9-12 month project. I can say without a doubt that the wheel wells were never cleaned by the original owner in the first 8 years since manufacture and were black with grease, cosmoline and road grime when I started.



Let me know if this works for you.



Russ
 
Russ...



YOU ROCK !!!!!



Excellent work. You may now join the LUSTER-CLUB!



I try to do that every spring & fall...(that's when I rotate the tires).



BTW, I've learned a couple of tricks from your pics!



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wow... great work...



you guys are lucky... when i detail a wheel well or underchassis, 3 days is all I get before it looks like crap again... sucks to live in a highly populated dirty city hehe.
 
Hey Bill,



The work you've done on your car, particularly that engine -- WOW:bow make you one of the resident experts on engine and chassis detailing so your complements are high praise and greatly appreciated. :xyxthumbs



Many thanks for the honorary appointment to the LUSTER-CLUB!



Russ
 
Russ,



Thank you for the tips :up , I'll take a trip to Home Depot this weekend and pick some up. I'm in the process of preparing for my next show in October so this will definitely come in handy. I'll let you know how it works.



BTW I show my car in a similar category which doesn't judge the undercarriage......BUT during my last show they did! I was competing with another car that was in the same condition regarding the paintwork, engine and interior. I watched as each one started neiling down and I'm thinking uh oh! :scared Apparently when they ran out of things to judge they started inspecting wheel wells and undercarriage. I ended up taking second, oh well.



Do you drive your car or have you decided to show only?
 
Yeah...nothing like watching judges in a show looking at something you didn't clean...:shocked



Driving...hmmm, everyone talks about this driving thing and well I'm not sure I get it...:D



Seriously, the car is a garage queen but I do drive it about 2000 miles a year.
 
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