Hi, I guess I got carried away with the progress with the engine and decided to go further with the carbs. I bought an ultrasonic cleaner some days ago and tried it with an organic degreaser with several parts which included some aluminum ones. Everything was going fine... so good that I decided to try the carbs. They didn't need it but since the engine was now looking so good I went carried away. Now, I want to bang my head into the wall.
After this I rinsed them plenty in water several times but the corrosion does not seem to stop. It develops some white powder spots.
Is there anything I can do to fix them? If I rub them with kerosene they get better (not perfect) but my concern is that the corrosion can be in the inside passages as well.
A lot of things will cause this, too strong a setting on the ultrasonic, too long a time in the ultrasonic or chemical dip, the wrong solution, and other things. Looks like you did not remove all the parts either unless you screwed them back in for the pix. You do want to strip the carbs completely to get them adequately cleaned.
Most likely the cause. Some cleaners that are good for the environment are bad for aluminum. Simple Green is one of them.
Yup. I guess the company developed a special kinder-to-aluminum version at Boeing's request, called it Aircraft. The word is Boeing used it for a while, then changed to another company's product. Simple Green and all its copycats (a half dozen can be found at any home improvement store) is extremely high PH, and originally was developed to clean linoleum floor tile! A janitorial product, in other words. Tell you what, it is in fact a very good floor cleaner!
Nils may be along shortly and offer some soda blasting service. I'd pm him if you don't have a full soda set up.
I've used ultra fine glass beads at low pressure but it's really touchy. A bit to much and it surfaces the zinc creating another funny color variation. Or at least it did on some similar vintage Japanese bike carbs. Metallurgist at our lab looked at the pot castings at the time and advised me they were sort of close to aluminum base material, but not really. Lol.
Barry
Last edited by barryadam on Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
In the ultrasonic tank I use crest product hydrocarbon fuel residue cleaner # 16. It works great. I suspect some of the issue may be from not disassembling carbs, different metals in contact with each other may have on tributes to the mess. You should be able to solve it, try soaking in vinegar?
Thanks for the comment. Many learnings. I have been traveling a lot and could not work on it, but made a quick test with a Dremel abrasive wheel ( the one thats like a sponge) and it removes everything leaving a very nice finish. I will go with the Dremel where possible and by hand on difficult to reach areas. Will require some time but thats my penance for being so dumb.
Just to thank everyone that helped... With soda blasting it took 5 minutes to fix the superficial finish of the carbs. Today I got the bike running after a complete rebuild... an exciting moment.
Good to hear, 'migo!! Enjoy the ride. [Incidentally, at my school, nothing is dumb. It's all part of the learning curve, here, at the school of hard knocks and bleeding knuckles. Glad to have you with us. Always ask -- that's how all us others learn, here.] Thanks for the feedback.
NobleHops wrote:Bravo Ramon! Pics (or video) or it didn't happen!
Fair enough... here it goes.
Start
Thats the story for now.
I just did the engine. The frame will have to wait... 12 hours day job + half of time international traveling + family; can't take it any more for the moment or my wife will kick me out of the house.
