Parts Cleaning

[st@rk]

Perhaps not everyone's topic to get excited about, but I'm wondering how you guys (in particular the restoration guys) clean your car or machinery parts?

Generally for projects I strip every single item down, section by section, then clean by using a mixture of car cleaning brushes, paint brushes and petrol, paraffin, Swarfega Jizer or hot soapy water before bagging / boxing / crating for storage until I need the parts again.

The problem is that this doesn't always get parts properly clean despite sometimes soaking in the liquids or corrosion eating chemicals and I think the next step I need to take is either a proper parts washer / blasting (bead, grit etc) or acid dipping.

Whats everyone's experience with proper parts cleaning cabinets? Are they any different to what I'm doing already with tray / basins of cleaner and hand brushes?

What do machine shops use to clean old engines etc before modifying them?

I've heard mixed reviews about acid dipping - that it can deteriorate the items you're trying to save, so not sure if this is a route I want to go down yet, which leaves the blasting, although from a friends experience he's taken a long time to understand when to use certain media on different parts etc.

Any advice or experience is greatly appreciated!

 

[930dreamer]

I use a blast cabinet after the oil/grease is removed.

 

[Steinmetz]

PM sent.

 

[bobcatdan]

Kerosene. I filled my parts washer with because compared to "parts washer" fluid, its cheap. Also generations know the stuff works. Working on old tractors or newer equipment, I'm perfectly happy with its cleaning ability. For portable decreasing, diesel fuel in a sureshot.

 

[dodge610]

Parts cleaner and then once dry put in my beadblast cabinet to make it look new again.

 

[larry4406]

PM sent.

I guess no helping us others?

 

[Ponchoguy]

Depends on the part: Simple Green, Citrus Degreaser, good ole Gunk EB1 Engine Brite, a blast cabinet, Safe-T-Clean, etc, etc.

 

[dodge610]

I us a 50/50mix of simple green and citrus degreaser. One ugly color but it does the trick and is easy on the hands. I cant wear gloves and work drives me bonkers I gotta be able to feel what I am working on.

 

[st@rk]

Thanks for all the replies!

When you blast the parts, what are you using? Soda? Grit? I've heard of people using walnut shells on cylinder heads and gearbox casings; is soda not suitable for this?

 

[dodge610]

Walnut shell glass bead never tried soda I know soda is only good for a one time use. I mostly ue glass bead and aluminum oxide for 95% of my stuff.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Parts washers are all right but if you aren't going to finish the metal immediately afterwards then you'll simply invite more oxidation and rust. (Layers of paint, grease and grunge protect the metal too.) On most stuff I use Awesome Cleaner or Dawn dish liquid to get the majority of the nastiness off.

Once the parts are clean, they get deburred to perfection and then into my blast cabinet. I prefer Black Beauty slag in fine grit for most everything. Finer media (i.e., walnut shells, glass bead, etc.) is good for light paint removal and surface rust but if you've got multiple layers of paint, serious rust and/or pitting, you'll want something more aggressive to save wear and tear on your compressor. Keep an eye on the psi and adjust it down a bit for aluminum and softer metals as needed.

From a personal standpoint, I've had my old Barracuda Fastback almost 25 years. For a lot of that time, a lot of its parts lived in baggies and boxes. After a few years, the "permanent marker" writing wore off and some baggies ripped so there were a few mysteries LOL. But if I had to do it again, every high-quality baggie would have a piece of paper inside with the contents list written in pen. A complete computer zip drive of every exploded view and "before" picture would also be in there somewhere.

Good luck! Keep us posted on whatever you're gonna be working on.

 

[dodge610]

Parts washers are all right but if you aren't going to finish the metal immediately afterwards then you'll simply invite more oxidation and rust. (Layers of paint, grease and grunge protect the metal too.) On most stuff I use Awesome Cleaner or Dawn dish liquid to get the majority of the nastiness off.

Once the parts are clean, they get deburred to perfection and then into my blast cabinet. I prefer Black Beauty slag in fine grit for most everything. Finer media (i.e., walnut shells, glass bead, etc.) is good for light paint removal and surface rust but if you've got multiple layers of paint, serious rust and/or pitting, you'll want something more aggressive to save wear and tear on your compressor. Keep an eye on the psi and adjust it down a bit for aluminum and softer metals as needed.

