[:@]WHATS A GOOD CLEANER FOR ALUM. TO CLEAN THE OUTSIDE OF A USED ENGINE FOR A NEW MODEL ? I GAVE OVEN CLEANER A WHIRL ONE TIME , CLEANED IT OK , BUT LEFT ALUM. LOOKING GRAY .[:'(]ANY TRIED AND TRUE IDEAS OUT THERE ? JIM

Stick the engine and muffler minus the carb in a crock pot with some prestone antifreeze leave it on low for about 2 to 3[8D] days you won't believe how clean it gets it. Just make sure you don't do it in the house or your house will smell like antifreeze.

And don't cook food in it again after that.

And typing in all caps is considered yelling.

I don't think antifreeze will make the grey go away now, Ally doesn't get on well with caustic things it also doesn't like HCl and H2SO4. THe greyness will probably have to be physically removed, or maybe trough some sort of electrolytic action.

Hello; I use hand cleaner and a toothbrush, it does a good enough job for me. Just don't let the pumice get into the engine. A cold water rinse after you are all done.

Can't mind good info when it comes your way. Don't know how to tell momma that the crockpot ain't no good for human consumption any more , she just may take that personal and then we could be eatin out for A while . Seems rather easy just simmerin somthin for A couple of days in the crockpot with no physical effort on my part , bein its with PRESTONE ANTIFREEZE its gonna be real hard fightin the urge to taste test it to see if its getin close to bein done[:-]. An then it suprises me that someone that uses the name "Barracudahocky" would correct me on typin in caps , like I said , can,t mind good info . As much as I watch hocky I think that name would look better in caps "BARRACUDAHOCKY" . Thanks though , as you can see , I'm learnin HA HA . I'm kinda new to this key board thing[:@]. Thanks everyone for your info , if theres A better way than the crockpot , prestone , and 3 days with minimal effort , please let me know . The thing about pumice getin into the engine sounds A little to abrasive for me . Have A great memorial day weekend Hope the sun is shinin and the wind is not .JIM

3 days in the extreme.... often about 10 hours is more than enough....

[:-]

Any adverse effect antifreeze will do on the inside componets of A 4- stroke ? How would you clean out before starting engine ? Treasure island , almost took A job close by A couple A yrs. back . Real nice area ! Jim

A good crock pot to use would be the one use for heating potpourri. Plug it in and it warms up and stays at a certain temperature which is close to Hi on a slow cooker. Personally , I cleaned my .28 mag twice only using dish detergent and steaming hot water.

You don't want to boil the antifreeze solution. Just hot below boiling temperature. I use the potporri type pot.

On a four stroke, to pull the covers (Backplate, Valve covers, Cam cover on a none Saito engine) and clean. Then you will need to flush it with a lot of thin oil like ATF Dexron/Mercon. Should be OK?

Enjoy,

Jim

At the end of each flying session, when the engine is cooled down, I clean the engine using an old toothbrush and a mixture of Alcohol and Ammonia. I spray the engine with a mixture of about 75%( 70% Isopropy Rubbing Alcohol) and 25% Ammonia. I have been doing this for years, and the fellows in the local flying club comment on how new my engines look. This same solution of 75/25% Alcohol & Ammonia is also used to clean the plane residue from 50/50 castor & synthetic fuel.

I have never had anything work better than "Demon-Clean". I use it on my castor burning off road motorcycles to clean up the combustion chambers when I tear them down, model engines, 2-stroke lawn mowers, and anything that needs baked on crud cleaned off of metal. I have used the anti freeze thing and watched the engine turn gray after it sat in there too long, watched oven cleaner and Z-best eat an engine up when I got busy and forgot about it, leaving it on too long.
Nothing works better than Demon Clean, period, you can leave it on forever and it still washes off with an old toothbrush under warm water without etching the metal or harming the engine in any form. Busts up carbon too, and that is hard to do without eating metal.
The Demon Clean will not reverse the process that harmed your engine, I do not think any chemical would.
This stuff has been around forever, Dave Geirke started the company a long time ago and now Cooperfuels.com ownes it.
Just my two cents.

