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DRAINO AS A RESTORATION TOOL? YEP!

Started by TripleBlackGator, December 12, 2007, 01:45:31 PM

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TripleBlackGator

I am in the process of restoring the engine bay, bumper and grill area of my '70. I was stuck as to how to restore the original finish to the headlight buckets and since no one here had any suggestions I broke out the chemistry set and went to work. I used a rubbermaid container big enough for all 4 buckets. Then I poured in a gallon and a half of BOILING water. Not cold, not hot, but BOILING! Then immediately I poured in a WHOLE can of crystal Draino. Don't use the liquid or gel crap. Crystal's be the ticket here son. Be warned...You need a face shield. Not goggles. Once that Draino hits the water the violent but short lived fireworks start and you don't want that stuff anywhere near your skin let alone your eyes. Your best off doing it outside as well. The fumes will knock you on your ass. Then I let it sit for one hour and using rubber gloves and a stiff brush I gave each bucket the once over. Rinse with cool, clear water and Ta-Dah!
  Now these suckers DO have a hole big enough for me to bang! Did I say that out loud?  :D
Malicious, vindictive, spiteful, cynical, pessimistic, sarcastic, & antagonistic. And those are my good traits!

69bronzeT5

Quote from: TripleBlackGator on December 12, 2007, 01:45:31 PM
  Now these suckers do have a whole big enough for me to bang! Did I say that out loud?  :D


Get a room!!!! :nana:




The buckets look really good!! The bumper looks amazing by the way :2thumbs:
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1969 Charger: T5 Copper 383 Automatic
1971 Charger R/T: B5 Blue 440 Automatic
1971 Charger Super Bee: GY3 Citron Yella 440 4-Speed
1970 GTO: 400 Ram Air III 4-Speed
1973 Plymouth Road Runner: 440 Automatic
1973 Plymouth Duster: 340 Automatic

justin1987

Just keep the aluminum foil away or you will have a big bang.  :rofl:

TUFCAT

Wow, .....just don't mix bleach with ammonia.  I did it once....ONCE!   :P

hemihead

I believe Draino has lye in it which actually works better with cold water.
Lots of people talkin' , few of them know
Soul of a woman was created below
  Led Zeppelin

justin1987

Quote from: TUFCAT on December 12, 2007, 03:20:30 PM
Wow, .....just don't mix bleach with ammonia.  I did it once....ONCE!   :P

I've done that too. BIG mistake!

Just 6T9 CHGR

Bead blasting would be the safer option no? :Twocents:
Chris' '69 Charger R/T


mally69

what happens when you mix bleech with ammonia  :shruggy: :shruggy:

justin1987


TripleBlackGator

Quote from: Just 6T9_CHGR.... on December 12, 2007, 06:53:38 PM
Bead blasting would be the safer option no? :Twocents:

Bead blasting would change the look of the metal. I wanted to keep the original "galvanized" look.
Malicious, vindictive, spiteful, cynical, pessimistic, sarcastic, & antagonistic. And those are my good traits!

Stroker

Quote from: TripleBlackGator on December 12, 2007, 07:42:03 PM
Quote from: Just 6T9_CHGR.... on December 12, 2007, 06:53:38 PM
Bead blasting would be the safer option no? :Twocents:

Bead blasting would change the look of the metal. I wanted to keep the original "galvanized" look.


If you want the right galvanized look then galvanize them! :yesnod:

I personally wouldnt like to see those buckets on my Charger.Prefer doing it that way:

Head-lamp buckets just out of the car:



and cleaned: on the left sandblasted and on the right also cleaned with wire wheel (on pneumatic tool)



These are not galvanized jet but soon I`ll do it and then update.

V@perfectionist

gasoline_24

I put mine in the blast cabinet and dialed down the pressure and the cleaned up great.  If you want pics I can send them, but it only took about 5 minutes for all four.

TripleBlackGator

Not to get in a pissing contest but the blasted and wire wheel look is not for me. That's not how they looked originally. Granted they cleaned up nice (that's what blasting is suppose to do) but it alters the orignal look.  I was just offering a possibly different way of cleaning. :Twocents:
Malicious, vindictive, spiteful, cynical, pessimistic, sarcastic, & antagonistic. And those are my good traits!

gasoline_24

If you dial down the pressure, it does not remove the galvanized finish but takes off the years of crap.  I agree about original appearance.  I am trying to make mine as original as possible, and after I blasted mine this is how they look.  Here is a pic.

Rolling_Thunder

Quote from: gasoline_24 on December 17, 2007, 11:19:34 PM
If you dial down the pressure, it does not remove the galvanized finish but takes off the years of crap.  I agree about original appearance.  I am trying to make mine as original as possible, and after I blasted mine this is how they look.  Here is a pic.

