How to degrease metal before painting: an overview of solvents and precautions when working with them

Degreasing the metal surface is a prerequisite before painting it. This is done in order to improve the adhesion (adhesion) of the paint to the metal. Carrying out preparatory work before painting, various contaminants will still occur on the surface, primarily fat. It is enough to touch the oiled overalls and that's it, it makes no sense to paint the place of contact. The paint won't stick.

White Spirit

The most common degreaser is white spirit. It is a clear liquid with the smell of fuels and lubricants (fuel and lubricants).

Distribution received under the trade name "Nefras-C4" of various modifications. He gained wide popularity due to his versatility.

Note: when working with white spirit without observing safety measures, there is a threat to health. Flammable!

Easily neutralizes any oils and fats, many organic compounds. In addition to these purposes, it is used as a thinner for oil paint, enamel, varnish. Another remarkable quality of white spirit is that after surface treatment, you can immediately paint on it. The evaporation of this solvent occurs instantly, as they say "before our eyes."

It's important to know: it is necessary to work in a ventilated area, in protective equipment for the eyes, respiratory organs and skin.

Solvent 646

The next popular degreaser will be solvent 646, often used in preparation for painting. A slightly yellowish liquid with a sharp specific odor. The spectrum of its action is quite extensive.

It perfectly dilutes paints, degreases the metal surface well, is indispensable for removing old layers of paint, and is used for washing painting equipment and tools.

• nitrocellulose NC;
• glyptal HF;
• melaninamide MPs;
• acrylic;
• epoxy.

During operation, it is necessary to maintain the temperature within +5 ... + 30ᵒ С, and the humidity of the air should not exceed 85%. In this case, the painted surface takes on a shiny glossy appearance without spots and streaks.

Take into account: Solvent 646 is fire and explosion hazard! When working, it is imperative to use respiratory, eye and skin protection equipment! Work only in a ventilated area or with exhaust ventilation.

Acetone

Acetone, as a degreaser, is also widely used. Colorless transparent liquid with a sharp specific smell. Perfectly dissolves oil and grease stains, various resins.

Used to dilute primers, paints, enamels and varnishes. Included in some solvents. It is made on an alcohol basis. It has high volatility.

Expert advice: when working with acetone it is necessary to use a white cloth so as not to cause colored streaks on degreased surfaces.

When working with acetone, it is imperative to take measures to protect the skin, eyes and respiratory organs. It is strictly forbidden to use open flames, to be near working electrical appliances. For the convenience of working with acetone, it is best to use.

It's important to know: acetone is flammable!

Universal degreaser "Vershina"

The Vershina universal degreaser has confidently begun to gain popularity among drivers. It degreases well any surfaces made of metal, ceramics, glass and plastic. Easily removes a variety of contaminants from the surface before painting it or applying any anti-corrosion coatings.

Compliance with precautions when working with a degreaser guarantees complete safety.

Solvent

It can also be used as a degreaser. In the trading network it can go under the name "Nefras F-130/150". Clear colorless or slightly yellowish liquid. It is made on the basis of petroleum fractions. Less often - coal. When painting a car, it can be used not only as a degreaser, but also as a paint thinner. Perfectly washes away all autopreservatives.

At the same time, rubber-bitumen and shale automotive mastics are diluted with solvent. Solvent-based paints have unique properties. Due to their high adhesion, they create a stable coating. When working with a solvent, it is necessary to strictly observe safety measures.

Note: solvent is toxic and flammable!

Traditional degreasers

Often, when servicing a car, the most common degreasers are used. For primary treatment of small areas of contamination, gasoline, kerosene and even diesel fuel can be successfully used.

Primary treatment consists in preparing the iron surface for degreasing. For example, the manufacturer recommends using the BR-2 solvent, also known as Kalosha gasoline, for washing metal products.

This recommendation can be successfully attributed to kerosene and diesel fuel (“solar oil”). By the way, gasoline or kerosene can be well cleaned and degreased leather and fabric products. The only drawback in this case will be the long weathering of the smell.

Ammonia

Ammonia is also a solvent for oil paints. It is found in small amounts in ammonia. A stain of oil paint that has fallen on clothes can be removed with a piece of cotton wool, first dipped in turpentine, then in ammonia. Well remove stains and other compounds with its use.

Although ammonia has the properties of a solvent, it is not recommended to use it. If necessary, it is better to replace it with other, less toxic agents.

Take into account: Ammonia, even in small doses, can cause irreparable harm to health! Explosive!

