what ids the best way to clean metal before painting

No mention of the type of metal you are painting? It does make a difference. Pickled would lend the reader to think stainless steel - why paint (8-| .

If oiled, use acetone as a wash down or a detergent degreaser like Grease Lightening. Rinse thoroughly with water, let dry completely and prime.

If rusty do above first then treat with steel metal prep commonly referred to as phos. Comes in purple or blue jug. Follow direction on product of choice, may require additional rinse and dry.

Most carbon steels are primed then painted. Other products are available that offer greater protection or longevity but at higher costs. Depends if you want to do this more than once.

Wait for other responses soon to come.

Good luck

Jim Vrzal Holiday,FL

acrobat-ants wrote:

I believe he means the hot rolled, pickled and oiled mild steel. I normally don't sweat the oil too much. I get "my one" rag and the cheapest paint thinner and wipe it down. If it's rusty I'll spray the phos stuff or wire brush it. Then I put on Rust-Oleum's oil based rusty metal primer. The slight oil left behind by the brief cleaning blends well with the oil primer. I do try to allow a 80% cure before putting into service. When it stops smelling like paint, it's cured. That may take a week or two, YMMV. I learned from going on all day fishing boats that they never stop painting on those things. They do no prep because they don't wait for the old paint to chip or rust before recoating. On land I wait about 5 years then recoat whether it needs it or not. I have thought about powder coating. It's not really that expensive compared to doing it yourself. They sandblast, paint and cure it. You leave the oil and rust for them. The problem for me is getting the half ton of 6' X 8' pieces of fence there and back.