I do the same thing -  but then again I have a blasting cabinet at the shop...   
1968 Dodge Charger - 6.1L Hemi / 6-speed / 3.55 Sure Grip

2013 Dodge Challenger R/T - 5.7L Hemi / 6-speed / 3.73 Limited Slip

1964 Dodge Polara 500 - 440 / 4-speed / 3.91 Sure Grip

1973 Dodge Challenger Rallye - 340 / A-518 / 3.23 Sure Grip

kamkuda

Looks great.  :cheers:  I use phopharic acid.  (I work for a pool chemical manufacturer Stain and Scale control)  I filled up an old cooler and it nicely removes rust. 


kamkuda

Quote from: justin1987 on December 12, 2007, 07:21:00 PM
Quote from: mally69 on December 12, 2007, 07:18:12 PM
what happens when you mix bleech with ammonia  :shruggy: :shruggy:

It makes chlorine gas.

Chlorine gas is nerve gas (read WW1 mustard gas)

BMOTOXSTAR

73' Dodge Rallye Charger 400/4BBL
06' Dodge Ram Quad Cab 4X4 HEMI
15' Dodge Dart 2.7 SXT

kamkuda

It is caustic like Draino,  It should work.  Both Caustic or acidic will work.  Just try to neutrilize it or rinse thoroughly with water

70-500-SE-EXPORT

USE phosphoric acid! You can get it on your skin and it has NO fumes! Its available at home depot for $14/gallon. Its the same stuff eastwood sells for $50/gal. It works GREAT. You can put anything in it. Even vinyl parts with metal backings to remove surface rust. I put my A/C vents in it.  It gently takes the rust right odd the metal vent slider without damaging plastic. I also use it on a rusty steering wheel. These are items a media blaster would be too abrasive and damage the part. Good luck
68 Charger original SS1 paint with matching # 383hp

1969chargerrtse

Quote from: 70-500-SE-EXPORT on December 21, 2007, 11:09:35 AM
USE phosphoric acid! You can get it on your skin and it has NO fumes! Its available at home depot for $14/gallon. Its the same stuff eastwood sells for $50/gal. It works GREAT. You can put anything in it. Even vinyl parts with metal backings to remove surface rust. I put my A/C vents in it.  It gently takes the rust right odd the metal vent slider without damaging plastic. I also use it on a rusty steering wheel. These are items a media blaster would be too abrasive and damage the part. Good luck
That sounds best to me, since I have no blasting cabinet.  Thanks, I'll try that.   :coolgleamA:
This car was sold many years ago to somebody in Wisconsin. I now am retired and living in Florida.

1BAD68

Quote from: TripleBlackGator on December 17, 2007, 09:00:02 PM
Not to get in a pissing contest but the blasted and wire wheel look is not for me. That's not how they looked originally. Granted they cleaned up nice (that's what blasting is suppose to do) but it alters the orignal look.  I was just offering a possibly different way of cleaning. :Twocents:

I always like to hear alternative ways to do things and then make up my mind on which to use.
Some of us dont have blasting cabinets or even want to be 100% original, so a good cleaning is just fine.

4aThrill

Just remember one drop of Draino hits your eyes you go blind in under 15 seconds there is no way of stopping that so wear a face shield or goggles when handling that stuff  :coolgleamA:

Chatt69chgr

I cleaned some old railroad lanterns and the method may be of some use for certain car components.  I got info on how to clean the lanterns without messing them up from a railroad memorabilia dealer in Georgia.  You take a 5 gallon plastic pail like they used to throw away at Federal Bake Shops and put water in it and then pour in about a third of a can of saniflush.  Need to clean oil and grease off first.  Then submerge the part in the solution and let sit for a week.  Remove the part and rinse off with your hose and then use 0000 steel wool and Duro Naval Jelly which is pink and comes in a bottle from Wal-Mart.  When you are finished with the cleaning, hose it off and blow dry with compressor and then spray on clear laquer (you could use the non-gloss) to seal the surface.  Made my galvanized steel railroad lanterns look new.  When I started, the lantern was rusted here and there.  The rust turned into mud over time in the saniflush.  I was careful to not get any of the saniflush on my skin as it will definitely cause a chemical burn.  I think the Naval Jelly has phosphoric acid in it.  Didn't know about being able to buy the phosphoric acid at Home Depot.  Thats good info.   

bear

I used phosphoric acid on my headlight buckets as well as some other grille parts. It doesn't do good on heavy rust but you can soak them in there for a while and just wire wheel them and they will be fine. I kept the buckets in there until I stopped seeing bubbles come up then coated them with a clear.


This is what they looked like after being dipped for the first time. (some went back in for some more time)


And here is what they look like with the clear on them.