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I have been watching some of the thread here, and seeing a lot of motors being painted. How do you clean it up first, especially if it's all assembled?
Thirty years of grime, dust, and general road dirt can really get into the nooks in these buggers.
Engine degreaser and powerwasher? I did that on my wife's rabbit when we replaced the trans, and it made a world of difference. But, now it's winter and the water freezes too easily to the motor.
Ok, so some aggressive engine cleaner, in the bathtub? Frankly, I am not certain I could get mine up the stairs without a handcart.
I do have a utility tub in the basement, and an unfinished shower.
I prefer the "gunk" brand and an assortment of nylon bristle brushes, scrub the weewee out of every nook and cranny, then finish with simple green cleaner. If it's gonna sit for a while before painting I do a light mist of WD40 just to keep down the surface rust on the steel parts.
i sealed up the motor really well... then took it to the power washer bay (the kind with doors on either side) i soaked the motor with GUNK for 1/2 hour sat in the truck and watched TV... then i hit it with the power washer (from a distance so i did not force water where it did not belong) took the motor home put it in the tub and used every kind of brush, scrubber, and rags i could... more gunk... then i used simple green soak the motor with that and scrubbed some more... finished up wiht dish soap... took it to the garage... hit the motor with wire wheels, again to the tub... dish soap... back to the garage... metal etcher (home depot) back to the tub... Getting a KILLER back and trap work out at this point... dish soap... to the garage... wiped the motor down wiht denatured alchole and prep, tack cloth... laid down my primer and paint... took about 5 days to do in all but wiht paint you get what you put into it
ha ha ha ha, no more MMA for this guy... all though college i used to fight but now I can not go into the office after banging in the ring... i now train in spinal manipulation, shaolin Kempo, a form of Kung fu, Salat, and a have some training in Jujitsu... i am blessed to be able to work with hall of famer Rodney Childs every wednesday, and hope someday to teach his version of Kempo.... just awesome
Had you nearly to a T there didn't I Joe?
Since we are sharing so much, I am the type of person who would do well to stay well away from the ring. Defective from the start, rock climbing and snowboarding is about as close to extreme exertion as I get. A good buddy of mine has in the past trained in some martial arts, though I couldn't tell you what. Jiu Jitsu, I think? Maybe he will chime in, he's lurking here somewhere.
Back on topic though, we are in for some warmish weather this weekend, unfortunately I will be snowboarding. If, for some reason, it gets canned I will be at the car wash, taking some of your advice.
Alot of people may freak out on this suggestion, but a friend of mine has recently used this method on his projects with excellent results...
One of the best ways to clean grease and grime off of a motor that "IS GOING TO BE REPAINTED" is diluted muratic acid. It will clean the hell out of aluminum but it will discolor it. It will be etched and ready for paint once you've done this but always go with a paint prep solution right before you lay down the paint. As always use your head, it is acid BTW - do it outdoors and use protection (lungs, eyes, skin) and dont get it on anything that you do not want to become discolored or etched.
As far as clean up, use a large catch pan and store it in a container until you can properly dispose of it.
Dentedvw, what kind of climbing do you do? I just started leading trad last year. I got a couple of good climbs in up at Acadia National Park. I'm psyched about this upcoming climbing season.
Wow, good suggestion about the acid. I might give it a shot.
I trad climb mostly, but since I am in Michigan, I have to travel about 8 hours to get to any trad climbing. I will go to Red River Gorge a couple of times per year, probably starting next month.
This has gone completely off the rails, ha ha ha!
The snow mostly all melted, but since we were up anyway, we just hung around a snowmobile festival, where even the ice bike races were cancelled due to too much water on the lake. Too bad too, I was looking forward to that part.
your motor in in the shop anyway so we can get off topic all we want.
i am the lurking friend and i did bjj for a while and arnes before that. i need to get back on the mat soon. im getting the bug again.
we should go to the red asap. hell we could go to Wisconsin and that would be fun too..
I just did this. Seal the exhaust ports and intake ports EXTREMELY well. Then give it a heavy spray with Brake Cleaner--making sure to wipe it off rubber and plastic bits. Then powerwash it. Finally, wipe it down with acetone, and once dry (wait 20 minutes or so), shoot it with a high quality engine paint. Make sure not to touch it with your hands prior to painting it. If you must touch it, wear rubber gloves and wipe the touched area down with acetone afterwards.
I used PJ1 engine paint because it self-corrects so well. It is also supposed to be the best--who knows...
Im starting a new project soon and was planning on sealling up all the ports and such with some teflon plugs then taking the motor in to have it sand blasted. I plan on spraying it with easy off first/ power wash/then sand blast/acetone/paint. The guy at the shop says it can be done without getting any sand in the engine.
JRK is the man for that info, I just take it in, But you can use two layers of metal duct tape on your covers if you dont want them blasted. It takes longer to polish them if you blast them.
Thread jack: has anyone tried the $74 harbor freight blaster? My sand blasting bill is adding up over time.
ooh ya! you can make your own blasting booth for cheap! using the harbor freight set up and your air compressor... do a google search you will find 10000 how to's
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