Degreasing any metal surface before painting it is a prerequisite. Otherwise, the paint will simply begin to peel off and all the work will have to be done again. To prevent this from happening, first of all, it is necessary to prepare all the materials for work. Selected solvents and degreasers, protective equipment, tools, first aid kit, clean water and rags should be the basis of this preparation. It remains only correctly, in compliance with the manufacturer's recommendations and without violating safety measures, to degrease the metal.

Watch a video in which a specialist tells how to degrease metal before painting a car and about the properties of degreasers:

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Painting, like the East, is a delicate matter. There is nothing secondary here. Only strict observance of all technological requirements at each stage of work can ensure the high quality of the paintings coming out from under the pen of an auto painter. The very first of these requirements is the cleanliness of the treated surface.

Today you will know

Cleanliness is the key to everything

Surface cleaning is the foundation of refurbishment. This operation must precede any preparation and staining work. It should also go with you side by side throughout the repair, up to the application of the paintwork.

If this link falls out, the whole system collapses. A good half of all paintwork defects are associated precisely with insufficiently high-quality surface cleaning. Here are a few of them:

• poor adhesion (peeling of the coating);
• silicone craters;
• gloss loss.

Coming closer to the point, we note that cleaning the surface before starting any preparatory and painting work can be divided into two stages: washing and degreasing. It would seem that something complicated: washed and degreased. So it is true, but still there are some rules that will help make the whole process easier and faster, and the result is better. Let's start in order, with a sink.

At the beginning of glorious deeds. Car wash

When a car comes in for repairs, the first thing to do is to thoroughly clean it from road dust, dirt and grease, and in winter also from salt and sand deposits. To do this, thoroughly wash the car with warm water and car shampoo.

The best helper in this matter is a high-pressure washer, such as Karcher. Such a device allows you to effectively deal with pollution due to the strong pressure of water (at low flow rates). It literally sweeps away dirt. For washing various hard-to-reach places - generally an indispensable thing.

Anyone who washed a car with Karcher knows that this is one sheer pleasure. 🙂

High pressure washer in operation

For washing, especially at the initial stage, it is best to use a brush with soft bristles or a special sponge. It is undesirable to use any rags.

When washing the car with a rag, grains of sand and particles of dirt can scratch the paintwork of non-repairable body parts!

Pay special attention to areas of increased accumulation of dirt, namely the lower part of the car (sills, wheel arches, inner cavities of the wings). First, wet the dirt and wait until it is slightly soaked, then rinse off.

After the initial wash, you can proceed to dismantle the parts that impede repair (moldings, rubber seals, plastic parts, etc.). As a rule, dirt is sure to clog under them, so the washing process must be repeated.

Now you need to wait until the car dries. To speed up this process, blow out the part with compressed air and/or use heaters.

So, the body is thoroughly washed and dried. It's time to start degreasing.

We clean further. Surface degreasing

Sadly, many masters ignore this point altogether: why, they say, degrease the surface that will now be sanded off. This is mistake. It is impossible to remove fatty contamination by grinding, but it is easy to aggravate the situation.

The fact is that during grinding, unremoved fatty contaminants are clogged with sandpaper abrasive deep into the grinding risks, and getting them out of there becomes extremely difficult. As a result, grease left in the depth of scratches leads to the appearance of grease craters on the new paintwork.

What can be degreased and what can not

To degrease the surface, specially designed compounds are used for this, which are called degreasers or anti-silicones. For example, domestic degreaser BR-2, foreign APP W900, premium degreaser R-M PK 900 and others. These reagents are able to remove from the surface not only traces of oils, fats, but also the most harmful of fats - silicone (an unusually volatile substance that is part of polishes).

Materials such as petrol, acetone, nitro thinners must not be used for degreasing (646, 647).

Why are these reagents not suitable? The fact is that some solvents do not have an aggressive enough formula to dissolve some fats. Acetone and nitro solvents quickly evaporate, not having time to dissolve the fat, and with a rag it is only smeared on the surface. And gasoline contains too many oily impurities and itself can cause defects.

The two napkin rule

Proper degreasing is degreasing with two clean wipes applied alternately. Moisten the first napkin liberally with a degreaser and pass it over the part. After the surface is shiny, allow the degreaser to dissolve the dirt for 5-10 seconds, and then, while it is still wet, remove the resulting solution with a second dry and clean cloth.

For degreasing, it is desirable to use special napkins that do not leave lint behind (paper towels).

Degreasing with two wipes. In this procedure, it is important to have time to remove contaminants before the degreaser dries, otherwise the fat will remain on the surface and will only be smeared over a large area. However, you need to give the degreaser a few seconds to properly dissolve the dirt.

