Cleaning an aluminum head
 

What is the best way to remove carbon buildup. The wire brushes I used on the iron heads are too aggressive for the aluminum heads.
Thanks

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

3M makes plastic Roloc discs for cleaning aluminum parts. I think they call them bristle discs and are available in different amount of aggressive according to the color. I tend to use the yellow ones

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

Oven cleaner, Super Clean, Brake cleaner, 100 grit 3M Pro-Pad Hand Sanding Sponge and lots of elbow grease.

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

We used Snap-On (Bluepoint) p/n AC16C wire brushes in our test labs. These brushes would not damage aluminum heads or blocks. The wire diameter is .006" so they are quite soft.

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

Larry--- you might look into using Berrymans Chem Dip-# 0996 carb cleaner--dont soak parts for more than 30-45 minutes at a time and "lightly" brush the carbon with a parts cleaning brush ---then take a shop towel and "dry and rub the carbon" it will come off just takes time depends on how bad it is may have to repeat the procedure multiple times--- Dick

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

I got some Dremel tool wire brushes the steel wire ones last longer than the brass ones. And have some ss steel tooth brushes to use in the runners with brakeclean.

Thanks for all the good ideas.
Common sense in abundance is genius!

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

Carb clean will dissolve the carbon way better than the brake cleaner.

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

On my iron heads, bead blasting them in my blast cabinet with walnut shell media works pretty well in the exhaust ports and the other nooks and crannies, etc. as long as the heads are completely disassembled such that you can wash out all of the media with a garden hose and compressed air when you're done. And I've cleaned other aluminum parts with walnut shells as well and they don't change the surface finish at all so I'm guessing that they would work well and be OK on a cylinder head. But you should probably try it on a non-critical area first and start with a relatively low pressure. And if you are not aware, Harbor Freight has the walnut shell media if you need some.

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

I will shell out some dollars for some shells and some carb cleaner and give it a try.

We have black walnut trees in the yard and to crack the shells it takes a big hammer and safety glasses.

Re: Cleaning an aluminum head
 

I just spit sweet tea outa my nose! Thanks Larry. Jim



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