Oven cleaner will work cold. I,d put them in the laundry tub. Spray let sit and rinse. If its one of those plastic jobs be careful or you punch a hole in the bottom...... Gas tank repair pudde for the hole. If you are in no rush cleaning vinegar 10% in a container around the same size will take it off with little effort on your part. soak it and poke it every once in awhile till it comes clean
Either one will work as good as anything else. the soaking in vinegar will also clean up any scale in the water jackets. for something small like a head it works good if you're not in a hurry .
But will this stuff eat the carbon build up off the valves?
The main ingredient in oven cleaner is Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda) which is the same chemical used in hot tanks, so yes, it does remove carbon very well. Wear goggles !!
Anyone suggest a place in Toronto or not to distant GTA that will clean up a set of heads? (for cheap)
Got a set to go on my SBC but have a lot of carbon build up on them. ThanX
I'd borrow a valve spring compressor, clean the valves with a bench grinder mounted wire wheel, remove the carbon from the comb chambers and bowl with a screw driver (don't have access to a bead blaster), with the valves out you can assess the guides and the valve seats then install new seals. Put them back together and return the valve spring compressor. Done.
58 Chev never did tell us what year these heads were. If they're older than mid 90's, they're not worth buying the oven cleaner for them. Buy a set of new aluminum heads and be done with it.
The valves and springs are off already. Made my own compressor. My bench grinder is not big enough to use a wire wheel on.
These are pre 73 heads.
There have been some studies done and the dollar store oven cleaner will work just as good as brand name Easy-Off. So for 1.25 a can, I might as well give it a shot.
Just have to borrow one of the wife's Rubbermaid bins that the heads will fit in.
-- Edited by 58Chev on Monday 12th of May 2014 11:21:42 AM
The can will state what chemical is in it. Make sure it says Sodium Hydroxide, and as I said before, wear goggles with this stuff. One drop in your eye and you'll be messed for life.
Get a rubbermaid plastic container large enuf for the heads. Go to no frills and buy a box of washing soda Arm and Hammer washing soda. Mix according to the instructions with water. Put steel or iron bar on the side of the tank deep in the solution. Connect the positive lead of a battery charger or even booster cables of a running vehicle to the bar. Put the head in the solution making sure not to let it touch the iron bar. connect the neg lead to the head and apply power. Should be over 14 volts for good results. (battery charger of decent strength charging a battery can do this or a running vehicle will also do it.) You will notice in minutes bubbles start to pop to the surface from the head. They will swirl in a circle and wind up at the iron bar. In a couple of hours you will have a head cleaned similar to what a hot tank can do. Overnite it will be wonderful. And not toxic. A wise man would remove the big crude first by hand but even if you didn't it will eventually come clean, even the paint will come. When you change heads remove and clean the iron bar first. And DO NOT ALLOW THE IRON BAR TO TOUCH THE HEAD. don
-- Edited by Don on Monday 12th of May 2014 08:48:29 PM
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SR Dragster because old people need to have fun too!
Thanks, That had crossed my mind more then once. Best results so far were when I did a set of absolutely seized valve filthy just removed heads for a Dodge poly build. Since it was for him I told him to hook his truck up to it with booster cables. Two hours later I washed them off and went to work on them. They were as good as Hot tanked would have been and I was able to remove all the seized valves(I spent some time in "the Swamp" at the hot tank when I was training in the Auto Machine shop industry so I am more familiar with that ld method then maybeI would like to be. What you get back at the machine shop is not just hot tanked. There is a bit of elbow grease involved too. This will also sometimes unseize seized engines. Pistons that would not moved can often be easly removed after a treatment. I use a racers Alcohal Blue plastic drum for my tank and can get a whole engine block in it , Even one of my 440s. I have been using this for about 10 years.
don
-- Edited by Don on Tuesday 13th of May 2014 08:12:04 AM
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SR Dragster because old people need to have fun too!
Showing your age Dan Once upon a time back in the dark ages they made pistons of steel. Once you have had the pleasure of removing a rusted stuck blob in a block you are trying to salvage its not soon forgotten.
Showing your age Dan Once upon a time back in the dark ages they made pistons of steel. Once you have had the pleasure of removing a rusted stuck blob in a block you are trying to salvage its not soon forgotten.
I'm not that old !! I also know they were made of cast iron, not steel !!
Just so no one gets the wrong idea, Washing Soda is not caustic soda. It is safe for aluminum but the process removes the rust and frees the pistons. It is a type of household laundry soap. The process is known as reverse electrolysis. Instead of plating a metal on the part you plate the rust grime paint and crude on the iron bar. I put a video up on Youtube a few years ago of it in action. In fact I think it is the one where I used it on a seized block. I forget what I called it but it is one of several I have there under Don225slantsix
don
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SR Dragster because old people need to have fun too!
