i have been saddled with the task of cleaning up about 40 old valve covers and lots of underhood parts for sale. after using pb blaster, mineral spirits, gojo, naptha, ext i am sore of hand and about 10% of the way done. is there anything that will make easy work our of this old baked on carbon and sludge? can i get it by the gallon? anybody?
best stuff for removing baked on carbon?
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For steel parts use oven cleaner / drain cleaner which is lye / sodium hydroxide. I recall soaking oven parts in a lye tank overnight at a place that I worked at as a kid. Hotter lye works better than colder lye. I use to mix up flasks of the stuff in the science lab in school to unclog dorm drains, which it did almost instantly. The stuff is lterally caustic, don't use it on alloy parts, don't drink it, don't get it in your eyes, don't let it sit on your skin, etc., and figure out a safe way to use / store / and dispose of it.
all of these parts have either attached plastic/electronic parts (fuel injectors) or irreplaceable paint on them. (original offenhauser valve covers/intake manifolds) that is what makes it so tough, if it werent for the paint, i would have had them media blasted.
It's going to be extremely difficult to remove the baked on carbon/grease/sludge without removing the paint or hurting the plastic. Did you soak the parts with solvent, or spray them or what? Soaking might help a little. Otherwise you might have to look into some kind of alternative cleaning method like maybe steam or something.
How about trying Mercury outboard 2stroke cleaner? Cannot promise it'll work, but I used it to clean old gun barrels and was impressed. It sprays liquid, then foams. After using other proven gun solvents I'd use that stuff. I'd give it time to work, then clean. I'd get dirty patches I'd never expect to see.
I had clean barrels.
Call any Mercury marine shop, they will know it's name. It was designed to remove/dissolve/eliminate coking in 2 cycle engine top-ends. I believe it to be somewhat friendly to other materials (as carb parts etc...) so it might be worthy of looking at. I understand my post may be way too late to help, but maybe not. This stuff was magic in my uses, I may get more soon.
I had clean barrels.
Call any Mercury marine shop, they will know it's name. It was designed to remove/dissolve/eliminate coking in 2 cycle engine top-ends. I believe it to be somewhat friendly to other materials (as carb parts etc...) so it might be worthy of looking at. I understand my post may be way too late to help, but maybe not. This stuff was magic in my uses, I may get more soon.
LC did wonders to the pistons in my motor when the heads were recently off. I had dribbled some in each cylinder and a friend just started pushing it around with a finger and suddenly asked what the heck it was because the piston was getting clean within a minute of his starting playing around with it. He was just figiting not actually trying to clean till he saw how easily it cleaned.
I am however unsure how this would be on paint.
Isn't the Merc cleaner more or less Seafoam? If so naptha is the major working component.
I am however unsure how this would be on paint.
Isn't the Merc cleaner more or less Seafoam? If so naptha is the major working component.
So is LC better for a piston soak than warmed FP60? i was planning on shooting some with a spray bottle next time i change spark plugs.
How about Seafoam.
I used Seafoam on a carboned up snowmobile power valve, it did nothing! Regular Gummout in the white spray can did much better.
Simple Green or Super Clean (the purple stuff that used to be made by Castrol) + near boiling water.
http://www.superclean.com/index.php
It'll evenually dissolve metal so don't soak parts overnite.
http://www.superclean.com/index.php
It'll evenually dissolve metal so don't soak parts overnite.
MolaKule
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LC20 is tough to beat when it comes to dissolving carbon. And it leaves a nice oil film as well.
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'Easy-Off' foaming oven cleaner.
BULLDOZER Industrial-Strength Cleaner/ Degreaser by Arrow Magnolia International LP. You get that stuff in sizes from 7 gallons and up only.
BULLDOZER Industrial-Strength Cleaner/ Degreaser by Arrow Magnolia International LP. You get that stuff in sizes from 7 gallons and up only.
Simple Green, Easy-Off, etc., are basically lye products. As a teen I worked at a fast food place for awhile, as we'd soak the oven parts in a lye tank overnight to clean the grease and baked on carbon. Later on in college since I had a key to the chem lab I'd mix up strong solutions of sodium hydroxide (basically lye) to clean the hair and soap clogged drains in the dorm, which it did almost instantly. The stuff is hard on aluminum and other soft metals though, so I'd only use it on other people's pistons. The Castrol green engine cleaner pitted some of the aluminum parts on one of the engines when I tried it once, and I only used it the driveway after that as I didn't want a solution like that getting into connectors.
My father-in-law (retired farmer) says that spray ether cleans everything he has ever sprayed it on.
I tried it on my dirty lawnmower and it was EXTREMELY effective...just stay away from the fumes...
I tried it on my dirty lawnmower and it was EXTREMELY effective...just stay away from the fumes...
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