fwcole

Anyone have any secrets for removing carbon from disassembled heads?

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TQuentin1

Yea. Three ways. Carefully scrape it off and then gently wire brush, put it in a bead blaster and carefully clean off the deposits, or (much preferred) take it to a machine shop and let them dip it!! Pistons too (without the rings, obviously).

TQ

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fwcole

Dip it in what?

Just a thought, has anyone ever tried oven cleaner? I might try a dab in the exhuast port just in case it has some kind of reaction.

TQuentin1

You might want to try it on some old junk aluminum bar stock or rod to make sure it does not etch the aluminum.

TQ

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fwcole

Thanks for the thoughts TQ, I'll let you know the results.

Ive been conducting an experiment on two old nonuseable heads. One a black sportster head to see what the oven cleaner will do on the black powdercoating.The other is a bare aluminum shovelhead with very heavy carbon deposits.on the black 1.5hrs has past and no signs of damage to the coating.on the shovel, the oven cleaner is quickly disolving the carbon deposits, but seems to be having a reaction with the aluminum that is easily washed away with soap and water. the reaction is not vile however,it just leaves kind of a dark slime. ill give an update on the longterm.

Cleftwynd

I have used oven cleaner for all engine cleaning and deposit removal, but as fwcole stated it wil leave a residue on aluminum that needs to be cleaned off once finished, I either use my pressure washer or warm soapy water and rags/nylon bristle brush to finish.

I also make sure any parts that might rust/corrode are then lightly coated with a light oil as soon and the parts are dry, even if I intend on using that part right away.

The eco-friendly cleaners take a lot longer to dissolve heavy or hard build up than the industrial strength versions, what you use is up to you and the time you are willing to wait, or the applications required to clean it properly.

Jack Klarich

Careful to not knick or gouge the heads, this can cause compression ratio problems if too much material is removed. 3 M makes soft plastic brushes made for air or electric drills for aluminum parts, have been using them for years , they do a good job and dont gouge the aluminum

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fwcole

Well its been roughly five hours now and the black is still black. However the longer the oven cleaner stays on the aluminum the stronger the reaction, as with the carbon.It still comes off with some cleaning but, I would recommend that if anyone tried this on a good part that they take care not to get the cleaner on anything but the carbon. Which means valves and guides need to be removed, and an intensive cleaning afterwards.