MTFCA Forum

Has anyone successfully use a rust encapsulating paint on the inside of a engine pan to deal with surface rust? Rather than sandblasting? I hate
trying to get sand out of tight places so they don't end up in the finished engine. Tanks.
Craig.

Personally I would never do that. Used oil will eventually cause at least some the paint to degrade and destroy lubrication.

Steve

Encapsulated rust can still break loose and find its way into bearings or even plug small passageways.
Chemical cleaning is probably better. Harsh acids may do a good job of dissolving rust, however great care must be taken to protect your health and prevent damage to surrounding things (buildings, counters, tools, YOU!). After cleaning, acids should be neutralized, and the cleaned steel oiled to prevent rapid rusting. Muriatic acid does a good job, however even a single inhale of the fumes can be very serious.
Sand blasting is maybe a better choice depending on your area and whether that service is available or not. In spite of the cleaning required after sand blasting.

Sand blasting can destroy solder and drive sand particles into solder. On steel surfaces, sand blasting or other media blasting should work well. I'd use a pressure washer on the pan after sand or media blasting. Otherwise, scraping and wire brushing will get loose rust off. Solder resists most acids, but I'd be careful with any strong chemical. An electric drill and various shapes of rotary wire brushes can get most rust off. If you can find a real radiator repair shop, hot tanking the pan would get rid of most rust.

What about brushing it with a wire brush? You can get most of it that way. Then coat with engine oil so it will not rust until you can install it on the engine and run the car.
Norm

After removing any loose rust with a wire brush or wire cup you could try soaking the rusted area with 30% vinegar (cleaning vinegar; you can get it at Home Depot) and then washing very well with water and baking soda to neutralize any remaining acetic acid. Then coat with something like Sta-bil Fogging Oil to keep it from re-rusting.

Don't sand blast it. Aside from it leeching sand from the cracks, the heat generated in a "sand" blast will warp the pan.
I vote manual cleaning with a cup wire wheel & no after coat other than oil inside.

cup brush,angle grinder,then a hand wire brush.Then use Glyptol to coat the pan. Oil aint supposed to mess it up.be sure to clean the metal very well before applying.

Craig Leach wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 03, 2024 11:13 pm

Has anyone successfully use a rust encapsulating paint on the inside of a engine pan to deal with surface rust? Rather than sandblasting? I hate
trying to get sand out of tight places so they don't end up in the finished engine. Tanks.
Craig.

The level of rust may dictate a solution. There are products & a variety of methods that dissolve rust & could be a reasonable solution. Pictures help.

Sand blasting can both heat and peen sheet metal. Peening can set up stresses in sheet metal and cause distortion.

Regardless of how you clean it, the crud trapped under the baffle over the drain plug cannot be cleaned very well without removing the baffle and reinstalling it. Comments on warping the pan with vigorous sand blasting is good advice but a gentile glass beading is far less detrimental.
Coating with glyptal or other insulating varnish after blasting is good advise as well. Most pans need a visit to a pan jig regardless of how they are cleaned or prepped. Don't coat the pan before having it straightened as heat is often required as part of the straightening process and that will burn off any coatings.

Have you considered soda blasting. All the soda would wash out with water. You might see if there is anyone in your area doing dry ice blasting. I've heard it works very well with no residue what so ever.

Check with your local sand blasters to see what they recommend. I agree with the above posters about NOT using SAND as it WILL get caught in every nook and cranny, coming out when you do NOT want it to. For reasons known only to God and Henry, babbit has an affinity for sand like a magnet to steel.

I have had amazing results with a rusty motorcycle tank by using plain old white vinegar from costco. A couple of days with that, and there was zero rust left.
Cheers.

Yes. When I overhauled my engine in 2010, after thoroughly cleaning my disassembled engine, removing all oil residue, dirt and traces of rust, I brush painted Glyptal on the interior of the block, interior of the hogshead and the interior of the oil pan and according to the instructions, baked it on for several hours in an oven. The Glyptal is still there doing the job I intended it to do. Helps the oil to flow off of the interior walls, prevents the oil sludge from sticking to the walls and brightens the interior of the engine, making it easier to see what you are working on. Coating engine interiors with Glyptal was very common among the forum members years ago and I am surprised more of the old timers here have not spoken up about it. I think it was also common in the racing industry. Jim Patrick

PS. DO NOT PAINT OVER RUST. It should ALWAYS be removed whether painting or not. I use muriatic acid to remove rust and after all the rust is removed down to the bare white metal, I thoroughly neutralize with a strong solution of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda).

Thanks everyone. I'm thinking I have the cart before the horse as the pan has not been on the anvil yet. And it will most definitely need to be
as I noticed the wishbone mount is bent as if someone pulled hard on the front axle. This pan may not be usable if it is twisted??? I'm reminded
that everything needs to be check multiple times to make sure its ready to use.
James neat oven mod. Bill a guy I worked with knew I had worked on a powder coating oven asked how to make a oven for doing small parts.
I suggested he by a oven from the used appliance store. He came home with a old bakery oven that was very large for the same price as a
regular kitchen oven.
Craig.