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maury wrote:Soda blast.......... quick, thorough, complete, simple. Grab some at Harborfreight

Don't you need a whole setup for that?

Nah, I used the spot blaster, also from harbor freight. It works wonders on carbs.

Makes a mess and not as fast as a true soda blaster, but works well.

BigBrian27 wrote:

maury wrote:Soda blast.......... quick, thorough, complete, simple. Grab some at Harborfreight

Don't you need a whole setup for that?

Here's what I use with sand, soda, glass. I just go out in the yard (I have a huge back yard), stick it in the bucket and GO !!
Eastwood.com Cost $ 30.00

maury wrote:

BigBrian27 wrote:

maury wrote:Soda blast.......... quick, thorough, complete, simple. Grab some at Harborfreight

Don't you need a whole setup for that?

Here's what I use with sand, soda, glass. I just go out in the yard (I have a huge back yard), stick it in the bucket and GO !!
Eastwood.com Cost $ 30.00

blaster.jpg

Now that's a cool idea!

This is a quote from the Simple Green website:

"Is it safe to use Simple Green on aluminum?

Simple Green products have been successfully and safely used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: Aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green or Crystal Simple Green can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times of All Purpose Simple Green and Crystal Simple Green with unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green/Crystal Simple Green residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation."

Earl43P wrote:This is a quote from the Simple Green website:

"Is it safe to use Simple Green on aluminum?

Simple Green products have been successfully and safely used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: Aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green or Crystal Simple Green can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times of All Purpose Simple Green and Crystal Simple Green with unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green/Crystal Simple Green residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation."

Thank you for posting that. That is good information. I will let it sit for 10 min and hose off.

I have used Gunk SC-II concentrate mixed with diesel fuel and it will cut through any grease. Here is what I started with:
After cleaning and painting:

mcgovern61

That looks awesome! Nice job. What paint did you use?

I'm a fan of diesel/kerosene for the caked on stuff.

BigBrian27 wrote:mcgovern61

That looks awesome! Nice job. What paint did you use?

Duplicolor Aluminum engine paint plus high heat clear.

mcgovern61 wrote:

BigBrian27 wrote:mcgovern61

That looks awesome! Nice job. What paint did you use?

Duplicolor Aluminum engine paint plus high heat clear.

Looks fantastic! How's it holding up?

It held up great for several years.
Then I went and changed the engine color to Duplicolor Iron which I really like. This paint shows off the polished aluminum, chrome bolt heads and and black hoses nicely (IMHO).

Wow that looks awesome!

Now i'm getting all kind of ideas

I started with s100, then soda blasting, the kerosene, bamboo barbecue skewers and a toothbrush. Took a long time, but the new paint is sticking well and I'm pleased with the results if not the time spent. Soda blast wouldn't take off the packed in oily crud. That required scraping with a bamboo stick.

Next time I do any out of bike work on the engine, I want to add to the Iron paint scheme and change the color on some of the accent pieces like the filler cap, stator cover, fuel pump and such to a gun metal. I saw someone do this on another engine and I really like the accents!