Engine cleaning, is there a cheaper way????

I pulled my ole flathead of of my F1 over the weekend and i need to get her cleaned up before paint.So could someone give me a few pointers on what products to use that would be cheaper than using the high dollar engine degreaser.I am not affraid of a little nor a lot of elbow grease and since were here maybe a few pointers on the painting prosses I am sure i could do a search on the painting but thought i would ask while i am here UPFRONT THANKS

 

go buy a case of cheap carb cleaner

 

maybe wash it off with kerosene after s****ing the big chunkies then finish w carb cleaner a lot of work then flush w good hot soapy water

I use a va***e sandblaster to spray the chemicals and it really blasts off most of the crud and it all lands on the cleaning person, such is life

 

Dollar store oven cleaner, wear gloves. Messy but effective.

 

+1!!!

Very very effective. Get the foaming kind if possible and let it sit on there awhile. Before rinsing it off with a pressure washer. Then repeat the process a couple more times. It will even take some of the old paint with it.

 

Man that stuff will take part of your lungs with it , if your not carefull

 

Engine cleaner will cause alot of flash rust to develop on the bare metal that you will now have. I like O'Reilly store brand engine cleaner $1.99 a can and then car wash. Some manual s****ing of dry grease areas may be needed.

 

Take it to an engine shop that cleans on a daily basis !! It'll suprise you on how reasonable the cost is and how good of a job they will do. And you do know the old saying NEVER ENOUGH TIME TO DO IT RIGHT !! BUT ALWAYS ENOUGH TIME TO DO IT OVER !!

 

G V Gordon's right. Oven Cleaner, and yes, get it at the dollar store, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, ya get the idea.
Keep in mind, if you do go the Carb Cleaner route, that works too, just be sure you get the one that SPRAYS and not the FOAMING one....what a pain in the ***.
Once you got it all clean, then go to Ace Hardware (or Home Depot) and get a can of methylethylketone (known as MEK) and wipe the motor down GOOD.
Most cleaners are PETROLEUM based and as you know, paint doesn't adhere to oil.
MEK is not petrol based and it's what I use to clean stuff before I paint it.
Once it's clean and dry, have at it!

Also, something else you could use instead of MEK is Toluene. It's in a can just like MEK. It's what is in glue that the kids sniff for to get high. And it will get you high, if not then just a headache. BUT the big difference tween MEK and Toluene is that Toluene (pronounced too-lean) will take off PAINT too. So, if there's some old engine paint on the motor after you clean it, that will do the trick as well.
Neither one is very expensive either.

Good Luck and Have Fun!
~Jef

p.s. Engine Pro 5X is right too, if ya wanna toss it in the back of the pickup to take to them, an engine shop will clean it for ya, not charge much, and do it right....plus save you the h***le of doing it yourself.
But me, I wouldn't have any means of gettin an engine to a shop unless I drove it there.

 

I never would have thought about oven cleaner

 

I use super clean in the gallon jug, Cleans like crazy, with little work. Just spray it on and let soak,brush it in and rinse. No harsh chemicals and that mkes it safer...JOHN

 

Thanks for all the great advise fellas.The only thing left to do now is get off my LAZY *** and get with the program

 

Make your wife and/or kids do it...

 

oven cleaner and take to the car wash ,,,,,,, then lacquer thinner or naptha to realy get it clean.......

 

Simple Green or Zep Industrial Purple cleaner. Both products can be had at Home Depot.In a spary bottle full strenth.Spray it on let soak and blast it off with a hot water pressure washer.Mine goes up to 210 degrees and works really well.

 

Keep in mind that oven cleaner is a Caustic Acid. It will also etch your driveway so there will be no denying you were there. Don't breathe the fumes.

 

i buy my degreaser from the grocery store, the no name brad is $6 a gallon and i cut it with water 4 to 1, then i use a potato brush.

 

Just a warning kids. MEK is bad news for your body's innards. I would use this as a last resort and use the protective gear recomended.

 

Another vote for dollar store oven cleaner.Just don't get it on anything you don't want the paint off of.

 

Exactly throw her in back of pick up truck, oven cleaner and trip to car wash, prolly better at night too.
That's when I do mine.

 

To summarize the lesson;
1.Oven Cleaner
2.Water rinse
3.MeK or Toulene rinse/spray
4.Dry off with air hose
5.Paint

 

You might want to get a day laborer do do the dirty work.

 

i use castrol super clean spray it on let it sit for a bit and then pressure wash off. There is no harsh chemicals so it won't damage rubber or plastics and it does a good job of cleaning everthing off. Or if it just a small area Brake Clean works great too

 

I just picked up 3 engines from Engine Pro 5X who cleaned them for me. He has a real fancy race engine shop and has some kind of dishwasher for engines. Calls it a jet wash or something. I don't understand all that "rich guy" talk. He treated me real good on price.

 

$$$$---- Oh hell yes a JET WASHER and it will do wonders for the the hair doo on your toy poodle,"just put in on the FLUFF and PUFF cycle LOL >>>>.

 

Actually, oven cleaner is lye, the opposite of acid. Nasty stuff just the same.

It does work great to degrease stuff.

 

I tried the oven cleaner from the $ store, but it takes several applications and 3 cans, what 'Gunk engine degreaser' with the orange cap can do in just one application and rinsing, using just one can.
Same cost in the end but much less work and time and it doesn't eat paint.

Another thing that works as well and is even cheaper is industrial concentrated liquid dishwashing detergent, like restaurants use.
I have a gallon of this stuff and apply it with a leftover gl***cleaner spray bottle. It takes so little detergent, it'll last me for years.

Soaking either one of those cleaners for 1/2 hour is key. It will break up the most hardened build up eventually. The warmer the outside temp, the quicker it works.
S****ers or metal brushes accelerate this process, if needed.
Then just rinse with water and you have a clean and dry engine.

I had to do a lot of degreasing over the years and found those two methods work best, don't hurt paint, no pressure washing required and just rinse and neutralize with tap water.

 

It DOES cut the grease but carefully take a whiff of the stuff then crack open a jug of hydrochloric acid. Notice any similarities? I consider even diluted hydrochloric acid fairly harsh and they aren't kidding about keeping it off aluminum and paint. I put some brackets in a foil pan and soaked them down with it, the next morning they were pretty clean but there were pin holes in the bottom of the pan and the paint on my work bench was discolored. So be VERY, VERY careful with it.

 

I personally think the most economical way is the old putty knife and wire brush trick to remove as much of the caked on crude as possible before any cleaning solvent or solution is applied. I think the biggest mistake made is to try to rely on a chemicals to eat through a 1/2 inch of sludge and grime. It will take multiple applications at the very least. Once you start washing the top layer of loosened crude off with the hose then you have to wait until it is completely dry for the second application. A waste of time and money.

Start with the putty knife and work your way down to the screwdrivers, wire bushes of ***orted sizes and dental picks. Once you have worked your way down through all of the soft stuff in all those nooks and crannies to the base metal then the de-greasers of your choice can be used to finish the job. If you've done a good job it should only take one application of your de-greaser to get rid of the greasy reidue. I often fill the paint gun with lacquer thinner and give it a final rinse. You can see if anything is still washing off with the thinner which means you have more work to do.

 

Ok, I stand corrected. Thanks Don