stupid questions (go easy on me)

right, need some answers. feel uncomfortable asking stupid questions as i know a lot of you guys really know your stuff but hey ho.

1. cleaning shit off the underside of my car. the engine and box have leaked oil for god knows how long so the underside of the car is a mess. what's best to clean it off with? i tried a wire brush but it just clogs it and moves the shit around. then used thinners but it just melts it and moves it around. cant afford blasting btw.

2. painting chassis/suspension components. best practice please. again blasting and powder coating is out of the question. i want it to look as good as possible as cheaply as possible. my plan is to remove any shit using the answer to question 1. then removing as much surface rust as possible before using a rust inhibitor (or is this a waste of cash?) then primer then black hammerite. will that do?

3. i'm going through the car a panel at a time and i will go back to bare metal for the most part. Please bear in mind this is definately going to be a hard looking ratter so the finish isnt overly important BUT i only want to paint it once. i am not bothered about it being smooth, far from it but i do want the steel protected. any ideas? current thoughts - bare metal. rust treatment. cold galvanising primer, top coat. will that do?#

thanks peeps

1, break cleaner, it breaks down the oil n stuff and then u can rinse it away or wipe it away.
2, hamerite as a top coat works a treat, ask ian his mini subframe is painted that way
3, sounds good dave

1. Maybe as said brake cleaner and a stiff brush or steam cleaner if you can get your hands on one.

2.Hammerite

3. If its bare metal deffo etch prime it first then use normal primer and top coat, if youve got any filling to do, fill first then etch prime over it

cool thanks. hoping not to use any filler on the job.

so hammerite on the chassis - i've been told to wire brush, degrease then just slap it on as it hast rust inhibitors and will stick to anything. do i believe the hype?

gunna disagree with the hamerite thing as personally i dont think its that good as preffered to bichumen...

bichumen gives a better finish and i think its harder wearing i did paint my subby in hamerite but it chipped to easily so i used bichumen instead and its loads better as the finish is good enuf for bulkheads and looks reasonably good....

bichumen as in underseal?

bichumen as in metal protecting paint but is as good as underseal

im a chef. and at work we have to use a lot of chemical's to clean. some of which are degreasers and are extremely heavey duty, i.e spray on and dirt up to 4-5mm thick drips off. not sure if this will do the trick but if it does then its a very cheap way of doing it