Degreasing should be carried out in small areas (no more than 1 m²) in order to have time to remove dirt before the degreaser evaporates. The composition of good degreasers is specially selected so that it does not evaporate too quickly.

It is also convenient to use special sprayers for degreasing: they evenly sprayed the degreaser over the surface and removed it with the first napkin, and then wiped it dry with the second.

A well-washed and degreased surface should “creak” under your finger, like clean glass.

Our body is washed and degreased, and now it is ready for the next stage of repair - and preparation for puttying. We will talk about this in the next article.

Summary

Summing up all of the above, we highlight the main points regarding washing and degreasing the surface.

Washing

• the water should be warm, and the pressure should be strong;
• for more effective removal of fatty contaminants, use a car shampoo;
• it is advisable not to use a rag, it is better to use a soft brush or a special sponge;
• pay special attention to the lower part of the car - most of the dirt accumulates there;
• dry the surface thoroughly after washing.

Degreasing

• the surface must be degreased BEFORE carrying out grinding work;
• do not use gasoline, nitro solvents, acetone for degreasing;
• after applying the degreaser, you need to wait 5-10 seconds for the dirt to dissolve properly, then remove the resulting solution with a clean, dry cloth until it dries;
• it is advisable to use special lint-free wipes;
• no need to try to capture a large area during degreasing, optimally - 0.5-1 m².

Before covering any surface with paint or gluing parts, it must be properly cleaned. It is unacceptable that it has a fatty film, dirt and dust. How are surfaces of different types degreased before applying paints and varnishes to them and why is this necessary? More on that below.

Why do you need to degrease?

Failure to remove all residual contaminants from the surface may adversely affect adhesion to the finishing material and shorten its longevity after application. As a result, glue or paint will not connect to the surface, but to a layer of dust and grease. Using a solvent, you can degrease any type of surface. Other means are also used for such work. Bases made of metal, plastic, glass, wood are subject to degreasing.

If you need to remove the fatty film on the surface of plastic or metal, you can use a cloth soaked in solvent. This method is appropriate if paintwork is to be done. As for the preparation of car bodies, this method will not work. How are surfaces degreased in this case? It is best to select special compositions of trusted manufacturers.

Degreasing with white spirit

This organic solvent can be used to treat car bodies at the initial stage of work. In the future, a mixture based on alcohol and phosphoric acid should be used. This composition perfectly eliminates traces of fat from metal surfaces.

It is worth considering that white spirit does not react, so you don’t have to worry that the car body will be damaged. This tool also does not dissolve the paintwork.

The great advantage of such a solvent lies in its affordable cost, so many motorists decide to degrease the surface with a solvent without investing extra money in it.

You can also use trichlorethylene to remove grease from metal surfaces. This agent actively comes into contact with aluminum. This releases flammable substances, which can lead to a fire if the car gets into an accident.

Metal degreasing

If the task is to paint any product that has a metal surface, it is initially important to pay attention to its degreasing. In addition, you need to eliminate various burrs, dirt and rust. How do you degrease surfaces of this type? This question is quite relevant, since the range of such products is quite wide. Most often, solvent 646, solvent, xylene or regular gasoline is used for this.

The use of water or solutions based on detergents is highly discouraged, since after drying the metal surface, traces of rust will appear on it. An organic solvent is no less effective for such procedures. It is important that the napkin with which the surface will be wiped does not have a lint. It is best to take a piece of white chintz fabric. It must be moistened in the composition and wipe the surface until there are no traces of dirt on it.

After such manipulations, the metal surface will gain shine and smoothness. When degreasing is completed, it is necessary to wait for the complete drying of the treated area. After that, you can start priming or painting.

Another tool that degreases the surface well is alcohol. However, such a procedure implies high costs if the area to be treated has a considerable area.

Gasoline should not be used to clean the surface, as particles of the composition components may remain on it.

plastic surface

If we talk about how to degrease the surface at home, which is made of plastic, then it all depends on whether it will be painted or glued. It is important to note that plastic is quite difficult to connect with parts made from another material. Cleaning should be carried out using a natural cloth and a composition with a degreasing effect. For this purpose, you can use an alcohol-based product. Thinner 646 and acetone must not be used as the top layer of the surface may be damaged. For degreasing it is also appropriate to use medical or technical alcohol.

If you have to work with plastic elements, you must first process a small area and observe the reaction.

