REpainting an axle

[ttora4runner]

So I might be picking up a different rear axle for my 4runner this week and I'm trying to plan ahead. Any how it will need to be cleaned up some (remove some surface rust) and repainted. Now I've toyed with the idea of sanding it down (by hand, good ol apartment living) and then rattling canning it or using some of that 3m rubberized protection stuff. I've also toyed with the idea of just taking to a body shop and let them deal with the whole repainting issue (price is an issue as well).
Now if I was to do it my self what grit sand paper will I need ( I have some fine/medium/coarse grit left over) and what would you guys recommend for paint. I have some rustolem primer and hammered paint left over from when I did my sliders that I could use or do you guys recommend something else?
On sanding do I go from a coarse down to a fine or is it the other way around.

Thanks guys and if I missed this topic after searching feel free to flame me. I don't burn easily (or spell correctly/use proper grammer).

[Bob98SR5]

ttora,

when i got my spare rear axle for my e-locker retrofit, there was a lot of east coast rust. i used a wire brush on the end of my drill and tried that approach. the results were less than staggering. sooo...my point is, if you try it by hand, you are in it for the long and most unfruitful haul

i ended up spraying it with rustoleum flat black. did the job and have not looked under there since.
bob

[MTL_4runner]

If it is really that rusty and you care how it looks then take it to a place to have them sandblast it clean for you (you can rattle can it after). Don't prep it by hand because like Bob mentioned, it will take forever and it still won't look nearly as good as having it blasted. If you don't care about the rust, just wire brush off the loose stuff and cover the rest in POR-15. It's expensive but it's worth it. The other option is just hitting it with a can of rustoleum (which might be fine too because you won't add much to the rust issue living in AZ).

http://www.por15.com/

[ttora4runner]

It's really not that rusty but I don't want it to look like crap either.
Rattle canning is what going to happen it to. I have a tendence to over think things at times.

[DirToyBoy]

gloss or semi gloss paint is easier to clean than flat....the flat tends to absorb dirt easier making it harder to clean..just something to think about

[Intrepidyota]

Wow...um...it is an axle, it goes under your truck and on top of rocks...you are WAY overthinking this.

I try to clean the rust off all my used parts before I put them in, so I used a wire cup on a 4.5" angle grinder and ground down the rust on the axle, wiped it off, and hit it with some anti rust primer and Rustoleum high performance flat black enamel and threw it in. I live in an apartment so I did it in my driveway. If I didn't have access to a grinder or other power tools I would just hit it with a wire brush, prime it, and paint it. It really isn't that big a deal IMO.

[BruceTS]

I usually like painting my axle after I do a high speed desert run. Why? easy the whole thing gets sandblasted and takes off all the rust and paint.

[04 Rocko Taco]

We used high solid count semi black paint for EVERYTHING at the Mercedes Shop I used to work in, we painted frames, axles, EVERYTHING in this stuff.

[fustercluck]

When I did mine, I used a knotted wire wheel fitted to a 4.5" angle grinder. It was a mess since there was a considerable amount of dirt/oil compound covering it. The wheel cut through rust and grime quickly and I finished it off with the wire cup Intrepid mentioned. Once cleaned I painted the axle with POR15. It is extraterrestrial stuff and behaves differently than paint. It no big deal.

While I sprayed the POR15 with a cup gun, I touched-up with a brush on places I later ground down. Turns out the brushed parts laid as smooth as the sprayed parts (maybe even a little shinier).

I'm with Intrepid, there's no use making a project out of it. Some industrial strength power wire wheeling and POR15 did the trick.

[Intrepidyota]

I'm with Intrepid, there's no use making a project out of it.

WHO SAID THAT?!