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Brake Clean Panel Before Paint??

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#2 ·
smokindoughnuts said:
I have a buddy who says that cleaning a body panel with brake cleaner works great to remove all debris and oils before spraying primer or paint. Is this a true statement or is there another method that works better?

Thanks for any help/advice given.
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Does he have a problem with wax and grease remover?
 
#3 ·
Brake cleaner is going to attack the paint, as will lacquer thinner and acetone. And the key thing is that the paint that's been attacked won't necessarily be carried away by those materials. As benawhati suggests, use wax and grease remover. It removes the debris and oils without attacking the paint. A good wash with soap and water might precede the wax and grease remover. These things before sanding, then use the wax and grease remover just prior to paint.
 
#5 ·
Rick_L said:
Brake cleaner is going to attack the paint, as will lacquer thinner and acetone. And the key thing is that the paint that's been attacked won't necessarily be carried away by those materials. As benawhati suggests, use wax and grease remover. It removes the debris and oils without attacking the paint. A good wash with soap and water might precede the wax and grease remover. These things before sanding, then use the wax and grease remover just prior to paint.
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AND remember to make sure to THOUROUGHLY wipe after wax and grease remover or it's gonna have fish eyes
 
#9 ·
I've always been wary of cleaners that you flush/wipe away with water just prior to painting. I always seem to notice traces of rust due to using water. Never felt like a final step before paint. However, I favor using lacquer thinner as the final wipe before paint. Lacquer thinner is an excellent solvent and (itself) leaves zero residue. But if you're wiping a surface with lacquer thinner and you still see streaks - you still have crud on the surface. I'll use brake clean on greasy underhood parts to get them mostly clean, but after rust dissolver or whatever, I always find myself using lacquer thinner.
 
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