Cleaning (de-oiling) cases

[mogman]

Well I have my Glytal in hand and was wondering what would be the best way to remove the oil from the cases, I was thinking of soaking then for a short time in a mild acid solution, any ideas?
Thanks
Craig

[VT]

wouldn't use acid. drench them in disc brake cleaner spray. only cost about 2.00 a can....use the whole can. Glyptal? New cases (STD or S&S) don't need coating, but the older cases are more porus.

[King]

Hi Craig

I too would veto the acid bath as the acid might be harmfull and in any case will have only a minimum impact on the petroleum products and little pockets of sludge you want to get rid of.

My routine is to do a couple of cleanings in kerosene and then submerge the cases in boiling water to loosen up and float off any remaining product. Then while still warm, drench with acetone, methanol, or as Vintage suggests brake cleaner. Be sure to avoid fumes and ignition sourses during the process.

I know it's a bit anal, but the cases come out clean without a doubt.

King

[Cotten]

I used to swear by Glyptal.

Glyptal didn't change.

But other things did.

OHVs have their carb aimed upward.
If there is any seepage, it goes into the motor.
P4gas eats Glyptal like nearly any other paint.

Bums me out severely.

....Cotten

[mogman]

Cotten, what is P4Gas???, so what do you do just leave the cases bare???

[Cotten]

P4gas is the horribly digestive oxygenated "gasoline" that many areas of the USA must deal with. The digestive component is a valve deposit inhibitor, most often associated with ethanol blends.

It will even shrivel seasoned quality powdercoating, and can make tank liners that have survived for years suddenly melt out like a glob of pig's liver.

Say 'P4gas' real fast a few times, and the origin of the term becomes obvious.

What do I do with cases? Every set is different.
After a mineral spirits scrub, oven bakes seem to draw much of the oil. And I'm a great fan of Simple Green.
But nearly everything goes through at least one of my four blast cabinets.

The traditional reason for coating the inside of cases was to facilitate oil drainage back to the sump, although it helped with inevitable casting porosities as well.
The modern reason for coating the inside of cases is to encapsulate abrasives after blasting. If you can avoid blasting (or use soluble soda) then your only need for a coating would be to seal areas of weld repairs, etc.

I am still unnerved by all of the Glyptal'd projects I have in circulation, but on the bench I now rely on an isocyanate urethane water tower primer (Tnemec's Poly-Ura-Prime Aluminum #530).
I have witnessed a peculiar pastel green epoxy coating that seemed bulletproof as well.

But we live with a shadow hanging over us that perhaps fuels shall get even more destructive (not to mention health hazards we may face!)
The sealer that survives today may not tomorrow.

.....Cotten

[Guest]

Hi Guys,
My first post on this site, so I might as well make it Duesy. After first cleaning with solvent and/or Gunk to get aluminum cases pretty clean, put 'em in the dishwasher! No, wait!, unless your single and live alone, get an old beater dishwasher to hook-up outside or in the shop. You can usually get one cheap or even free if you look around, it will need a hot water supply. Yes I have done this, and for final clean-up it will make cases sparkle, its just like a steam cleaner. I just used regular dish soap.
Doug.

[Jack_Hester]

Doug -

Outstanding idea with the old dishwasher. I use hot soapy water with dish detergent, after I've cleaned in the solvent bath.

Cotten -

I think we're starting to get some of the P4gas here in N.Carolina. I run premium in the bike, and it still runs like 'P'.

Jack

[mmathus]

a hot tank is pretty easy to build and works well with a 50/50 mix of simple green and water. i use an old banquet coffe pot for cylinders and heads. it just needs to be 180 degrees to work well. after a 15 minute soak just use shop air to blow the parts dry.

[Scott McKelvey]

Cotten, Jack or anyone building motors:

Are you still using glyptal (despite the ability to withstand modern fuel), a substitute, or nothing at all? I have a set of '63 cases that are getting ready to get put back together. There's still some of the original material in there, but not alot, and I'm trying to figure out what to do before reassembling.

Thanks in advance.

[Panshovevo]

When I worked at an aircraft engine overhaul facility years ago, we would preclean the cases (2 piece cast aluminum) with mineral spirits and a spray wand. All accessible oil passages were scrubbed with rifle bore brushes, and blown out with the spray wand.
Next came the bead blast cabinet, followed by high pressure air.
Then, home to the dishwasher, dried in an oven, and a final cleaning with mineral spirits, spray wand, and brushes again.

We didn't need to seal the inside.

I would be tempted to experiment with one of the modern self-etching 2 part epoxy primers, such as Vari-thane.