gunk wash then spray with windex and wipe with clean poapertowels before paint

Yes, that's very much like Gunk then TSP.

TSP is trisodium phosphate and it's good at removing oily residues, hydrocarbon residues (it saponifies, i.e. makes soap out of them in lay terms). Windex also makes oily residues soluble but with ammonia as the working ingredient.

Both TSP and Windex make the oily residues more water soluble so they wash off. I sometimes use Windex on metal parts, rub them and then rinse with water and dry (heat gun) before spraying.

Brian

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I've always used the strongest, nastiest, heavy duty oven cleaner. It's a tip I got from a local race car fabricator. He swears by the stuff.

Engine cleaner from the Dollar Store works very well for degreasing and is super cheap.
I follow up with acetone to wipe down the block to remove leftover residue.

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windex as final cleanup before paint will stop all fisheyes

Yes, fish eyes are caused by heavier ydrocarbon residues (oil, fingerprint oil, whatever) left on the part. Wiping down with windex, TSP, or light hydrocarbon solvents, e.g. acetone, starting fluid, hexanes, gasoline, paint thinner, etc. will remove the heavier residues. That's why one wipes down a car with "prep" before painting, it's just a very light solvent that evaporates completely.

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