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Clubroom => Tech Talk => Topic started by: mx250 on September 19, 2007, 03:20:54 pm

Title: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: mx250 on September 19, 2007, 03:20:54 pm
Is there a magical carby cleaner for cleaning the carb alloy/pot metal body?

I have used mag wheel cleaner and elbow grease in the past for good results.

But I read that immersed in auto dish washer powder and water kept at 70c for an hour worked. Just tried it and only moderate success - still crap encased on the inside of the bowl and outside in kinda clean but not bright shiney clean. It a good start but still requires elbow grease and Dremel with brush etc etc.,

Any better suggestions; ultrasonic washers, water blast, vapor blast, bead blast? Or NOS?  ::)

Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Doc on September 19, 2007, 04:21:50 pm
elbow grease is the cheapest. I'm sure there are cleaners out there that will brighten the alloy but usually they are ineffective on the crud encasing the alloy. A blasting method would also work given the correct bead but by the time I ran down to the blasters or stuffed around at auto shops looking for cleaners I could have the job done with a scriber (small blade screwdriver works) for the hard to get crud a bit of steel wool on the bigger areas and then a buff up with some brasso or silvo or some type of metal polisho. If you replace/replate the bowl screws and tabs and buy some flash new tubing for the overflows (pet stores have flash coloured stuff sometimes) you can almost kid yourself and everyone around you that you have a flash new carby..bling!  ;D almost bling  ::)
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: brent j on September 19, 2007, 04:36:00 pm
I'm told that paint stripper will bring up the finish on cast alloy parts. Haven't tried it yet tho

Brent
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Doc on September 19, 2007, 08:02:34 pm
hmmmm..be worth a try Brent..I have pondered oven cleaner before too but never brave enough to actually try it..next time I go to Woolies I'll grab some for a test  :P
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: pokey on September 19, 2007, 08:13:29 pm
Washing soda. Not caustic soda  as that eats the aluminium and aint all that environmentally friendly.
 washing soda will remove the grime  and all thats left is soapy water


 will still need to do the hard yards and polish it if you want it Bling


 Washing soda is in crystals in the laundry aisle of the supermarket.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: LWC82PE on September 19, 2007, 09:12:01 pm
i bead blast all carbies i ever rebuild. i use fresh glass beads for a nice new look with a bit of a light shine. gives a nice even finish. A water blaster may give better looking results but i dont have access to that. bead blasting is good enough. then after i blow it all out with compressed air and sometimes after i may wash the parts out with truck wash and water and then blow them out again with compressed air, but i dont always do that. ive tryed using aluminium mag wheel type cleaner (septone brand) on a stator plate and it doesnt really work  and makes it go all black. its because its a cast alloy with high zinc content. i would imagine most carbies would be the same sort of alloy.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: marshallmech on September 19, 2007, 11:57:55 pm
a product called alubrite will bring that carbie up like brand new , just soak in a plastic bucket and wash with a brush and rinse off with water ,use gloves as burns skin will bring embedded dirt out and leave looking like new the truck repaires use it to clean alloy fuel tanks
most truck places should have it it will clean just about anything great stuff.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: YZ250H on September 20, 2007, 08:27:36 am
I think that is a Septone product too isn't it ??  I bought a can from Supercheap but I can't remember what it is called.  It takes off old anodising too if used straight.  Do you dilute it to the directions on the tin or some other concentration?

At the risk of getting into trouble here - I have to ask where LWC gets his beasts from and what sorts of beasts he blasts his carbies with   :P
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Nathan S on September 20, 2007, 09:19:53 am
Ultrasonic cleaner has worked well for me. I don't know what liquid is in the one here at work (something nasty), but it does the job.

Not so got for dealing with corrosion though.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: mx250 on September 20, 2007, 05:22:16 pm
Hmmmmm,

Went and bought some Septone Alibrite at SuperCheap and tried it. Works better on Mikuni than Bing and worked hardly on a Monty cast part.

