29 years of crud

[Il Serpente]

Wow, what a clean underbody! That makes me just want to start properly on my own, although finding the free time would be hard!

I have to say that your brake calipers came out really well.

[Slash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Il Serpente ...a rubber caving suit just about does the job...

[Nipper]

just starting up an old thread; I've been spending a bit of time under my car trying to get it spottless. The underbody is generally clean and can be washed with soap and water but there is an area around the center of the exhaust which has a black gunk caked on it. I'm not sure what it is, I'm guessing smoke/soot from the exhaust as when I bought the car the exhaust had a hole in it around this area. I had a lot of trouble getting it off and found that it was almost impossible to get off without a steam cleaner. Would it be safe to use a product like kerosene to get the gunk to thin out so it can be removed easiler, will this harm the undercoating, or should I just keep going over with the steam cleaner?

[Larry G]

Yes, kerosene should help. Alternatively, use some spray engine cleaner (Gunk is one brand). These won't hurt sound paint but will gradually start to work on undercoat so minimize the 'overspray'

Larry G

[Nipper]

Is there anything that will do a sufficient job without eating the undercoat? If I use kerosene to clean the gunk off will it do any harm if I only let it soak in for a few seconds?