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Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:19 pm

Hi painters,
I always hear about special de-greasing and de-siliconising solutions to use before painting.

How does plain old acetone work for this? It's cheap and disolves oils.
Cheers

Wed Feb 04, 2004 11:53 pm

A wax and grease remover is cheap as well. It stays on the surface long enough so all the contamainants float to the top surface so that they can be removed. Anyway which is cheaper buying the proper degreaser or doing the job over again?

Fri Feb 06, 2004 11:16 am

Acetone! sheesh.... wax and grease remover is cheaper and it what you should use.. :roll:

Acetone is very volitile,and unless you were using it on bare metal or fiberglass, it would melt damn near any kind of primer/paint and soften any body filler on contact and really make problems down the road if not ruin any work you just finished right off...

Fri Feb 06, 2004 5:01 pm

Yeah but it smells so good!!!! :P

disclaimer - do not actually try this!!!

Fri Feb 06, 2004 5:59 pm

AGREED! Use the proper product and you won't have to worry later.

Thu Feb 12, 2004 12:36 am

Acetone may not remove silicones very well, and it will certainly attack most old paints, primers, and fillers. also not all acetone (and this goes for other solvents too) are high quality and pure enough to use, even on bare metal (which acetone will not attack) plain ole commercial grade acetone may have contaminates that it can leave behind on the surface, which can cau real problems with your paint work.

from experience, 80%of a quality paint job is the preperation.

Do not skimp on the materials you use, this goes for the solvent for cleaning, the paint, the solvent for thinning the paint, even quality sand paper (changed out frequently, and of finer and finer grits as you go along) pays off in the long run.

I learned alot painting cars at home, and made many mistakes as a beginner. If you are a begineer, I suggest you purchase or check from library several (not just one!!!) books on painting cars, and read, and re-read them before you start, you will be much more satisfied with your paint work. Also enlist the advice of your local auto paint store, they have the correct products, Often there is a good reason not to subsitute different, or different grades of materials.

For example, didn't know it is important to clean the car with the correct degreaser before sanding on my first paint job (else oils, and silicone gets dug into the paint as you sand) I also found out that only the correct paint reducer should be used to thin the paint, that the general hardware store paint thinner, or laquer thinners had oils in them, great for cleaning up grease off engine parts, but not what you want to clean a surface to be painted with. yous the correct qulity masking tape if two tomne paint, use painters paper unstead of newspaper to mask (newspaper sheds lint like crazy when hit by the spray gun!)

When you start painting, have some practice metal (like a spare door or fender) to practice your spray technique, and your paint preperation technique, can you spray without orange peel? tring on a test piece is much better than learning on your car, trust me on that!

also be sure you understand all the hazards of the chemicals, and sanding dust. Now days a air supplied resparator is considered the best protection, ecspecially with modern two part paints (which work well, becuase they dry fast, and drips or runs can easily be sanded out)
remember the spray paint is toxic to inhale as are the solvents, they will even poison you through skin abrosoption, so wear thick chemical gloves, also glasses, as spray can harm the eyes, and enter the blood stream thru them. also be aware of sparks, and flame, even the sparks from an air compressore motor can cause an explosion.

anyrate, read sereval books first, ask questions , nd if you still want to do it, do it with good info. It might be the case, that you find you are better off just preparing the car for paint work, and pay to have the spraying done, as you can't beat a good spray booth, and profesional experience.
good luck dave