Engine Cleaning

What is a good way to clean and polish the motor, As you can semi tell from my original post with pics of my new ride, engine has some corrosion on the outside from sitting. I wanna clean it up best I can and polish, Suggestions?

 

It depends on how much work you want to do. And how pretty you want it to look.

In order to make aluminum really shine it takes time and patience. You won't be done in a day.

You start sanding with about 1000 grit sandpaper. Use mothers polish to see where your at. Then keep sanding, sanding, sanding, and then some more sanding. The polish with mothers to see how much progress you made.

Then move to 1500 grit and sand, sand, sand. Polish to see progress

Then move to 2000. Then polish.

By the time you are finished it will be as good looking as chrome.
It just takes time. Just split the motor into sections and pace youself.

 

That is what i was thinking. Just wanted to know the grits to use. I am also using a dremmel here and there where i can get it. I have some turtle wax polish i use here and there. Mainly removing corrosion and stuff off of it, and just general cleaning of the cooling fins and what not on the motor to make it look like it should. Bike sat for a while.

 

It goes without saying that you both are talking about WET sanding here.
The level of polish you're looking for is not attainable with dry sanding. The higher grits will load right up if used dry.
In fact, if you have a gallon of water that you're dipping your paper in, it helps to even squirt a little dish-washing liquid into the mix for lube and to keep everything clean. Doesn't need to be really sudsy. A good quick squirt will do you.
I dip the paper back in the bucket every few seconds or so. Nice and sloppy wet. Helps you also see the scratches you're removing from the lower numbered paper and progress with the current paper.

If you're asking about general engine cleaning, i've found that if i run the engine till just warm, but not to the point of steam if i splash water on it, just warm to the touch, then liberally spray Simple Green on it and let it sit a couple minutes, the grease, oil and grime will easily spray right off then engine. Simple Green is awesome stuff. Wish i'd invented it.

Enjoy.

 

+1 on the Simple Green! That's stuff works wonders. I just got done cleaning my scoot with it. I spray it on, let it sit for a bit, then rinse off with as hot a water as my hands can stand. Wait for it to dry and start polishing.
I use an old tooth brush to do the fins and cracks/crevises on the engine. If you really want it clean, get a box of Q-tips and a 12 pack of beer! You'll be there a while!

 

Has anyone tried soda blasting to clean a engine? Wonder how it will look.

 

seen many here give soda blasting a thumbs up.

 

Here's how.

 

Nice
How did it look before?

 

It looked like this.

 

Dang wiz that looks great. We gotta look into that Mark.

How abrasive is the soda blast, could you mask off and do it in the frame (sealing intakes of course)

 

Strange stuff, Bill, you can blast the paint from around a car windshield & it won't touch the rubber.
It can be done with mill in the frame, the guy might want a bit extra as it would be more awkward

 

Cool thanks Wiz I need to look into this more..

 

I'll have to look into getting one.

 

Break down this " soda blasting for me" lol.. ( Just remember motor is staying in bike for cleaning, just trying to touch up here and there where I can reach )

 

Basically it is sand blasting with a Bicarbonate soda ash media. Biofriendly so you can do it outside and wash it off. Very dusty though so you need breathing filter.

 

Ahh interesting. I know the motor will not stay clean for long but wanna get some of the crud off it. Make it look alot nicer then it does, for now gonna try the sanding method ( High grit, wetsand ) and polish

 

Actually a bit of maintenance with mothers polish and it stays pretty good.

 

I wax and clean all 3 of my cars regularly ( Wax once every 2 months, wash weekly) Bike would join in the cycle. I grew up showing antiques ( Currently 1968 Firebird ) So i am used to spending hours cleaning and polishing lol.

 

Soda blasting is just like sand blasting , just using baking soda as the abrasive. Typically it will use water to keep the dust down, soda is a fine abrasive and wont pit the base metal like sand will. It will remove dirt , rust and paint, but will leave the base metal untouched. Some dentist use it to clean your teeth. A soda blasting rig can cost 100 to 400$ and up to 1000$

 

I think I would be extremly careful. Wouldn't want that to get into the engine. Wizard's engine looks great. I'm sure he did everything possible to keep the soda out.

 

What is needed to do this "soda blasting"?

 

Something like this
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=65902

and an air pump.

 

I just picked one of those up last week Bill. Got some ab260 soda for it, put the unit together on Saturday and took to it out to the driveway for a test run. I clamped the top of my triple tree to a makeshift sawhorse, turned on the air and.... :cry: it spitted and sputtered for about 10 seconds then all I got was air. :evil:
I checked all my connections, shook the tank and tried again...10 seconds of blasting and then nuthin...when it does deliver the media it works GREAT! But after 30 minutes of messing with pressure settings and feed settings ( On what should have been a 5 minute job) I gave up. Took the thing apart, cleaned everything up and will take it back to HF tomorrow. I know it's not my compressor since I have a 100 gal that delivers 12cfm @90lbs.It may just be a faulty unit, but at this point I think I am going to opt for this unit..
Eastwood Soda/Conventional blaster
That way I have the best of both worlds. Since soda blasting won't remove rust, I'll then be able to hit that with conventional blasting media using the same unit (after I get the soda out of course..).

The only thing i wonder about with soda blasting is whether wiz has noticed any accelerated corroding due to the acidity of the blast media. I have read both pros and cons on whether the soda blasting ,while environmentally friendly, creates other issues with prepping and painting.... Just wondering if there has been any reaction with the non-painted engine.....

p.s. Am I the only one who can't see any of Wizard's pics??!?

 

ok, so the reason that the soday blasting looks so good is that its removing the clearcoat on the aluminum. i was just saying in another post that i would nerver go any other route than chemical again.

Aircraft paint stripper on the aliminum peals the clear off in 5 min leaving you a nice starting point for anything. when you blast you are creating work for your self down the road to pull those pits out by hand.

strip it, and start polishing. you'll be done in 1/4th the time. and it only cost $6 a can.... 1 can is enough to do almost the entire bike.

 

Aircraft stripper is great... Good thing i work for the military fixing Jets.. mwuahahaha.. Just kidding. ( Seriously do fix E/A-18's, electrician of sorts )

 

Actually The engine is mostly painted , I used a cleaner called PURPLE POWER sprayed it on used an electric tooth brush and a brass wire brush to clean it up good, only a few spots to tuchup. I heard that PJ1 makes a great silver paint for engines I have to pick up a can .

 

Mad, you're not the only one who can't see the pictures of Wiz. I can't see em either but I can imagine what they look like. Before: looks like something the dog buried in the backyard and left for dead. After: looks 7.47635 X better than it did when it was new!

 

yeah i cant see the pictures either. can any one tell me where to get that aircraft paint stripper. my engine was at one time black and i want it back to bare aluminum i dont care if it takes everything off the aluminum including the clear, i want to make it shinny then clear coat it again. but i havent been able to get something between the fins to clean this paint off. will this paint stripper remove it without having to rub on it?

 

I also can't see wiz's pics.

After you use the aircraft paint stripper, do you have to apply a clear coat of some kind? If so, a clear coat of what? If not, does it leave your engine more susceptible to corrosion?

 

sorry guys, had to knock out the pictures as I was running out of space, but here they are again.

 

They have high temp engine clearcoat at the parts store to put on after you've taken everything off.

 

anyone notice that was the wrong engine?
here is the Kawa'