If I soda blast the heads and the block, will the soda residue cause any damage to the engine if not completely washed off? I'm worried about the valve guides and other moving components. Will soda mixing with oil cause any trouble? Thanks!

 

Don't you plan on washing everything after you do this???

Andrew

 

I do, but is it critical that I get every single little grain? I still have the pistons and crank shaft in, which I dont want to touch, so I'm trying to decide if soda blasting is a good idea

 

I would assemble the engine as much as possible, as in, have a pan on it and have an intake manifold on it.

Seal it up as best you can to minimize potential contamination. Is this an iron block?

Andrew

 

Its aluminum (L33)

 

Since you are trying to address the external appearance, I would seal up the inside as much as possible and go at it. If I was to do this, I would install the pan, intake and seal off the throttle body. Then you can minimize any potential media getting inside the engine. I bet it would look really nice after a good soda blast!

I also think there are various acid wash solutions that might work to do the same task. You'd have to do some research on that.

Andrew

 

I'm not familiar with what soda blasting actually is. But I have gone crazy with the Sand Blasting cabinet on all of my cars.

I would NOT blast an intake as they tend to hold the material and it's very hard to get out. I did it to 2 intakes and I learned my lesson. With the heads and intake if they're aluminum I would put them into an industrial parts washer. It will make them spotless. I don't think I would soda blast these items. I stick to brackets and hard parts like exhaust manifolds and iron/steel parts.

 

Thanks! How would you go about cleaning the top of the block under the head gasket?

 

Your insane to try this. Take the damn apart, blast, paint and reassemble.

Soda blasting is awesome because it washes away very good with water. Unlike with glass bead blasting, the soda will dissolve in water. However, that is when blasting clean parts. Blasting oily parts is a fail on 2 accounts. 1. The soda won't remove greasy dirt or anything that is remotely dirty from oil. 2. Water will not wash away the soda that is now mixed in with oil and oil dirt.

 

Thats exactly what I was worried about. Thanks!

 

I use lacquer thinner or Acetone and razor blades to clean deck surfaces. Duller razor blades to be exact. I also used steel wool and lacquer thinner for the insides of the cylinder walls because if they sat they get surface rust in them. That stuff cleans right up. If the block deck surface has marks in it anywhere you can coatthe steel head gasket with Hylomar. I always feel like it will help with those little surface imperfections.

 

EAGLE ONE Mag wheel cleaner works amazing well on bring used aluminum parts to new appearance. There are several different versions of this, so you need to look for a warning label warning about being a acid.

 

Is this the wheels cleaner that is designed to work with coated wheels? Presumable the cleaner for coated wheels has more acid content?

Andrew

 

The one for coated wheels has less acid. You want the etching type. Experiment with how long you leave it on and how you use it. Using a scotch bright pad to spread it around evenly before you rinse it off works well. Also until you get the hang of it better to rinse it off sooner then letting it sit too long. It needs to be used on a fairly clean surface as well. It's not a degreaser. The one you want used to come with the green label. It's been a while but used to use it all the time when prepping and reassembling racing motorcycles. Made the aluminum frames and swing arms look factory fresh!

 

ANdrew,
IIRC, it says its not for polished wheels. I remember I had a hard time trying to find the exact formula I needed. There's a thread pertaining to this somewhere.

 

This is my favorite soda blasting story.

Tipsy

 

That's just too funny.

Andrew

 

That is definitely something I would do only the story would involve an Irate Wife dragging the kids to her mothers and throwing my clothes of the deck on her way to the car.

 

Streetracer09,
but with the family gone, there's more room for car parts !! win/win

 

Haha thats an epic story. Soda blasting is definitely not a fun experience, I feel like my nose is on fire. It ok if you do flat surfaces, but as soon as you start going into holes and crevasses all the soda just comes back at you.