From a personal standpoint, I've had my old Barracuda Fastback almost 25 years. For a lot of that time, a lot of its parts lived in baggies and boxes. After a few years, the "permanent marker" writing wore off and some baggies ripped so there were a few mysteries LOL. But if I had to do it again, every high-quality baggie would have a piece of paper inside with the contents list written in pen. A complete computer zip drive of every exploded view and "before" picture would also be in there somewhere.

Good luck! Keep us posted on whatever you're gonna be working on.

That sounds like what I am going thru with my dart right now cudachick. Of course it was a basket case from the get go.

 

[CudaChick1968]

So was mine ... but wow what an adventure!

 

[dodge610]

Yes mam that is just about what i have going on box after box.

 

[Ponchoguy]

Yes mam that is just about what i have going on box after box.

I rebuilt an Ariens snowblower like that, bags of bolts and parts, marked for months at a time. I did have a limit though---no car parts in the house. The only ones I do have inside are in a back room and are GM NOS, and one piece of window glass. Everything else is in the garage.....

 

[ZRX61]

What do machine shops use to clean old engines etc before modifying them?

Hot tanking.
It removes grease, oil, paint etc. Owing to the heat once the parts are rinsed they are pretty much dry.
Bit spendy for a home set up, but for small parts you can use a big stainless steel pot with water & laundry detergent on the stove. (or use a turkey deep fryer) Bring it to the boil & then simmer for 30-60 minutes... maybe longer if needed.
The machines are about the size of a commercial grade fridge/freezer. I've seen a couple of huge ones that will take aircraft engines.

http://www.tooltopia.com/bendpak-51...scplp6809878&gclid=CP6N5IOAzsgCFU5qfgodLNUDFQ

 

[Dave455]

It all depends on what you are trying to clean off!

If it's a vehicle part, and you're mainly cleaning old grease and oil, then a good scrub down with 'Gunk' (readily available in U.K. not sure about U.S.) leave it for a half hour then hose off works fine!

For accumulated dirt, such as old machine tools, I've yet to find anything better than Autoglym machine cleaner!

If it's rust, then It get's a few days in a boric acid solution. This removes all the rust and leaves the remainder undamaged! If you've never used this, don't think of it as an acid corroding the steel, it doesn't work that way, it only eats the iron oxide! I've always got a container of this on the go somewhere in the workshop!

For small parts, paraffin (kerosene) and a small brush are hard to beat, but yes, those parts washers look like a much better alternative!

If you go to any restoration specialist or engine shop, certainly those local to me, they all have industrial parts washers. These are like a huge dishwasher that you can fit an engine block into. They use a hot process then dry the parts afterwards! Awesomely effective but probably costly!

Of course, if you've got something like a light to clean, waiting till the missus is out and using the dishwasher works really well!

 

[ZRX61]

If it's a vehicle part, and you're mainly cleaning old grease and oil, then a good scrub down with 'Gunk' (readily available in U.K. not sure about U.S.)

We get both Gunk (regular) & Gunk SC (Super Concentrate)

 

[PFSard]

If it's rust, then It get's a few days in a boric acid solution. This removes all the rust and leaves the remainder undamaged! If you've never used this, don't think of it as an acid corroding the steel, it doesn't work that way, it only eats the iron oxide! I've always got a container of this on the go somewhere in the workshop!

Can you elaborate on "boric acid solution"? Does the basic ingredient come in powder form? Do you mix with water? What proportions? Where did you buy it?

TIA
Paul

 

[Dave455]

Well, I ordered a kilo of Boric acid powder from a local chemists. It wasn't expensive.

For de rusting I have a 4 gallon plastic barrel with the lid cut off.

To start I half filled it with warm water (helps the powder to dissolve) then just chuck in a handful of the powder and give it a stir! Then repeat. When you get to the stage when no more will dissolve (about 5 good handfulls) then you have a concentrated solution and you are good to go!

