I know it was covered recently, but I just finished up cleaning my belly.
That is: the underside of the body.

I hope this isn't too technical for C3Gen.

It really wasn't TOO bad for a few decades of grimey buildup.
The worst was near the differential. Sorry, but I did not have my camera
at hand when I first started this job. So, no greasy pics.

First thing I did was to get better access. Yeah - I built my body dolly
fairly high, but I wanted more - plus room to hit at a good angle with
the power washer. So, I hooked the back of the body dolly onto my
gantry crane and lifted the butt end up-up-up.




I wanted to try the oven cleaner, but I didn't want to drive to the store.
I had a couple gallons of Castrol SuperClean. Using a spray bottle, I sprayed
down the entire bottom with cleaner ... let it soak in. About an hour later,
I gave it a quick re-spray and scraped as much off as I could with a
sheetrock taping knife. A medium sized putty knife would work better.
After scraping, I fired up the power washer and blasted the whole belly.
The next step was easiest: go inside and continue in the morning when I can see good.

The next day revealed that there were still patches and areas of stuck-on
grime. So, I gave it a quick scraping in the worst areas and started from
the front ... spraying with 100% Superclean and using a scrub-brush.
Be careful to wear gloves and don't breathe in the cleaner (choke-cough).
After going over the whole bottom with cleaner and brush, I fired up the
power washer again ... and that did the trick. There are a couple of corners
that I missed, but it is "Super Clean".

Here are some more pics: First set is after cleaning ... second set after
applying POR-15 to all the metal pieces under the body.

http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_01.jpg
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_02.jpg
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_03.jpg
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_04.jpg
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_05.jpg

The inside needs a good cleaning ... that's next.
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_06.jpg

Belly with POR:
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_07.jpg
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_08.jpg
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_09.jpg
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/vette_body/clean_belly_10.jpg

That's all for now ... lots of little do-dads getting cleaned up and installed,
like this rag joint that came as a new part with my 75 vette about 10 years ago.
"I'll install that someday." Someday finally came.
http://NHvette.com/ftp/in/rag_joint_rebuilt.jpg

She won't be "done", but I will be driving her ... come June.

 

they're never "done"

best of luck with the project.. I know you've been at this for a while

hope you enjoy that first drive come june

 

thanks for the pic's

 

What kind of power washer do you have ?

 

looks good. i have been cleaning mine with gasoline soaked rags. i plan on leaveing mine natural finish on the under side. glad to see someone else going thru the same trouble. i have ask myself am i crazy. keep going it will end sometime hopefully.

 

that is what i call a super clean shell. don't stop there with the por-15, do the whole shell with it, it looks great, protects and it's on there forever. i used the black on mine

 

NHVette,

Pulled the body on my 1970 this weekend and started cleaning the underside tonight.

Did you have tar buildup in any of the wheel wells? My DS front has a ton of tar buildup which seems to only want to come off with a chisel.

Thanks

 

did you get one of those orange gates from Central Park??

 

gearhead, that is why i used gasoline soaked rags to clean mine. some one had undercoating/tar everywhere and it was the best thing that i found to clean it with and not do any damage to the fiberglass.

 

Yeah - the factory undercoating was on there very well.
I left it there and scrubbed it clean. Later, it will get blacked
out in the wheel well areas with a can of Krylon or maybe another
layer of undercoating.


I have a fairly cheap power washer from Sears. I like it:
They go on sale occasionally for like $239
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...Washers%2C+Gas

 

Thanks for the post. I always look forward to seeing pictures of your progress. Getting this car back on the road is a pretty incredible achievment.

 

I bet it's cleaner now than the day it was born! Nice work.

Now, where's the pic of you wearing the environment suit, totally covered in sludge?

 

Actually, not too bad. Two pairs of pants with totally BLACK knees and
many pairs of nitrile gloves.

What bothered me the most was getting spattered in the face with POR15
as I rushed to get it all coated.
I got it all off before it hardened ... woulda been hell going back to work
with little silver specks all over my face.