Best way to clean up frame and suspension without much down time?

[Cue-Ball]

I'm planning to lower my truck 3" front, 4" rear in the next couple of months. As long as I'm going to have everything apart, I'm considering cleaning up the frame and suspension components as much as possible, then priming and painting everything that I can get to. My objective is to clean everything up, make it look nice, and protect it from the elements for the next 20 years or so. My main concern is that this truck is my daily driver during the winter and I don't want a simple lowering job and quickie spray paint to turn into a full on resto. The last time I tried doing this it was on my '70 Camaro. That was 2 years ago and it's still not back together! So, needless to say, I need to be able to clean and repaint everything as simply and quickly as possible while still getting a decent result.

I've thought about a few different ways of accomplishing this:

1) Remove the bed and media blast the frame.
The drawback to this method is mostly the mess. I'd have to cover the brakes, cover the whole cab and engine compartment, etc. to keep out the dust. And I wouldn't even be able to do the front end without getting dust all over everything.

2) Wire brush everything I can get to.
This would be extremely time consuming and I wouldn't be able to reach a lot of places (tight spots in A-arms, inside of the frame, etc). But it would be relatively easy to contain the mess and would probably be enough to get to bare metal.

3) Pressure wash and CLR everything.
This is probably going to be the fastest, easiest, cheapest, and cleanest method. I've used CLR on body panels before to neutralize surface rust, but I'm not sure if it would be strong enough for the scale that develops on frames, springs, etc. I know there are some stronger rust killers out there, but I'd be worried about getting them in places I don't want them (like all over the rest of the engine and body).

After cleaning I plan to spray everything with an acid etch primer and then coat it with Eastwood's Chassis Black. I know the paint and primer will hold up, if only I can get everything clean and smooth in the first place. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's done something like this. How have you guys accomplished clean up without doing a frame-off resto? Are there any methods I'm overlooking?

[njlimbaugh]

Find somebody with a steam cleaner. It does a pretty good job, dries by itself and won't hurt anything that it gets into. Just wrap the distributor, alternator, carb and coil in plastic so it will start when you're finished.

[SCOTI]

Nothing wrong w/some Simple Green & a good (heated) coin operated car wash or a rental type power washer in the driveway. Scrub w/SG soaked Scotchbrite pads, rinse/power-wash, & wipe down w/degreaser prior to painting.

[Cue-Ball]

I've got a really nice gas powered pressure washer, so that part isn't a problem. I just don't think that will do much to deal with the surface rust and scale that's formed all over the place. Simple Green cleans up grease and dirt, but it doesn't do anything to rust. That's why I was considering dousing everything in CLR or maybe a rust inhibitor from Eastwood. I don't want to just paint over all the rust - I want to get rid of it or neutralize it first.

I'll probably do a high pressure wash, then scrub all the areas I can with some sort of rust converter/neutralizer. Then wire brush what I can to kinda smooth things a bit, then prime and paint (acid etch primer, if I can find it). I want to make sure the work I do lasts for a long, long time so I'm not back in this boat again a few years from now.

[notyo_cheez]

Remove as much of the loose scale/dirt as possible, treat with phosphoric acid, prime then paint. You can use a 40 grit flap disc on an angle grinder to cover much of the flat spots and wire wheel the tighter areas. Of course I'm stripping mine down to the frame so I'm not worried about collateral damage...

[xrcr]

The better the prep, the longer it'll last.
xrcr

[Zebb]

Originally Posted by Cue-Ball

I want to make sure the work I do lasts for a long, long time so I'm not back in this boat again a few years from now.

My opinion is that you will have to sandblast it to do a job that will last for a long time.

[Cue-Ball]

Originally Posted by notyo_cheez

Remove as much of the loose scale/dirt as possible, treat with phosphoric acid, prime then paint.

Funny you should mention phosphoric acid, because that's the way I'm leaning right now. I did some Googling on it this morning and it looks like it might work great for my purposes.

Originally Posted by Zebb

My opinion is that you will have to sandblast it to do a job that will last for a long time.

I know that sandblasting is the BEST way to do it but, frankly, that's not gonna happen. To really make blasting work you have to completely disassemble everything down to the bare frame. I am NOT gonna go there with this truck. I've already got one project taking up my garage and don't want another!

I need a solution that's relatively quick, relatively easy, and relatively clean. I'm hoping I can get 80% of the results of sandblasting but with 20% of the time and effort. It looks like phosphoric acid and a bit of wire brushing might be just the ticket.

[travmanzz]

I would buy a cheap sand blaster from Harbor freight ,blast it, prep it with POR 15 prep n ready and coat it with POR 15 chassis coat. available in qts gals or aerosol cans.

http://www.por15.com/

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...=sand+blasting

[76chevytruck]

how about soda blasting. it will remove paint without damaging chrome/trim. it also leaves a coating on the metal for a short time preventing flash surface rust. all you have to do is rinse it off before the next step. as far as brakes go you could probably just rinse them clean before you drive. i understand you not wanting to tear it completely apart but it wouldn't take that much to remove the bed and you could still drive it. blasting is faster then wire brush. after you finished the back half you could work the front with any combination of your previous ideas to get the job done while still driving it. not enough time, money, or space for all your projects.

[ozark]

I use easy off oven cleaner if the frame and sus. is just covered with dirt and grease.