prepping old galvanized steel for paint.

[luvit]

i want to spray paint some galvanized steel tubing which is in great condition, yet dusty/smokey.
It's welded into it's location and very inconvenient to wire wheel.

Back in the day we'd just wipe it down with gasoline and spray paint it.
Today, i'd like to see if there is a better chemical which may do a better job, yet evaporates quickly.

I don't really want to spend $10 on a gallon of cleaner and only use a cupful.. so i'm looking for good and cheap.. or fair and cheap.. lol.

Thanks.
.

 

[gmwelder86]

brake cleaner works well, at work we just wipe the dust off from welding, shoot primer and paint and call it a day.

 

[luvit]

thanks!
i hate to say i should have thought of that.. because of TGJ i;m sometimes too ingrained with "the right tool for the job" and brake cleaner has always been my go-to..
lol. really, thanks.

.

 

[bimmer1980]

brake cleaner will work in a pinch.... Acetone or mineral spirits works well too.

Just make sure it all evaporates out of the knooks and crannies before painting....otherwise it will bleed through....

*****Also, do not use the brake cleaner on anything hot!!! like a hot or warm weld. It creates a very hazardous gas. There are some other threads on here and elsewhere on the internet regarding that.....

Also be careful about extended exposure to the chemicals...... I'm normally ok with just a quick wipe down, but this summer I was working a project and had a rag with laquar thinner in a pouch on my waist. The rag bleed into the pouch and then though my shorts onto my skin. It produced a serious burning sensation and created a rash. I took a shower for 20 minutes, but it took a few hours for the burning to go away and about a week for the rash to go away. But I digress...... Be careful out there...

 

[gorilla]

Clean it with soap and water then etch it with vinegar. Try to use a primer that self etching. Zinc chromate was the primer for galvanized and aluminum but you can no longer buy it.

 

[Kevin54]

I'd get a gallon of Enamel Thinner. Back in the day, that's what we used to pre-clean cars before paint. Or pick up a can of wax and grease remover to pre-clean with.

 

[nti06]

Clean with a quick drying solvent, prime with a self etching primer, then paint.

 

[Machma]

I use ppg dx440 wax and grease remover for cleaning almost everything it works good

 

[03protege]

brake cleaner will work in a pinch.... Acetone or mineral spirits works well too.

Just make sure it all evaporates out of the knooks and crannies before painting....otherwise it will bleed through....

*****Also, do not use the brake cleaner on anything hot!!! like a hot or warm weld. It creates a very hazardous gas. There are some other threads on here and elsewhere on the internet regarding that.....

Also be careful about extended exposure to the chemicals...... I'm normally ok with just a quick wipe down, but this summer I was working a project and had a rag with laquar thinner in a pouch on my waist. The rag bleed into the pouch and then though my shorts onto my skin. It produced a serious burning sensation and created a rash. I took a shower for 20 minutes, but it took a few hours for the burning to go away and about a week for the rash to go away. But I digress...... Be careful out there...

This is almost what I was going to say exactly.

Just make sure your mineral spirits is not that new hippie BS milk like forumation if you go that route.

Also wear some butyl rubber gloves! Especially if you use acetone!

 

[Beytill]

Vinegar! Cheaper and better for you and the environment.

 

[HOTFR8]

Have you got some Gal Iron Primer before you paint it ?

 

[luvit]

my wife had some kind of paint thinner for rinsing her brushes from one of her old oil paint projects and there was a little more than enough..
i wore gloves, too.. all my life, until 2011, i was like gloves, schmubs..
i did not use primer.. i was thinking.. galvanized won't rust anyway.. ah well.
hope bonds ok..

.

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

brake cleaner will work in a pinch.... Acetone or mineral spirits works well too.

Just make sure it all evaporates out of the knooks and crannies before painting....otherwise it will bleed through....

*****Also, do not use the brake cleaner on anything hot!!! like a hot or warm weld. It creates a very hazardous gas. There are some other threads on here and elsewhere on the internet regarding that.....

Also be careful about extended exposure to the chemicals...... I'm normally ok with just a quick wipe down, but this summer I was working a project and had a rag with laquar thinner in a pouch on my waist. The rag bleed into the pouch and then though my shorts onto my skin. It produced a serious burning sensation and created a rash. I took a shower for 20 minutes, but it took a few hours for the burning to go away and about a week for the rash to go away. But I digress...... Be careful out there...

It would have to be red hot, or white hot and a certain kind of brake cleaner, the chlorinated kind. Either way i would not risk it. Here's a link to the artical that I read a few years back and made me alot more cautious of how I used brake cleaner.

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm

But In your situation it doesn't really apply. I'd blast the part with some brake clean, hit it with compressed air and prime/paint away.

 

[5lima30]

White vinegar works pretty well.

 

[HOTFR8]

hope bonds ok..

You will need a Gal Iron Primer for the paint to bond.

I know as my car trailer is sheeted with Gal Iron and every time I repaint it I have to cover the bare Gal Iron with new primer or the paint peels off.

 

[metaleltr]

You will need a Gal Iron Primer for the paint to bond.

I know as my car trailer is sheeted with Gal Iron and every time I repaint it I have to cover the bare Gal Iron with new primer or the paint peels off.

Using vinegar to etch the galvanized finish will eliminate the need for this.

 

[HOTFR8]

Using vinegar to etch the galvanized finish will eliminate the need for this.

I tried that once and that is why I am stripping it and painting it properly using Gal Iron primer on any bare metal.