I am getting close to putting an 8 3/4 under my Challenger.
The housing came with the car but needs to be cleaned of rust and dirt and painted. The axles are still in the housing but the third member is not. What is the best way to clean and prep it to be painted? Should I have it blasted or run a drill and wire brush? Will a little surface rust be a problem? How about the inside, how is that cleaned up? Also Any special prep on the axle shafts before re-use with a rebuilt carrier,new bearings and seals?
Thanks

I just cleaned mine real good, maybe hit the rusty areas with some sandpaper to clean them up. Prime and paint. If you are unsure of the seals now would be the time to replace them. Get a needle for your grease gun and a good quality wheel bearing grease and pack the bearings as that is the only lube they get.

I bought a roller (65 Dart) w a powdercoated 8&3/4 & it does look nice, much better than rattle canned finishes & no comparison to bare cast. Not sure how they prepped it but after seeing it I'd want that quality again

POR-15, or Rust Bullet is good.
Jut dont get it on your hands.

Mine didn't turn out too bad for a spray bomb.

I cleaned mine with heavy duty EZ-Off oven cleaner then painted it with high performance Rustoleum

I blasted mine and epoxy primered it. I am gonna leave it like that now for mock up.Gotta weld on 4 link tabs ect. But I plan on Eastwood chassis black and clear

Just make sure its free of all dirt and grease before you paint it. You could also rhino line it. But what ever you do, it needs to be clean. Surface rust will cause the paint to lift off and spread. If you have the funds, have it blasted. You can put high dollar paint on a crappy prep job and its going to look crappy. You can put cheap paint on a well prepped part and it will look good and last longer. The beauty is in the prep, then the paint.

sandblasted and used rustoleum gloss black on mine

washed inside with ez off oven cleaner and rinsed

clean,repack axle bearings,install new seals while its apart

dont for get to doll it up with lipstick some also

my other one

We had leftover auto paint in black base/clear from our Challenger's tail panel so we painted the 8 3/4 with that. 2 coats of base and 6 coats of clear, it's durable as heck now. ha

Sandblasting gets things so clean, I recommend it when possible. I plugged the vent and went at it, then primed/painted it with urethane car paint. The center section is Eastwood cast iron paint, the nuts are self locking from a local hardware store. Cheap and easy. Before:

After Blasting:

Final Product: