Case cleaning question...
 

Hi all,

I'm cleaning my case at this point (whoo hooo!) and have a quickie.

1. Do you have to have a shiny metal surface on the case parting line and all the other areas where the two halves go together? My case is rather dark grey but the surfaces feel smooth. I think the case cleaning chemicals did something to the mating surface.

2. Do you use anything else but Kimwipes and alcohol / carb cleaner on the case? No abrasives etc.?

Thanks

Tristan

Here's what I did. I used scotchbite and acetone everywhere until it was quite clean then used kimwipes til it was all clean enough to eat off of.

BTW watch out for your perimiter bolt holes. If you dont' clean them you get smutz on your parting line and that's no good. I used a good set of bore brushes from your local gun shop.

Thanks Tim. Now I've just got to find that gun shop!

Post a pic...

-Wayne

explination here
http://www.pelicanparts.com/MotorCity/WintersRS/garage/jekyllsub1a.htm

I'll post some but it'll have to wait until the weekend. I'm out of town right now.

Tristan

The nylon "household" brushes available at target work good too. They hold together extremely well, so there's no risk of bristles in your case.

Jay,
Are those strong enough to actually get it surgical clean though? I'd be worried since I can't use my finger or get my kimwipe in their easily that it would still have stuff that the studs would scrape off. I was actually glad to see the insides of my holes to be nice and shiney.

The one I used were a fairly stiff bristle. While it doesn't "polish" the case material as a metal brush might, they did a very nice job of cleaning these thru holes. I had the case thru bolt/o-ring problem some others ran into.

l33t9eek, I am cleaning my case now as well. Were you able to get all the black cooked on gunk off the outside of the case? Did the acetone and the scotchbrite pad help? That black stuff is tough!

Black stuff? I'm not sure what you mean/if I had it. My case went through an industrial washer before I got my hands on it. It was decently clean when I got it but I still had to put LOTS of hours cleaning it.

If it's not any critical area then you can hit it with a wire brush.

Sometimes its worth the few bucks to have a local machine shop run it thru its hot tank. Just make sure they use a cleaner that dosen't eat aluminum or mag. HEAT is one of the main majic ingredients.

Another secret racers trick- Use TIDE, no other, detergent in hot water (cold dosen't work) Soak it, scrub it, scrub, scrub, scrub and rinse the heck out of it, blow dry and then use the kim wipes and acetone, mek, carbinol or whatever. finally repeat the Tide and hot water followed by a good rinse.

And finally a deep deep very top secret, secret, women close your eyes, check and see it the case fits in the dishwasher.

What I'm on about (and I'll post a pic ASAP) is that the mating surfaces are smooth but not shiney like in wayne's book. They are very grey in colour. I really scrubbed them, but they would not shine up. My case did go through some chenical cleaning process and I'm thinking that the magnesium has had some reaction and gone grey.

Tristan

Tristan,
The only way to get it shiny is actually to remove some material from the surface.. which wouldn't be good overall. Just scotchbrite it until it's clean enough you wouldn't hesitate to eat off of it.

The dishwasher, yes, excellent (cheap, easy to run through multiple cycles, plus it pisses your wife off). I think some dishwashing soaps might attack aluminum, be careful what you use...

I would never run any autoparts through a dishwasher - the residue will stay in the machine and contaminate it and all of your dishes (that you eat on) for weeks down the road.

-Wayne

Is that what that taste is?

Tim,

That's what I thought, but I was wondering if that impairs the bond of sealing agent. Thoughts?

Tristan

Smooth as a baby's butt
 

I think the shiny thing is being overemphasized. If you take a flash photo of your case mating surface as it is now, I'm willing to bet it looks as shiny as Wayne's book photos. I noticed the same thing on my mag case versus Wayne's photos, but honestly didn't give it a 2nd thought. I made sure my mating surface was surgically clean and free of all chemical contaminants and residue and that was that.

Spend an equivalent amount of time obsessing about the cleanliness of your stud bores and through bolt holes, and your oil passages and interior case surfaces, and you'll be in fine shape. I spent around 16 hours cleaning my case, and this is after it spent an equal amount of time in an industrial dishwasher.

I concur with Wayne on the use of a home dishwasher as noted above. The crud that will weep and precipitate out of the case represents thirty years of contamination and will have a pervasive residual presence in your dishwasher. Not pleasant or safe.