Engine Clean Up

Hello all. I've just aquired a KZ650 LTD from my brother. It has in fact spent the past few years in a barn. At this point it would be easier to say was hasn't rusted and corroded. Rust on steel I can handle. Engine corrosion I want some advice. What is the best way to get the corrosion off of an engine. From looks every surface has corrosion on it. I don't expect a magic spray on but any chemicals that would help in the nooks and crannies would be great help.

Thakns in advance.

Degrease with Gunk or any of the other standard grease cutters. Myself, I prefer generic brake cleaner - if you can handle the smell, it's the best stuff for the least money.

To break up aluminum oxides, get yourself a bottle of generic ammonia-based glass cleaner. If you want to up the strength, get a bottle of laundry ammonia and up the concentration to %10 or so.

CAUTION: DO NOT GET BLEACH ANYWHERE NEAR AMMONIA.

A die grinder or a dremel tool with oversized collet and a selection various-sized *SOFT* wire brushes. Spray the glass cleaner on to the aluminum and wire-wheel to your heart's content.

You'll want to mask/cover parts of the bike you don't want nicked up, wear goggles, gloves and a jacket ain't a bad idea - those little wires come loose and stick like porky-pine quills...

Thanks.

Awger6r wrote:

Thanks.

You're totally welcome.

Take your time, do the setup work, be patient. You'll get out of it what you put into it.

There's another thread on a similar topic - might want to give that a gander as well:

kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...w/catid,6/id,104744/

Post edited by: Pterosaur, at: 2007/01/11 18:53

steel wool works well too

77KZ650 wrote:

steel wool works well too

True enough, it do. But I have this horrible slant towards labor-saving methods...

However, if you're long on patience and elbow grease and short on power tools, get yourself a set of ...

...these:

...long needlenose pliers - $10 or so at the usual AutoUniverse(tm) chain store, wad up a small ball of fine steel wool, soak it in the glass cleaner/mix and have at it.

The long needlenose give you enough room to get a two-handed grip - you'll need it - and are narrow enough to get 'tween the fins and into various nooks 'n crannies...

Addendum: Also, if your arms haven't fallen off by the time you get done with the steel wool and are looking for yet more masochistic finger/forearm exercises, get yourself a can of the "wadding" type metal polish and repeat the entire process with a small ball of wadding gripped in the nose of the needles, as it were.

Guaranteed to give you the "Popeye" look in a weekend or less! :woohoo:

Post edited by: Pterosaur, at: 2007/01/11 19:29

I'm definately taking my time. At first I figured get it running and use as a daily runner instead of my zx-6r. Now that's I've really looked at it I see something in the wings waiting to be revived. Classic old bike and all.
Already have the needle nose pliers and just so happens got a rotary tool for Christmas. Figure reach as much as I can with power and go for Popeye power for tight spots.

Thanks again

try some of that spray on aluminum wheel cleaner stuff if you just want it clean,you can always rub on it later to polish it up when you feel ambitious. be carefull though polishing can be habit forming !

Thought I throw this out there, as I am doing much the same thing. I tried a .38 caliber brass brush on a gun cleaning rod, and it gets into the fins on the twin pretty tightly (might have to find a .32!). I will add the glass cleaner and see how that goes. Thanks for the tip!