Matrix37495
The Amish Wolfman
What is the best (safest) way to clean gasket surfaces? Anything from thermostat housing to head gasket surfaces....
Cleaning gasket surfaces....
- Thread starter Matrix37495
- Start date
2stroke
Full Access Member
I had a tough one lately, I found a spray called shisel, works like an oven cleaner. maybe it was
2stroke
Full Access Member
sliped on keyboard chisel
Hydro-idi
Full Access Member
I always found acetone to be a great gasket surface cleaner.
I use both mechanical means, and chemical methods and combinations of both....
jaluhn83
Full Access Member
I'm fond of the wire wheel, either a bench grinder, die grinder or electric grinder with a wire cup depending on what you're cleaning. Steel wool / scrubby pads sometimes too. There's also a plastic grit impergated brush thing by 3M that works well for aluminum - softer than a wire brush so no danger of scratching. Bloody expensive though!
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Marine/Home/Products/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S4K7000000_nid=GSHFRHCBS6beRJ5GMFSMV0gl
I'm sure someone will scream about how awful wire brushes are, but the fact is they're not bad, provided you're careful. I've even cleaned aluminum head parting surfaces on engines that have no valve cover gasket just a precision fit surface with no problems - just have to be very very careful!
On a normal steel or cast iron surface you'd have to work pretty hard to actually damage the sealing surface with a wire brush. Just don't sit on one spot for 10 minutes or anything crazy. Now, sanding or any kind of power abrasive is a bad idea. Although, modern head surfacers are basically just a big belt sander...
Then I'll usually use brake cleaner and air to give the part a final cleaning.
I've found that trying to scrape or clean with a solvent takes way too long and doesn't give you a good end result. Just my $0.02 though....
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Marine/Home/Products/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GE3E02LECIE20S4K7000000_nid=GSHFRHCBS6beRJ5GMFSMV0gl
I'm sure someone will scream about how awful wire brushes are, but the fact is they're not bad, provided you're careful. I've even cleaned aluminum head parting surfaces on engines that have no valve cover gasket just a precision fit surface with no problems - just have to be very very careful!
On a normal steel or cast iron surface you'd have to work pretty hard to actually damage the sealing surface with a wire brush. Just don't sit on one spot for 10 minutes or anything crazy. Now, sanding or any kind of power abrasive is a bad idea. Although, modern head surfacers are basically just a big belt sander...
Then I'll usually use brake cleaner and air to give the part a final cleaning.
I've found that trying to scrape or clean with a solvent takes way too long and doesn't give you a good end result. Just my $0.02 though....
Hydro-idi
Full Access Member
Forgot to add....I also like to use one of those brass brush things you put on the end of a drill and then wipe clean with acetone.
icanfixall
Official GMM hand model
Be really careful useing acetone. It will get absorbed thru the skin and settles in the kidneys never to leave them... Not a good thing either. I like useing a single edge razor blade fastened to any of the tools for that. Then a kitchen scotchbrite pad and some aerkroil with it. That will chine any steel for sure. Then some brakeclean but no rag wipeing it off because your likely to leave rag fur on the edges of a new machined surface. If a rag leaves behind some fur then use a map or propane torch to burn off whats left. Thats about as clean as you can get something too... Am I just a little over board on this cleanlynees thing... Yes.. But I'm happy too...
Hydro-idi
Full Access Member
Definately a good thing to know since I use acetone from time to time without gloves and only got one good functioning kidney. Thanks for the helpful information Gary.
icanfixall
Official GMM hand model
Sorry to learn about just one good kidney but there is a good side to this. Depending on when you lost function in the other one usually the working one will make up the differance and function as two once did.. But you have to be less than about 25 years old for it to work.. Maybe a little younger.. Been too many years now since learning bout this. Aceytone is a ruff chemical on our bodys. Fans and gloves are the name of the game working around this stuff.
79jasper
Chickenhawk
I used brake clean and a putty knife to clean the waterpump.
It was stuck on pretty good so I soaked it in brake clean, then with the putty knife it almost came off in one piece.
I've seen some special gasket removing chemicals, just never tried them.
It was stuck on pretty good so I soaked it in brake clean, then with the putty knife it almost came off in one piece.
I've seen some special gasket removing chemicals, just never tried them.
Hydro-idi
Full Access Member
It happened when I was a little tyke. I had hydronephrosis or something along those lines. They left it in there but it's only at about 15% function. If I were the doc, I would have yanked that baby out of there lol. Still gives me problems from time to time. Anyways that's a good safety precaution to know and thanks for sharing.
Hydro-idi
Full Access Member
Forgot about the putty knife. Those things are great for scraping old gaskets off
79jasper
Chickenhawk
I may not have called it the right thing.
It may be a paint scraper. It's metal and old, that's about all I know.
But I know it's the first thing I grab when going to do some sort of gasket work. Hasn't failed me yet.
Matrix37495
The Amish Wolfman
Thanks for all the suggestions. The head gaskets look OE and they're really stuck on there...
