Cleaning Suspension...

[Mitch Leland]

Howdy,

I have the engine out for a new clutch and "while I'm there" I wanted to clean the rear suspension, axles, brakes, and rear fender wells. Mostly I have road dirt with some grease. The road dirt is more difficult to get off that oil and grease.

I've looked at other threads and it seems that Simple green, Spray Nine, Citrus based cleaners are the solvents of choice. And mix in a lot of elbow grease... I'm not trying for concours, but would like to be able to paint the trailing arms and other solid metal parts.

What paint or material is recommended for the wheel wells?

Thanks,

[RWebb]

hot water + detergent + pressure for any areas where the water won't get past a seal

brushes vary in coarseness & material (brass vs. steel)

watch out for Al and any Mg pieces (prob. none of the latter on your '84) and don't let a corrosive sit on them too long (Simple Green)

I thought the wheel wells were undercoated over paint. Not sure re: '84.

you could use POR-15 too.

[Mitch Leland]

Thanks RW... Yes, the fender wells have an undercoat on them. To be more specific with my question would you spray paint a satin black on the fender wells after cleaning or a light coat of undercoat. I guess the paint would be better since the undercoat would only add unwanted weight?

However getting the undercoat really clean is hard...

[RWebb]

Undercoat offers noise absorption & protection from rock strikes etc. I wonder how much we are talking about? Is it important to the feel of the car?

[rusnak]

I like to clean the underside every few months, especially the tranny and engine.

I take off all 4 wheels, and with the engine COLD I use a non petroleum degreaser after first rinsing off loose dirt with clean water. I use an old solvent brush (non abrasive), then clean everything off with a gas powered pressure washer set on the "low pressure" setting, so that I dont remove any paint.

The underside will look brand new. I don't paint any plated or aluminum surfaces. If you need to re paint your black suspension pieces, then Wurth semi-gloss (satin) black is an exact match for factory black.

[Rot 911]

That road dirt may be the cosmolene that the factory sprayed in the wheel wells over the painted wurth under coat. The wheel wells when clean should be the same paint color as the rest of the car.

[Mitch Leland]

Thanks Russ and Kurt, It appears that the fender wells are in black. I've taken solvent and a power washer to the front fender wells without exposing any of the body color. The paint is original and the car hasn't been damaged so is there any chance the black is original?

Where do you get the Wurth Paint? Does anyone put it up in aerosol cans? Not sure how to attack the road grime on the fender wells. I haven't taken a stiff brush to the fender wells so maybe that's my next step, maybe it is cosmolene...

[Early_S_Man]

Since during 1970 model production run the order of corrosion protection on the pan has been galvanized steel, texturized Valvoline Tectyl polyurethane undercoating, paint ... with additional cosmolene-type Valvoline Tectyl protectant coating on suspension, brake, and transaxle and linkage ... to include a significant overspray on inner fender area for cars destined to be shipped overseas. This per Paul Frere in Porsche 911 Story. There are probably Wurth equivalents to the Valvoline Tectyl products, but Grady Clay found a distributor for the Tectyl cosmoline-like product in 55 gallon drums as minimum purchase. Inconvenient to say the least, but worth the effort to protect our transaxles!

[RWebb]

People have found some other wax deposition sprays in cans, IIRC.

[onboost]

Early_S_Man is spot on with the order of corrosion protection.

I have seen many people decide to clean-up or detail thier 911 and they end up painting the wheel wells black. As stated, wheel wells from 70 on were body color paint over corrosion protection!

Mitch, stop buy your local automotive paint supply store. They may be able to supply you with a color match spray can.

If not, because you are doing wheel wells, you can get a quart of a quality brand acrylic enamel and "sponge" on with a soft sponge.

This way you get no overspray or brush strokes. Although car is painted in a base coat, clear coat system... the enamel will be fine for what you're doing and eliminate the need to do the area twice (once w/base & once w/clear).. will also elimiate the nedd to use activators, and hardeners etc..

Good luck!

Paul

[Mitch Leland]

Paul, thanks for the great information. I already have the paint code for matching my paint so your idea about sponging the color on is a good one. My challenge is prepping the fender wells to have them ready to paint. As always, the painting is the easy part.

[onboost]

Mitch,

I typically to loosen the dirt and grime, I hose them down, coat with a good degreaser, and hit it with a little "elbow-grease" and a reasonably stiff bristle brush. Then I power wash it to remove all that mess. Let it dry. Then before paint, wipe it down with "prepsolv", also available at the paint supply store. This will remove any residue, silicone, or other chemicals that may cause the paint not to adhere. At that point you're all set!

Good luck!!