Farmall Cub

I'm ready to begin cleaning the torque tube and transmission housing on Rex (48). I've donned my mask and tried wire brushes of different kinds. I'm unhappy with the results, the dust and the time it's going to take to do this correctly - which in my mind is bare metal.

For this purpose what do ya'll like to use? I checked TP Tools and don't see anything listed there.

Regards, Ken

aircraft stripper works great but i stay away from that stuff. to toxic for me and then you have to deal with the waste.

Ken:

Go to the dollar store and buy their oven cleaner. Wear them yellow rubber gloves, and apron and a respirator. You will have to clean the torque tube well and then neutralize the oven cleaner before you could prime it.

You also have the sand blast cabinet. For the torque tube and the other major castings it should fit in the cabinet. That would be about the easiest I would think. They would just have to be cleaned well afterwards also.

Rudi wrote:Ken:

Go to the dollar store and buy their oven cleaner. Wear them yellow rubber gloves, and apron and a respirator. You will have to clean the torque tube well and then neutralize the oven cleaner before you could prime it.

You also have the sand blast cabinet. For the torque tube and the other major castings it should fit in the cabinet. That would be about the easiest I would think. They would just have to be cleaned well afterwards also.

It would take one big cabinet Paint stripper from any auto parts store will work well, but makes a mess if you are going to blast it do it outside no way will you be able to do it in a cabinet
Boss

forgot to mention that if you do use strippa make sure to get every spec of paint and primer off the tube or it could cause you paint problems later on.

Ken:

I should have asked how big your cabinet was. I never think of the limits of store bought stuff so Boss is right, no way a torque tube will fit in a store bought cabinet. A custom cabinet like the one that Ed has would be big enough though, of that I am pretty sure.

I plan on putting all of my larger castings into my large e-tank. (projects .. I gots oodles and oodles of projects )

Yup, forget the sand blaster .. not a good idea unless it is done outside. Oven cleaner will be alright. It is caustic but it is a lot better than any of the commercial strippers ... not only are they highly caustic they are very hard on the respiratory system. I have been stripping and refinishing antiques in my shops for a very long time. I have used water borne strippers as well as chemical strippers. Most commercial strippers are quite dangerous to use without the proper gear and must be neutralized.

Rudi, if you e-tank, what about he glyptal paint on the inside?

I don't know, I guess I will find out when I do the parts I guess. MIght have the tank ready to go in a couple months if I am lucky. Then we will know. I have two torque tubes sitting on the shelf that need dipping.

I like cleaning down to bare metal too however, if the paint is adhered to the torque tube so well that it is difficult to get off, it will probably serve as a good base coat for the new paint.

danovercash wrote:Rudi, if you e-tank, what about he glyptal paint on the inside?

I've E-Tanked torque tubes, transmissions, final castings etc and have yet to lose any glyptal that was properly applied. Machine shop engine block tanking can be harder on the glyptal.

ricky racer wrote:... if the paint is adhered to the torque tube so well that it is difficult to get off, it will probably serve as a good base coat for the new paint.

second that. feather the edges with the wire bush, wipe with lacquer thinner and paint.

I have never been able to get oven cleaner to remove paint, good for grease, but I have not seen any effect on paint. Even with a brand name oven cleaner.

Sand blasting will take to bare metal. If that is not an option then Klean-strip paint remover or similar brands from lowes works well. Get the paste type and put on thick. Remove the paint with a scraper while still wet.

Power wash afterwards.


I would not paint over the old paint no matter how tight unless you are sure the new paint is compatable with the old.

A friend of mine has a 100 gal plastic barrel. I think he used baking soda in the water. Then a rod hooked to a battery charger. He left the cub parts in it for a week. They came out spotless.

Bill E Bob wrote:

danovercash wrote:Rudi, if you e-tank, what about he glyptal paint on the inside?

I've E-Tanked torque tubes, transmissions, final castings etc and have yet to lose any glyptal that was properly applied. Machine shop engine block tanking can be harder on the glyptal.

Thanks Bill, good to know that there is some experience here to back up my feelings on it. I is much happier again

torchred89 wrote:A friend of mine has a 100 gal plastic barrel. I think he used baking soda in the water. Then a rod hooked to a battery charger. He left the cub parts in it for a week. They came out spotless.

That is an e-tank or electrolysis tank. One of my favourite shop tools

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4. How To Build Kodiak's 5 Gallon Electrolysis Tank
5. How To Build Rudi's 55 US Gallon Electrolysis Tank
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If you use paint stripper, apply it with a brush and then wrap it with plastic sandwich wrap to seal it. I used to use wax paper on furniture tops- it is a little easier to handle on flat surfaces. You can leave it working for days without it drying out and it usually takes care of all the paint with one good application. use mineral spirits and coarse steel wool after scraping. A lot of strippers have paraffin in them to seal the surface much like using the wax paper or plastic wrap. You need to get that off before painting. If you are using a more modern paint system (IH paint is 1930's chemistry), you may have compatibility problems if you leave old paint, as Rob mentioned.