How to prep fiddley shit for painting?

[grumple]

Hey all,

I've seen lots of threads on polishing and cleaning and degreasing and sanding and spraying and priming and prepping and, well, you get the drift, but something I've never really seen explained is how people clean up really awkward pieces and polish/prep them for painting. Posting a pic of a nice, flat side cover for example, polished to a mirror finish is fine (and still an achievement, don't get me wrong), but how do you get a smooth surface between fins, or around lettering or in tight little corners where you can't even get to with sandpaper?

So, here is a pic of the kind of part I'm talking about (I know there's worse parts to prep, but this is all I have right now):

How do you guys tackle parts like this, let's say to prep them nice and smooth and then primed for painting? Is media blasting the only option? Dremels? Lots of patience? Tiny bits of sandpaper? Tiny fingers? Nanobots? Harsh language?

Thanks,
Pat

 

[Ogri]

Clean it with a good solvent like PPG DX330. Wipe or spray the DX330 onto the part liberally, and wipe it off with a clean towel.

Next, use a 3M scotchbrite, either red 7447 or grey 7448 and scrub away. It will conform to the nooks and crannys you are looking to get into and scratch them up well enough to accept primer and paint.

On that part, I would use a good epoxy like PPG DP90. This will give you excellent adhesion as well as gloss hold out and corrosion resistance.

 

[Tristan]

Dremels? Lots of patience? Tiny bits of sandpaper? Tiny fingers? Nanobots? Harsh language?

HAHAHA made me chuckle

 

[///M3Matt]

use a scotch bright pad and a toothbrush (an old one ) with some good solvent

 

[domer]

any of the above methods will work, but most take time. media blast will cost more, but will be done in a hurry. time is money. the million $ question is, which do you have a surplus of? time or money?

 

[bikeboy]

use a scotch bright pad and a toothbrush (an old one ) with some good solvent

or a small brass wire brush? stiff enough to remove crud, but soft enough not to scratch the alloy.

Me? I'd blast it. Still need to wipe it down after, but easily the best way to prep this stuff.

ian

 

[Big R]

+1. A home made soda blaster would make pretty quick work on that. If you are going to polish it, there is a Dremel polishing kit. Or do it by hand.

 

[grumple]

Thanks guys. I guess I just haven't had much luck getting into the really tiny little crevices and sanding around lettering and ridges and trying to get the entire surface even. There always seems to be these unfinished looking bits where I can't get to, and it just looks dodgy.

I've tried steel wool, but not the scotch brite pads, so that sounds good, and yaa the DIY soda blaster is awesome. Don't really have space for an air compressor though (unless I can find a small one I can use in my apartment). Thanks for the suggestions. I guess the surface doesn't have to be perfect if I'm going to prime and then paint it, right? Anyway, time to attach that cam cover once again! I'm still also gonna try harsh language.