Most certainly now part of the arsenal. Seems to have a good effect of getting rid of small scratches and giving an even shine to the surface.

Now to see if there is any accelerated oxidising.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: oldfart on September 20, 2007, 07:28:34 pm
Look under your kichen bench most of the goodies are stored their  ;)
Try Mister muscle .......works for me.     Oven cleaner is good for cleaning aluminiun cases , be warned don't leave it on for too long  :o
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: LWC82PE on September 20, 2007, 09:15:45 pm
I use Inda glass beads from Blastmaster in Adelaide. they remove corrosion and will give a nice light silvery/greyish look. i will do some mikuinis and post some before and after photos.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Freakshow on September 20, 2007, 09:49:53 pm
Any better suggestions; ultrasonic washers, water blast, vapor blast, bead blast? Or NOS?  ::)

I can get you as many NOS Vm34's out the states for $115 USD ( shipped on #270 mains/#35 pilots) as you need to restock the shed.

Last time After i cleaned a 34mm mikuni after 33 years of use it showed it all the burred off nuts, flakey seals, worn out jets and the slide was scored, after i worked out putting a kit through it, it was just easier and better cost wise to put on a new one, works like a new one and looks like a new one - heck it is a new one, not sure what they are in AU now but a year ago they where double that unjetted.

IF you guys want to grab some more i can get acase sent (20) and we can split them up and post them to each other, or collect from events etc.

NO more dirty, bent , worn out, scored , leaking, burred, painted lumps of shite.  CAn probally get em mixed as 34 and 32mm Vm's if that needed for others TM's ?
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: mx250 on September 20, 2007, 10:28:52 pm
Gee Freaky, you're gonna take all of the fun outa this resto gig  :( :-[ :-\
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Freakshow on September 20, 2007, 10:47:28 pm
Fun or Sanity ?
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: ianscr250 on September 21, 2007, 12:52:00 am
Theres a thing called
START YOU BASTAD its an either mix just like aerostart  absolutly brilliant for cleaning carbs inside and out
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: 090 on September 21, 2007, 05:13:35 am
I think there's a stronger version out now called  OH COME ON ! :-\
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: mx250 on September 21, 2007, 08:07:07 am
Fun or Sanity ?
I would have thought to buy NOS would take the INsanity out of resto  :-[ :-\ ;) :)
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Freakshow on September 21, 2007, 08:28:35 am
thats the idea.  youor sniffing too much ether cleaning
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Nathan S on September 21, 2007, 09:11:36 am
Freaky, if the price is still ~AUS$150, then I'll grab one.

090, good call. :)
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: gorby on September 21, 2007, 11:28:29 am
"start you bastard" is a must for the workshop.I use it for everthing except what it is made for.

cleaning threads before using locktite,cleaning plastics,removing glue residue left from decals,removing rubber hammer marks from rims etc etc
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: cyclegod on September 21, 2007, 11:56:50 am
This is where to get cheap Mikunis...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=4512520928&rd=1
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: mx250 on September 21, 2007, 12:27:11 pm
Okay I've used the alibrite, now whats the enviro-safe way of getting rid of it?  ::) :P ???

(NOS is looking more attractive  ::)).
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Freakshow on September 21, 2007, 04:15:43 pm
This is where to get cheap Mikunis...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=4512520928&rd=1

those look nothing like the ones i got, the last ones i got where the standard old shape, that one in the pics got somthing weird going on in the top breather obove themouth and the fuel line spigot is angled.

Either these are for somekind of jet ski or ATV apps, or maybe they are a new improved version.  the one's i have been getting look like the normal 34mm VM like NOS 74/75 , with the choke level not puller.

Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: cyclegod on September 21, 2007, 04:22:25 pm
The picture is generic and used on all his round slide listings, it looks like a powerjet carbie to me though.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: oldfart on September 21, 2007, 07:58:25 pm
freaky
         looking for a 36 tm 36.68 double pumper, last time I looked them up they where $660 ASD landed  :o
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: LWC82PE on September 21, 2007, 08:46:39 pm
i can get VM 34's for 93.99 USD
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Freakshow on September 22, 2007, 08:31:09 pm
i can get VM 34's for 93.99 USD

are they the old style or the funky looking one like the above Email ?
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: LWC82PE on September 22, 2007, 08:56:13 pm
they would be the aftermarket mikuinis with 'mikuni corp' on the side and not 'mikuni kogyo' (or whatever they say) like the OEM but i don't think they look like those ebay ones either. not sure.

i blasted 4 carbies with ballotini impact spheres (glass beads). they came up real good i will post photos tomorrow.


i initially tryed a bowl in some septone ali brite. it sort of works but leaves them dull dark grey. its because of the zinc in the alloy. im pretty sure that stuff says dont use on zinc plated nuts/bolts etc for that reason. the cleaner works very well on other alloy though (not cast alloy)
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Freakshow on September 22, 2007, 09:02:59 pm
yep my problem isnt cleaning, my problem is the other where old and scored and loose inside, and for some reason i kept loosing those stupid slide sprung idle screw, for som reason every race day they would just fall out ? in the end i was siliconing them in but not a problems since i chucked the new ones on.
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: LWC82PE on September 23, 2007, 09:43:32 am
I know what you mean with about worn body's and slides. i haven't seen it too much with Mikunis although Ive got a TM 36 here thats sloppy as. theres nothing worse than trying to tune a engine with a worn carby. its impossible. i see it all the time with the Amal carbs. very poor design many/most use a alloy slide against alloy body (same material) they wear heaps and you cant tune them properly. its gets to a point where we tell the customer theres nothing more we can do except to repair or get new carbys. the ones with brass slides are just as bad. so the solution is a resleeve or a new carby/s. we haven't had any resleeves done for a while. many of the real old ones with brass slides can get away with a new slide, but the alloy on alloy ones need to be resleeved or replaced. some guys with the 70's bikes don't mind upgrading to a mikuni but many want the original type Amal. thats no problem as they are available. unfortunately they have not improved their design.  but with really old bikes a mikuni just looks stupid and is out of place so a new correct period carby is fitted or old one resleeved. its usually a toss up weather or not to resleeve or replace as price is roughly the same. many of these vintage bikes are just weekend or show bikes and don't get ridden real hard and its just a piece of history for the owners and they are not out there to go fast on their ancient British bike so don t need high performance carbys.

anyway heres a few pics of the worst of the 4 i did. i was very happy how they turned out. it looks better in real life as you can see the shine a bit better. these mikinis are in pretty good nick and are well worth the effort for me to restore and are not ready for the throw away basket yet. if the screws are butchered i will replace with new ones otherwise they will get gold zinced along with the choke levers and other bits

(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-6/1192012/P9220085.JPG)

(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-6/1192012/P9220088.JPG)

(http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-6/1192012/P9220087.JPG)
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: matcho mick on October 07, 2007, 12:56:11 pm
acetone,the ducks guts ;D,(just cleaned the 10 odd years of solidified crap outa the cotas' animal float bowl),no wukkers! ;),cheers Mick
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: Doc on October 08, 2007, 09:43:56 am
acetone eh :P will try that one just for the smell of it  ;D
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: carbyman on May 10, 2008, 08:01:57 pm
Just looking through different post trying to find something and found this i can put carbs through our mass finishing machine and any alloy part for that matter prices start from $66
http://www.xtremefuelsystems.com.au/gallery.php?g2_itemId=43

These are pictures of the parts off my KX250C1 im restoring
Thanks nigel
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: BJJ on February 26, 2009, 07:57:26 pm
does anyone know details of the hydrablast service in Sydney?
Title: Re: Is there a magical carby cleaner?
Post by: oldyzman on February 26, 2009, 10:28:04 pm
I used kwik stripper on a mikuni for a yz as the carby had been painted it made the alloy so bright too. Bit of patients