Degreasing glass and wood

As for how wood or glass surfaces are degreased, various means are also used for this purpose. If there are residues of resin, old paintwork on the tree, then they must be eliminated by cleaning with a brush with metal bristles or emery.

If the dirt is too ingrained and it is impossible to remove it by such methods, you can use a planer. This tool will help remove the layer of contamination and eliminate further degreasing work.

Using organic solvents, old paint can be removed. You need to distribute them to the surface with a roller.

Anyone who is not aware of how wood surfaces are degreased often makes the mistake of using gasoline for this. Such a tool will not cope with the destruction of the remains of dirt and a layer of paint.

To degrease the glass surface, you can use a universal solvent or alcohol. Such material can withstand the effects of aggressive drugs, so it can be used without fear.

If the question is how to degrease the surface before gluing, then the above means are also suitable for this.

Degreasing the painted surface

Bonding of painted surfaces is undesirable, but situations may arise when such a process is unavoidable. In this case, the surface must be sanded. How to degrease the surface before gluing if it is already pre-painted? It will be enough to walk on it with a damp cloth and remove all dust. It is not recommended to use solvents for this, as this can damage the applied paint layer.

Degreasing with anti-silicone

Anti-silicone is another tool that does a good job of removing grease and dirt from the surface of the car body before painting it. Such a plan, the composition does not have a destructive effect on the metal and the paint layer. The product dries quickly and perfectly breaks down fats.

Conclusion

The procedure for degreasing the surface before painting or gluing is extremely important. In order for these works to be successfully carried out, it is necessary to take into account all the subtleties of the process, find out how different types of surfaces are degreased and choose the most optimal tool.

How to degrease car glass

The glass of a modern car is a rather complex structure, which is being improved and improved every year. If at first glance you can’t distinguish automotive glass from a window in a house, then after studying the structure of glass in a car, everything falls into place. Manufacturers of foreign cars care primarily about the safety of the driver and passengers. As for 100% visibility, sometimes you need to make your own efforts.

Perhaps the issue of degreasing glass may seem banal and simple to someone, but do not forget that every day new items hit the road. It is these people who need to start a “joint” life from simple basics. So, we degrease car windows. A blurred window can interfere with the normal visibility of the road, and this affects the safety of the driver and passengers. We will also consider other cases when it is necessary to degrease glass.

What to degrease?

This is perhaps the main question. If you just want to clean the windows, then you need to degrease them first. Any glass cleaner will work for us - simple household window cleaners can be used. Most drivers do just that - they take what they have at hand. If you don't want to use non-car cleaners, you can always buy a tube of car window cleaner from an auto shop. In addition to removing dirt, they also degrease the surface of the glass.

If the glass is clean, but you just need to degrease it, then you can always take simple medical alcohol. It is also sometimes required to degrease, for example, the windshield from inside the car.

Here, too, you can use any detergents (dishes, bath, glass), which contain a degreasing base (alcohol). For example, you can take the "Fairy" and wash the windshield perfectly.

If the car has not been cleaned for a long time, then you can arm yourself with the magical White Spirit. This is one of the most favorite cleaning products among motorists (and not only). Do not use this liquid in its pure form - only with water. Usually a proportion of 30:70 is enough (water - 70%). Apply White Spirit to the sponge carefully and dosed. You can only work with gloves, because. This product dries out the skin very much.
So, what will help degrease car glass:

• White Spirit;
• household cleaner;
• Alcohol;
• Specialized cleaner for car windows.

Windshield cleaning system

If you notice that the glass quickly becomes dirty, then most likely there is some kind of problem with the windshield cleaning system. You need to start with a simple one - with windshield wipers (better known as wipers). Check the state of the brushes, how the mechanism itself works.

They need to be replaced at the first sign of wear. And here the point is not that the window quickly fogs up: during frosts, a sudden failure can seriously spoil the mood and safety of the driver. Another important point is the presence of "non-freezing".

This is a special liquid for the windshield cleaning system, which prevents the glass from getting dirty and freezing in winter. Also, "anti-freeze" degreases the windshield.

To prevent the window from getting dirty in the warm season, you need to fill in special liquids. They differ from non-freezing only in that they are not designed for high temperatures. This is where the difference ends. But do not pour plain water into the tank of the windshield cleaning system - it will not be enough to fully clean the windshield.

Why degrease glass?

In addition to regular cleaning of glasses, it is necessary to degrease the surface during various works:

• Removing a crack or chip. Before starting the procedure, you need to qualitatively degrease the glass where the repair will take place. Before such work, you must use a detergent or White Spit. It will be better than plain alcohol.
• Tinted glass. It is also an important procedure that cannot be completed without degreasing windows.