Thanks...Dr. Nitro for your tip about "Demon-Clean". Sorry...it was my mistake in not really answering the original question of what to use to remove BAKED ON CRUD. As you know, my suggestion of using an Alcohol and Ammonia mixture will do virtually nothing to clean-up baked on crud. My effort is to try and keep the crud off before it builds up.

On a side note, would "Demon-Clean" work to clean-up oil & carbon deposits on a lawn mower SPARK PLUG?
Sure...spark plugs are cheap, but I hate to do another ring job on the mower.

Thanks again!

I agree, I use the antifreeze,, even the used antifreeze I took out of my truck.

Now about that riding in the back of a Fox 4,,, I prefer to ride in the front,, that way I can have all the buttons and switches, but remember don't [:@] with the red guarded switches..

Rubber side down,, fire comes out of the back and the pointy thing goes to the front,, light the fires and kick the tires,, brief on G****. are we having fun.. Jim

Do not use the anti-freeze method on older Enya engines. Even on low, it will darken the aluminum (#5224 Enya .29) Been there, done that. Dave

i did the oven cleaner thing on an old engine and it turned grey[] the only solution was to get the engine beed blasted, now it looks totaly brand new. you just have to block all the screw holes otherwise they will get packed tight with the beeds!. when you guys talk about anti freeze are you talking about ethylene glycole the green stuff?

I have never tried the dishwashing powder or the anti-freeze in the crock pot. But what I have had excellent results over the years was with something you buy in an auto parts store. It's called Aircraft Coating Remover or Aircraft Paint Remover. Over the years different companies have labled it with different names. It's specifically for Aluminum and other metals. In the past I used the Demon Engine cleaner but that stuff was costly for a small can. But with the Coating Remover you get a 32 oz. can for about $11.00. It works great, no greying and all you do is brush or spray it on, wait about 15 minutes and then you just rinse it of with cold water. I got mine in Checker Auto under the name of Tal-Strip II Air

Gregory...How much $$ is the bead blasting and where can I get it done.. Thanks Dave

Art:
Demon Clean will cut carbon. I have a couple motorcycle shops that buy it to do exactly that. Now, for a spark plug, it would probably just be easier (and less expensive) to buy a new plug. If you need to clean the combustion chamber, piston and ring groove, Demon Clean is the answer.

In reply to the person that mentions a striper, that stuff will not cut or chemically remove carbon in the combustion chambers. Watch out for the brass parts also (some sleeves, bushings, con rod bushings, etc...), it may not play well with brass.

Fuelman...Thanks very much for your reply.

I agree, spark plugs are cheap.

Have a great day!

Art G.

Dave the engine I cleaned was an Enya .29. Perhaps it didn't shine as it did in 1969 when I bought it,, but it had varnish covering the entire head and cylinder. Both came out exceptionally clean granted,, perhaps not a chrome finish but to me quite acceptable given the origional condition. When on the plane you can tell it isn't "new",, but neither am I. Besides at 500' I can't see the shine or varnish. I cleaned it due to be cowled and trying to keep it cool. Jim

I just used the Crockpot method and I'm very happy with the results. I left it in the crock pot on low for 8 1/2 hours. Here are the results.

Looks Good. Great Job!

Thanks for the excellent photos.

Art G.

i would love to do this... but where can i get antifreeze when the coldest it gets here is 60 degrees?

I thought all modern water-cooled engines (past 40 years) also used antifreeze to increase the boiling point of the coolant. Maybe a heavy-duty search at new car dealers would help. Maybe you will experiment and discover a better solution for crock-pot cleaning of engines.

Maybe the cleaner in the antifreeze is the real ingredient needed and maybe a diluted solution of radiator cleaner and water would serve the same function.

Bill