Cleaning out rocker panels??

[matty b]

Hey, today was a big day. I got the front sheet metal off the car along with the engine which means Im gonna start getting the firewall smoothed out and painted. I did however find that my rockers are full of dirt. There are two holes at the front of them and when I stuck my finger in there they were full of nice soft dirt. It feels like potting soil probably from leaves and stuff getting in there and rotting away. Thankfully the metal is in perfect shape but I have absolutely no idea how to clean them out. The access to them is too small for a shop vac and I would like to avoid cutting them open since the metal is in more or less perfect shape. The paint on the firewall and the cowl is original and not a lick of rust so Im gonna just clean and scuff em and paint those 80% semi gloss black, such a huge relief compared to some cars Ive seen. Any input on this or maybe a secret access hole I havent thought of is really needed cause Im not gonna overlook this since I know this is why so many guys end up with rotted rocker panels.