Cleaning an engine without stripping

[Z903]

Z903, what did you use to get your engine so clean ??

Used paint stripper to start with - paint on hose off. From there on it just takes time...what seemed like forever, you get to the point where you think, "fork it" I'll strip it all down and take it to the professionals.....from that point on it just seems to get better each time you have a crack at it.
I bought a few different products to try, most were useless, best thing was Sco5chbrite pads and a small stiff artists paint brush with stripper on it to get the last of the black from between fins etc. Then a lot of rubbing with Meguiars aluminium polish, usually using a paddle pop stick with cloth wrapped around it or the brush for the hard to get spots.....which is most of these damn motors.
Lots of black hands, lots of swearing, lots of sweating.....but a shit load of satisfaction in the end, and that's what these builds are all about.

[neilbarrett]

Plenty of options for doing it Andy and people will probably have pros and cons for each process, I have my own small rig for soda or hard media blasting, it was cheaper for me to buy all the gear than sending it off somewhere to someone I did'nt know, plus I can use it again and again.

There are more than likely a lot more options for you to get stuff done in the UK than over here in Ireland and at much more reasonable prices too.

Here are a couple of before and after shots of my motor, sealed it up and did it complete before strip down.

if your doing it regular best of with a set of old covers that dont matter,saves all that masking etc