engine pitting

Hey all.. Been trying different things to get this engine/fins clean. Tried everything from windex to the last attempt,clr. Worked at first but the next day when it completely dried i guess, it left an even worse calcium build up? Worse than that, as i was using the clr and i can see what was under the crud, it was a faded ass black paint job. So, to do this right im gonna have to pull the motor, get that crud off and repaint it, dont i?
Second, how the heck do i get this clean, what do i use?? Also, nothing got rid of the pitting, little white pock marks all over the engine.(check next post for pic of it) Does this have to be sanded to get rid of them? I think i know the answer, but im so not the detail/bodywork/sanding/painting guy.. Have no patience for that. But if i have to i have to.. Any thoughts?

lets try that pic again..

Annnd the pic of the pitting/pock marks

IMO, the best solution is bead blasting. But you'll need to remove the engine to do that. If you are mainly just concerned with the top end, that is easier to remove and clean than the whole engine.

However, if your engine has a factory paint job, I had been told that bead blasting may not be strong enough to take off factory engine paint. I was told that there is another solution (don't know what they call it) which involves blasting it with a mixture of glass bead and water at high pressure. It was described to me as something that requires very specialized equipment to do, and not a lot of places have it. I didn't look into it any further, so that's all I know.

When I did my top end rebuild on my M2, I used a set of 1100 cyls which were painted black from the factory. They were pretty dirty/ugly. So I blasted them with a standard bead blaster to clean them up as best I could. Couldn't get most of the factory paint off. So I just gave them a fresh coat of black high-temp engine paint. I guess I could have gone with aluminum-colored paint. But decided to keep them black.

Glass beading will clean them, but as stated it needs to be taken apart and cleaning the beads out after is a pain, they get into everything.
What about paint stripper or ez off oven cleaner?

BSKZ650 wrote:

What about paint stripper or ez off oven cleaner?

Paint stripper did nothing for me.

I tried two different kinds: Aircraft Stripper and something supposedly intended specifically for "epoxy" type paints.

Since it's corrosion, you have two options to remove it. Chemical, or Mechanical.

Frankly, chemicals usually suck on corrosion. Only one I've had any luck with on aluminum is CLR. (Calcium, Lime, Rust remover) Rinse the part good afterwards!

As for mechanical, there is sandpaper, (pain in the butt!) beadblasting, (my fav, but it's alot of work), or a brass bristle brush. You may find the brass brush is the simplest and easiest.

Any way you do it, it's a PITA!

Matt in TX

The last thing i tried was the clr, it looked good till the next day, But i didnt rinse it like you said. Would explain why it filmed up again. Didnt do jack for the pitting, came to the conclusion that im gonna have to use the dremel and sand it.. Thats what i was trying to avoid, my budget wont allow for beadblasting, was hoping there would be an easier out, butttttt.. NO!

My son picked up a Acura motor last year and it was really pitted and had a ton of corosion on it. We got a ton of the wire wheel things for the Dremel and went to town. They worked really good. Don't get the Dremel brand because you will have more money in the wire wheels than the bike is worth. :laugh: We went to the local tool outlet store and found them for 50 cents a peice instead of 3 or 4 bucks for the Dremel brand.

Thats exactly what i have to, the 3$ a pop dremel wire wheels.. Gonna have to find a cheaper source.. ironically i have the 10$ walmart dremel imitation..

get some spray on mag wheel cleaner and let it soak and hose it off,might take a couple tries;)

I used oven cleaner before, that stuff works, on caked on oil and grease, not calcium as much. If you want the pain off I have heard stories of brake fluid or even permatex gasket remover. The gasket remover removes paint better than the gaskets.