What is a good engine clearer, especially removing carbon and burnt fuel residue?

There are lots of good ways to do it... I usually drop my engine parts into a very small crock pot with some antifreeze and let it cook on low for a few hours. That does a pretty good job but has to be done outside. I also understand that cats like the smell of antifreeze so you have to keep them clear of it.

Bob

Hi
I have examinned different materials for this goal and most of them worked well. you can use :
1) acetone. first use it with a piece of cloth then use it with a hard tooth brush or better with a brush with very fine metal bristles used for cleaning the tools.
    note if u use toothbrush after an hour the bristles will solve in the acetone so have 2 or 3
2) 2000 thinner again with the same tecnique of acetone
3) chloroform can be used only with metal bristle brush, note it sometimes has a bad effect on some alloys so before using it try it on a very small part of
    your engine crankcase.
4) you can use the following technique only for the aluminum alloy parts of the engine excluding the shaft, bearings, piston and liner
   deassemle the engine and put in boiling water with some detergant in like the powder used in dish washer. take care: NEVER boil the exhaust with other
   parts because the carbon layer inside the muffler detaches the muffler and attaches to other parts and it could never be cleaned. muffler must be first
   completely cleaned from inside with the methods described or even with a soft sandpaper prior to boiling.
   after boiling there might be some remaining stain which could be removed by anti tartar toothpaste and a tooth brush.
5) finally I gained the best results using the intra oral sandblast (air abrasion) used in dentistry, with 50 micron particles of Aluminum oxide. but because of 
   abrasive characteristic of the particles all inner parts of the engine must be sealed to deter sandblast paticles enter inside the engine. after air abrasing
   the engine case you really can not understand the difference between your engine and a new one. this method onlly can be used on outer suface of
   the parts which are not highly polished in the factory.

   Ehsan</p>

The improper use of the ethylene glycol, (anti freeze) will cause the aluminium to turn dark. Plus it is very expensive.

Another method that has proved successfull is the use of the Dawn Power Scrubber. (This stuff is designed to soak pots with cooked on grease over night to be easily cleaned) You can find it at Walmart, Kroger's and other supermarkets.


Disassemble the engine and put the parts (including carburator) in the a pot of hot water with a hefty amount of Dawn. Let sit for several hours. The water does not need to remain hot. I will let my engine sit in the solution over night. Then take a brass parts brush and clean the stains and cooked on castor oil off. It takes a little, very little, elbow grease but the engine comes clean like new.

I lubricate the engine while I re assemble it with Marvel Mystery Oil. I then put the oil engine in a quart sized zip baggy and store it until I need it.

Frank

I concur with everything except the Marvel Mystery Oil. I've never had any good luck with MMO. I've found that it leaves deposits in my engines. I now use Mobil 1 100% synthetic in 0 W 20 weight. It protects well and will not attack silicone parts as used in YS engines.

Jim<br type="_moz" />

Lacquer thinner is excellent. I generally soak all my parts, including bearings ( but not the diagram) in a sonic clearner. Let it run for about one hour, use a compressor air gun and blow every thing completely dry. I next use the Ultra oil from performance specialties and oil everything liberally, store in a ziplock bag
and were are done. Oh while it's in the cleaner, I use a "hard" toothbrush to scrub items clean. Also, I spend with extra time in completely drying out the bearings. Been doing this for years. What ever happen to Zbest engine cleaner.?

Edit. . . . . . .

For cleaning parts I use an SOS pad. Takes everything off and will actually polish the metal parts but will not affect the cast aluminum castings. For bearings, well I usually don't clean them. R/C Bearings.com can supply a set of bearings for just about any engine for around 20.00 shipped so to me it makes sense to just throw in a new set whenever I have an engine apart. If the crank has any rust I use a scotch brite pad that comes with a mandrel so It can be put on a drill.

So here is a GP61 Thunder Tiger I just picked up for almost nothing ( less than $10). In less than an hour it is clean. The head and piston needed another dose of Dawn Power Dissolver. I use a hard nylon bristle brush, NOT a wire brush as that will damage the original aluminum finish. First I applied heat with a heat gun to loosen it up as it was frozen solid. Once taken apart you can see the results.
MK







While waiting for the second soak on the head and piston. Off to the buffer for the crank and liner.



Back together now, all that is left to do is clean the muffler and the carb.



cleaned muffler and carb all ready to run now.

That looks very nice MK! How long do you let is soak in Dawn Power Dissolver?

RG

Here is what Clarance Lee, reknown engine designer and builder , has to say about Marvel Mystery Oil.

http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/showthread.php?t=244268


Clarance Lee probably knows more about model engines that any of us will ever know.

If you want to know about this man and his contributions to the modelling world you can read it here. It's very interesting reading and I think you will thoroughly enjoy it.

http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/lee.htm

Frank

Ralph, Iheat the parts to about 100* then spray liberally with the power dissolvere. Ilet it sit for about 20 to 30mins and then scrub it off with a stiff nylon bristle brush, not a tooth brush. Some parts require a second or maybe a third application to get the stubborn carbon off. 4 strokes are harder when trying to clean the intake and exhuast ports but using qtips and successive applications of the Dawn they too can get very clean.

Here's a Saito Idid for a friend. It was in very bad shape. It needed bearings, conrod, prop hub and gaskets.
MK
Before

After

That's pretty impressive! I'll have to give that a try!

RG

The original model engine cleaner "Zbest", since discontinued. Is nothing more then repackaged Methylene Chloride (aka; Dichloromethane) paint stripper. Klean-Strip Aircraft Paint Remover PN: QAR343 (quart) GAR343 (gallon). I think the best part about that stuff is on the back of the label it says "Not approved for use on aircraft".

Wow, good suggestions. Ok, how do I remove the blue paint on my OS 46LA? I hate that they painted the engine. I bought it used and it looks like crap. Its the oringal paint from OS.

I have to say I have used marvel air tool oil; for 20 years and it is really good stuff. It does not gum up since it is designed as a oil that actually prevents and reduces varnish buildup. Hence the use in air tools. I oil my engines once a year and put them in a baggy(ziplock). I have engines that are now going on 42 years old from my control line days, and they all run fine after storing them with the marvel air tool oil. NOTE air tool oil cannot be used in YS engines and other pump engines as is softens the pump diaphragm.

Actually antifreeze is pretty cheap and the pint or so required can be used a number of times. It will turn aluminum dark if used at too high a temperature and, as mentioned is very toxic and the flavor/odor are attractive to animals and small children. There are instances of AF being used by women to murder their husbands, so be very carefully.

Jess

Ihave used laquer thinner to remove the paint from a Saito GK that was flaking and looked like hell. It took a lot of soaking and scrubbing with a good nylon brush. Not sure about the OS paint? The Saito looked almost new after the paint was removed.
MK

Power Disolver is not used on dish's overnight. Rather you are supposed to soak about 20 minutes. Not real effective either.

Inever tried it on dishes, but it works well on engines.

YOU are correct though about the time, It only needs about 20 to 30 mins otherwise it begins to harden up.

i've had good luck with Berrymans carb and fuel injector cleaner, available at any auto parts store, get 2-3 cans and dump them into a larger resealable metal can, i also have a carb cleaner/agitator that moves the parts back and forth using Berrymans carb dip solution, thats available in 1 gallon cans, awesome stuff for cleaning carbs and etc.

... and if you leave the Power Dissolver on for too long, it could start to mar the finish of the aluminum.... I've noticed that it is getting harder to find, also. I never did that trick with heating it up. But I may try some DCM though.

Just my $.02

Bob