Simple Green and my poor carburetor

[PATMAN750]

I decided this past weekend that I would do a seriously cleaning and rebuild of my carburetors. I heard from other forums of the wonders of simple green. 50% water, 50% Simple Green, 24 hours and your carbs will look like new....or that's what they said.

All my castings came out blackened. Oxidized to all hell I presume. It's maybe not so easy to see the effects in these pictures, but just to give you an idea.

Before, it looked like this. A little corrosion, dirt, etc.

And after the soak: They are blackened, the surface is rougher.

So here is my question to you all, what can I do now? From what I gather, I can soda blast it, I can spend a month polishing it, and I can throw it away. Is the carburetor ruined? Can I reasonably savage my poor carb from my ignorance?

 

[Tim]

I've never heard of a diluted Simple Green soak. Wouldn't think that would do any good at all.

Lots of folks swear by good old Pine Sol - the original no-nonsense version. Not the lemon flavored stuff etc.

Soak in that for a bit, especially warmed up on a hot plate (not boiling) and you'll have better results.

 

[rockcitycafe]

I use simple green (the green not orange) in my ultrasonic but am religious about NOT leaving anything in it for more than an hour, it will do that to the metal otherwise

 

[mattfeet]

+1 for Pine Sol. And it MUST be the original scent!

 

[PATMAN750]

The non-casting parts in the solution, fasteners, some brass bits, and machined aluminum, do look brand new. The solution did a wondrous job. Better than a pin-sol soak I was tried, original sent of course.

 

[kopcicle]

http://www.henkelna.com/industrial/alodine-ec2-7144.htm#id7191

Get past the corporate language and do a bit of web sniffing you'll find it all comes from here. Soda blast and rinse , follow the directions and be happy .

~kop

 

[surffly]

Yep, simple green turns parts that color.

 

[AlphaDogChoppers]

From the Simple Green Web site:

Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green® on aluminum?

When used with caution and according to the instructions, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner has been safely and successfully used to clean aluminum. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Crystal Simple Green® Cleaner/Degreaser, Simple Green Pressure Washer Concentrates, and Pro Series™ Simple Green® Automotive Cleaner have been 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 All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times for 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® product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

As with any product, a lot of grief can be avoided by reading the label.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Ya know.... if a guy wanted a cheap anodized look... and could figure out how to make it look more uniform.... Hmmmm, I wonder.

 

[ZeMoto]

I use the generic green degreaser all the time for cleaning with no problems. but never let then soak for too long.

 

[Rich Ard]

Re: Re: Simple Green and my poor carburetor

Ya know.... if a guy wanted a cheap anodized look... and could figure out how to make it look more uniform.... Hmmmm, I wonder.

And if you leave it in long enough, you could "anodize" a hole straight through the parts - that equals weight savings!

 

[JRK5892]

personally i would either soda blast it, or you can boil it in lemon juice. the carb dip the sell works good as well but after you have cleaned a few sets it gets pretty nasty, and the smell is horrid... boil in lemon juice is still the best route i have found, blow it out with soem carb clean spray, drop your jets and crap in the bottom of the pot when you boil it. may help with the discolor on the carbs but i dont know for sure, but it will do well to clean those suckers!

 

[noexit]

Soda blasting will clean that up and make it look like new. Simple green works pretty well as a degreaser, but will discolor like you experienced.

 

[kieferocks]

personally i would either soda blast it, or you can boil it in lemon juice. the carb dip the sell works good as well but after you have cleaned a few sets it gets pretty nasty, and the smell is horrid... boil in lemon juice is still the best route i have found, blow it out with soem carb clean spray, drop your jets and crap in the bottom of the pot when you boil it. may help with the discolor on the carbs but i dont know for sure, but it will do well to clean those suckers!

I went with the lemon juice routine and it ended up corroding my carb so badly I couldn't thread the throttle cable cap back on. The threads were just about gone. IIRC it only took 20 mins or so to do the damage. I've had really good results with just super hot water with some mild soap and a soft scrub brush or two.

 

[JRK5892]

wow! never heard that before! that is good to know i usually let them boil and walk away to do ther stuff, now i know to stay over the top!

 

[CafeRacer650]

Depending on the part, I will sometimes use straight up simple green. Most of the time it's slightly diluted. I swear by the stuff. Works great! I've never had anything discolored yet anyway.

 

[jsharpphoto]

how long do you let the carbs sit in boiling lemon juice?

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I went with the lemon juice routine and it ended up corroding my carb so badly I couldn't thread the throttle cable cap back on. The threads were just about gone. IIRC it only took 20 mins or so to do the damage. I've had really good results with just super hot water with some mild soap and a soft scrub brush or two.

wow! never heard that before! that is good to know i usually let them boil and walk away to do ther stuff, now i know to stay over the top!

how long do you let the carbs sit in boiling lemon juice?

I have used Lemon juice more than once with excellent results BUT I also diluted it with DISTILLED water as I had read here, I think it was on the $50 Mod Thread. I used a coffee can out on the grill, put the carb body in, added about a cup of lemon juice and then topped it off with enough distilled water to cover it about an inch or two. left it to boil about 30-45 minutes.

 

[JRK5892]

^- 100% how i do it... i think i may have done that write up actually hahaha

 

[JRK5892]

i use a small camping stove outside when i boil mine