Cleaners

i am trying to clean my motor . i painted it black last year. i used a household cleaner called Spray Nine. it works on other stuff.

It left a white residue.

What are u guys useing? and what kind of brushes? i havent been able to find the perfect brush to get between the fins.

mark1122 wrote:

and what kind of brushes? i havent been able to find the perfect brush to get between the fins.

I use a paint brush (like for painting walls) with soft bristles that are long eneough to reach in.

I generally use engine degreaser which is mostly kerosene. Not sure your painted engine will like that. maybe you could use some of that orange cleaner stuff and not hurt the paint?

Once your engine is painted you're going to have a rough time. Any cleaning most likely will just ruin the paint. I pressure wash mine after spraying degreaser on, then hand polish from there, but that's not going to work after the paint.

anyone else?:whistle:

Ive been having the same problem as you, evrything i used left a white residue that was harder to get off than what i was cleaning. For getting off the grime and grease, degreaser is the way to go. Ruins the paint but your gonna paint it anyway. Other than that, ive found simple warm water and dawn dish soap actually worked the best. Go figure.

My bad, thought you were painting it, but see that your just trying to clean it. Still say soap and water, and for tools try dollar store toothbrushes, (come like 5 in a pack) and i also use fish tank filter brushes, and Q-tips! Im having issues where there is 25 yrs of grit stuck inbetween the fins, i just might try that paintbrush method myself..

If you're just cleaning the bike go to walmart and get a half gallon of Simple Green. It's about $5 and needs to be diluted. A ratio of 10/1 or 15/1 will do the trick.

It's cheap, readily available, and has a lot of uses. Good stuff for the price. It cleaned off my rear wheel lickety split.

I used a stripper called "Aircraft Remover". found it at walmart. sprayed it down in the driveway on piece of plywood. Make sure you tape any exposed rubber like the boots for the carbs. Let it sit about 15 minutes then garden hosed it off. It took a couple of applications but the result was no more paint at all. Unfortunately I still had to go thru the 400,800,1000,2000 grit sandpaper regiment then finish with Hoosier Metal Polish on the side covers.

Post edited by: kzl6060, at: 2008/03/03 08:19

Post edited by: kzl6060, at: 2008/03/03 08:25

If you want a painted engine, rattle can paint isn't very durable unless you cure it. That means in an oven. The paint will do OK on the block and head which get fairly warm but won't stay on the cases or covers well unless cured.

I think that bead blasting with 80 grit glass provides the best cleaning and then powdercoat with a textured paint. The texture hides imperfections in the castings.

here it is while I had sprayed it down.

here it is when close to being done

Painted my engine a few years back and am thinking about going back to factory finish. I know paint can be removed but am afraid it will leave a blackish residue. Looks like the case in pic above. I guess paint gets in the pores? Maybe a second coat of stripper and a brush would do it?

Post edited by: Bluemeanie, at: 2008/03/03 08:47