Just so no one gets the wrong idea, Washing Soda is not caustic soda. It is safe for aluminum but the process removes the rust and frees the pistons. It is a type of household laundry soap. The process is known as reverse electrolysis. Instead of plating a metal on the part you plate the rust grime paint and crude on the iron bar. I put a video up on Youtube a few years ago of it in action. In fact I think it is the one where I used it on a seized block. I forget what I called it but it is one of several I have there under Don225slantsix don
Washing soda is Sodium Carbonate, not to be confused with baking soda which is Sodium Bicarbonate. It is extremely difficult to find, and I finally found some a couple years ago on the discontinued shelf at Loblaw. I use Sodium carbonate as a flux when melting aluminum.
I'm curious to try the electrolysis you mention above, but question how well it would remove dirt and grime. I would think that the Hot tank would super clean the part but leave the rust, and the electrolysis would remove the rust but leave the dirt and grime behind. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in order for electrolysis to work, the material being transmitted must be a conductor.
-- Edited by hemi43 on Tuesday 13th of May 2014 01:24:59 PM
I'm using an old starter because it had dirt, steel, aluminum, paint and plastic. Let's see what happens.
For the rod, I'm using a piece of HRS that I ground down to bare metal. I used approximately 1 cut of "So-Clean" in 2 1/2 gallons of cold water. I tried a 6 amp battery charger, but the voltage drop fell to about 5 volts. I then used my larger battery charger and set it to "BOOST" and I'm up to around 11 1/4 volts. It's now 2:15 PM and will check in an hour to see what happens. If I don't post back, it's because everything blew up !!
-- Edited by hemi43 on Tuesday 13th of May 2014 02:33:45 PM
After reading Don's link, I realized I had the polarity backwards. I switched them and now the part is bubbling like mad which reminded me of the cold beer I had in the fridge. If I don't post back it will be either A) everything blew up, or B) I lost interest in the experiment and decided to kick back and drink all the beers that were in my fridge.
Edit; I decided to put a battery in parallel to the charger mainly because Don's link said not to, but also to increase the voltage. I'm up to around 15 1/2 volts.
-- Edited by hemi43 on Tuesday 13th of May 2014 02:55:15 PM
One thing you need to know about me. I do not express opinions. After almost 50 years in this as a hobby and a profession if something I told you didn't work you didn't follow instructions. If I was unsure or hadn't used it I would say so right up front. Glad you have bubbles. The pos and neg of electricity were originally named backwards. When radio tubes came along (I am also a ham radio operator VE3LYX) it became painfully obvious someone had goofed however we still use the old designations. That is what makes it confusing. However you figured it out on your own. I have never heard of anyone having an explosion. I suppose it is possible if not vented but highly unlikely since the amount of gas from the bubbles is well diluted in any shop. don
Don's link said not to. I said no such thing. I always use a battery pushed by a charger when doing my own. Where did you get that from?
I can see someday you are probably going to get to meet the OTHER Don Dulmage. wuga can explain
-- Edited by Don on Tuesday 13th of May 2014 03:08:39 PM
-- Edited by Don on Tuesday 13th of May 2014 03:10:14 PM
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SR Dragster because old people need to have fun too!
You're obviously reading my post in a negative manner, because I definitely don't doubt what you're telling us, it's just that I've never done this and want to try it out to prove to me what results are expected.
Dan,
With the polarity in the right spots now, the bubbling is a good thing. Just too bad I could not get my hands on the washing soda today, or I'd experimenting when I get home from work.
Dan, With the polarity in the right spots now, the bubbling is a good thing. Just too bad I could not get my hands on the washing soda today, or I'd experimenting when I get home from work.
It seems to be working pretty good !! It's been 35 minutes and will pull the part out in 1/2 hour or so.
Impressive results to remove the rust !! The steel bracket is almost rust free, and the metal bar was totally coated with crud. As suspected, the paint was not touched, nor was any dirt or grease.
58 Chev's link shows a part with the paint removed, but I think this happened because there was rust under the paint. Learned a lot doing this, but IMO I will hot tank parts first to remove grease and paint, then use the electrolysis to remove the rust.
I've used that method also. I buy baking soda at the "Bulk Barn", stick it in the oven for a bit (there's a reason).
But...be very careful, with this process, copper, zinc, brass, will emit extremely dangerous/explosive gasses, never do this in a building, or enclosed area.
I've used that method also. I buy baking soda at the "Bulk Barn", stick it in the oven for a bit (there's a reason).
But...be very careful, with this process, copper, zinc, brass, will emit extremely dangerous/explosive gasses, never do this in a building, or enclosed area.
It does work good, faster then molasses.
Why make Sodium carbonate when you can just buy it??
Knock them apart, then throw them into the shot blaster. Everything will come out looking like new after about a half house. Touch up the valve seat and reassemble. :)