Remember to regularly wash your car yourself or send it to the car wash.
This is important, because a regular "bath" will significantly extend the life of the car, and also allow it to remain attractive as long as possible. It is recommended to wash all windows (and glass) in the car, but the windshield is the main one.

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Preparing a vehicle for polishing or painting requires a series of procedures. One of them is the degreasing of the car body. This operation is performed according to a certain technology with the help of special compounds.

1 Degreasing at the factory - good, but dangerous

Let's first find out why the car is degreased before the implementation of paintwork. Why is this procedure so important for obtaining a high-quality result of painting or polishing the body? The answer is simple. Degreasing allows you to rid the body of particles of bitumen, engine oil, various insoluble chemicals and other contaminants that cannot be removed by washing the car. The treated surface due to this becomes truly clean and even. This means that it will have maximum adhesion to the paintwork used. The latter will stay on the vehicle for a very long time, therefore, repeated painting will not be required under such conditions soon.

In the factory, degreasing is carried out according to different methods. They involve the use of fairly aggressive and potentially unsafe compounds. One of them is trichlorethylene. It is a sticky emulsion. Before use, it is mixed with water. Trichlorethylene is not suitable for cleaning aluminum surfaces. It is recommended exclusively for bases made of ferrous metals. Therefore, in most cases, car bodies, before polishing or applying a paint and varnish composition, are treated with a solution that includes:

• about 70% of a mixture of phosphoric acid (5 parts) and water (1 tsp);
• 14-18% isopropyl and 11-14% ethyl alcohol;
• 0.1% nitrobenzene;
• 0.5% special emulsifier marked OP-7.

Such a composition is able to cope with any pollution and even with traces of rust. But it is dangerous to handle a car with them on your own. The solution can cause serious harm to human health. If we want to effectively and safely degrease the body of our iron horse without the help of specialists, it is better to use more gentle and easy-to-use products. About them further.

2 How to clean the car at home?

You can degrease the body of any modern car in your own garage. Now a good selection of special equipment is offered for carrying out such a procedure. All of them are divided into the following groups:

• organic solutions;
• synthetics;
• water-alkaline emulsions.

The most famous organic degreaser is white spirit. It is known to many motorists for its characteristic kerosene "aroma". White spirit is made by distillation of fractions of oil. In fact, it is a composition of a number of liquid hydrocarbons. White alcohol without any problems washes away bitumen, almost any fatty and rubber contamination from the metal surface. With it, it is easy to clean the car yourself. But after using white spirit in the garage and on the car body, a fairly persistent smell of kerosene remains. It is not easy to get rid of such amber. White alcohol is good for removing organic contaminants.

If you need to remove oil-containing inorganics from the car, white spirit will not help.

In such situations, it is desirable to use modern synthetic solutions and special emulsions. They are universal and suitable for removing any contaminants (inorganic, organic). True, they should be chosen with extreme caution, given:

• adhesion level with primer, putty, car paint;
• the ability of the solution to destroy certain fat-containing compounds;
• an indicator of the aggression of the emulsion to the metal of the body.

Most often, before polishing, home craftsmen use the following synthetic products - Solvent, Nefras C 2-80 / 120, as well as universal anti-silicones from different manufacturers. It is not difficult to choose the composition that is suitable for the degree of effectiveness and price.

3 We process cars ourselves - how to avoid problems?

So, we decided to remove all serious dirt from the body of the vehicle with our own hands. What is needed for this, besides the direct means for degreasing? First, a respirator and goggles. The composition of anti-silicones, white spirit and water emulsions includes chemical compounds that may well harm the respiratory and human vision. Secondly, we get rubber gloves. They will protect our hands from the aggressive effects of the degreaser. We will also need two non-woven napkins. Any products will do, the main thing is that they do not have a lint.

The degreasing procedure itself is as follows:

1. Abundantly moisten the napkin in the selected product.
2. We apply the composition to the body.
3. We take a second (dry) napkin and rub the degreasing solution over the surface to be treated.

Basically, that's all. Vehicle degreasing process completed! We check the quality of the work performed in a simple way. We apply a clean piece of paper to the cleaned surface. If there are no greasy marks left on it, then we did everything right.

A few last tips. Degreasing should be done in a garage (other room) with bright lighting and well-functioning ventilation. There must be no open fire near the machine. Remember that all the means described by us are classified as fire hazardous. After degreasing, do not touch the treated body with your hands or cloth, so as not to contaminate it again. Immediately proceed to polishing the car or applying a paint coating on it.

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