Dino 246 GTS “Oro Kelso” – Clean Up and Prep

We received the car back from Gran Turismo – less the motor – the Dino went through a second de-grease, pressure wash and steam cleaning. This is where we pull all the inner wheel wells and see what’s lurking behind. Low and behold we found a little something. Seems like a mouse chose his new home well and stored up nuts for the winter.

Mouse nest aside, this additional cleaning process is important because we can get in to areas we couldn’t reach with the motor in. It allows for a deeper cleaning. We pulled the gas tanks and pressure washed them so they could be refurbished. After the car went through this phase we spent more than two hours blowing every drop of water out of the nooks and crannies. Then the car went into the spray booth oven where we baked the car to guarantee all the moisture is gone. Following this process, we sprayed a rust encapsulator everywhere – inside doors, inside lower rocker panels, inside quarter panels, and inside front nose.  Then it returned to the spray booth for a final baking.

Now we can address any hidden damage we found and start refurbishing. It’s a great feeling to get this segment done because it’s like having a clean canvas to start your work. We will start with pulling the suspension down and sending it to the powder-coater. The three major parts – front bonnet, engine cover, and deck lid – will need to be sent to the media blaster because of the thick undercoat that was previously applied to the undersides of each of these parts. It has to be removed and it should not be done with a liquid stripper. I find that walnut stripping is the best and most effective way to do this job correctly.