Just chuck whatever you have in the barrel, and wait a few days. If you can leave it somewhere warmer it works faster.

If there is any rust, then the solution will eat away at that, leaving bare metal underneath! Now, what it can't do, of course, is put metal back on, so if you have something deeply pitted it will stay that way. It's great for intricate shapes though, and also for parts that are seized together!

If you get something that is really bad, then a soak for a couple if days, followed by a rub over with a scotch pad to shift all the loose crud, followed by a further soak works well!

 

[fatfillup]

Hot water pressure washer, aqueous parts washing cabinet, scotch brite and penetrating oil, wire wheel, scraper, various brushes. Don't have a working sand blaster set up but that would be in the mix also. Oh, almost forgot, brake clean

 

[WoodsTruck]

I'm tempted to buy an UltraSonic cleaner for small parts like carburetors.

Any suggestions?

 

[Steinmetz]

I'm tempted to buy an UltraSonic cleaner for small parts like carburetors.

Any suggestions?

HF. Cheap, reasonably durable. Use it up, then buy a new one. Might even want to opt for their 1-yr. replacement swindle. During a project having a period of very heavy ultrasonic cleaning, I went through three of them under the 1-yr coverage plan. I just wore them out. Three for the low cost of one.

And they all gave reasonable service.

 

[Steinmetz]

Well, I ordered a kilo of Boric acid powder from a local chemists. It wasn't expensive.

For de rusting I have a 4 gallon plastic barrel with the lid cut off.

To start I half filled it with warm water (helps the powder to dissolve) then just chuck in a handful of the powder and give it a stir! Then repeat. When you get to the stage when no more will dissolve (about 5 good handfulls) then you have a concentrated solution and you are good to go!

Just chuck whatever you have in the barrel, and wait a few days. If you can leave it somewhere warmer it works faster.

If there is any rust, then the solution will eat away at that, leaving bare metal underneath! Now, what it can't do, of course, is put metal back on, so if you have something deeply pitted it will stay that way. It's great for intricate shapes though, and also for parts that are seized together!

If you get something that is really bad, then a soak for a couple if days, followed by a rub over with a scotch pad to shift all the loose crud, followed by a further soak works well!

The majick elixir! Also reduces the neutron flux in atomic reactors!

 

[zmotorsports]

For greasy or oily parts I scrape off as much as I can before it ever goes into my solvent tank. There it gets a good cleaning.

On parts that will be painted, they then go to the blasting cabinet.

Thanks for all the replies!

When you blast the parts, what are you using? Soda? Grit? I've heard of people using walnut shells on cylinder heads and gearbox casings; is soda not suitable for this?

I use crushed glass that I get from a local vendor. Comes in 50 pound bags and use 25 pounds at a time. Usually I go through a bag every other year if I am consciencious about cleaning as thoroughly as possible before they get anywhere near the cabinet.

Mike.

 

[lilredex]

Make up a basket like this, and use your HP washer...hot water is best.


Used to work at an engine rebuilding plant and they reused everything, the bolts went into a similar basket and were met with a steam hose after being hot tanked. All parts came out looking like new.

 

[bczygan]

PM sent.

If you have good info, please share...

 

[nes999]

I use a HF ultrasonic cleaner filled with simple green for carbs, a parts washer with whatever safety kleen puts in it. If it's something I plain to refinish then I hit it with glass beads in a blast cabinet only because I get it for free.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[2oolhound]

Thanks for all the replies!

When you blast the parts, what are you using? Soda? Grit? I've heard of people using walnut shells on cylinder heads and gearbox casings; is soda not suitable for this?

The main reason is soda and walnut shells do not present contamination problems like glass bead or alu-oxide type abrasives. Most hard abrasives penetrate and lodge into the surface of the porous metals and then come out in the oil later passing through main bearings, wrist pins, rod bearings etc. This is why any engine internals use the softer media.

The only thing you can do if the wrong abrasives were used on these parts is paint the internal surfaces with special paint but this is a pita on frequently rebuilt racing and high performance engines.

 

[organ]

If you have good info, please share...

PM sent.

 

[damiansd]

Once clean how do you keep oxidation away