ddd777

I am planning on prepping my engine for (spray) paint by having it blasted with a crushed glass to get all the rust and old paint off.

Engine not terribly rusty, but plenty dirty and greasy (see attached) - does that warrant something less abrasive, like soda blast?

The engine will not be taken apart for this process.

After paint, the engine will be re-gasketed (not rebuilt).

Any flaws with this plan?

Any words of wisdom?

Kennybill

I am "old school" but kerosene and wire brush/parts cleaning brushes always seemed to work good for me. Yes, it is messy and not real "green." Jmo. Ken

citcapp

Works for me too, Use a cheap kiddie pool. roll your engine stand onto the center of the pool inflate it. Now its a mess containment pool.

TripDeuces

I personally don't like the idea because there is always a chance of grit getting in some where. A blaster will blow things apart in a hurry. Glass will find it's way into the engine some where and that will be the end of that. Not to mention you're going to have greasy glass every where.

I would just steam clean, pressure blast or as suggested some kind of solvent and a brush.

69442C

I too would say to stay away from any media blasting. I would use engine degreaser and a hose or pressure washer to give it the first cleaning and make sure you seal the carb real well. From there I would scrape or wire brush with solvents to get rid of any remaining grease. A wire brush on a drill or angle grinder should make quick work of cleaning the paint and rust from the heads and block. Since you mentioned new gaskets, I assume you will be removing the oil pan, valve covers and timing cover? If so, remove after all scraping and wire brushing is done and give them to a local machine shop and let them hot tank them to clean and strip them. These stamped metal parts will need a quality primer before engine paint is applied. If you remove the intake, let the machine shop glass bead that for you as well as any brackets you might want to clean up. From there it's just a matter of putting it together, painting the engine assembly and then start installing brackets etc that you will paint separately.
Brian

MX442

Any glass that finds it's way inside will destroy bearings. I wouldn't blast it!

ddd777

thank you all very much for your input.
looks like i will be doing it old school.

the other options seem to be soda or walnut blast, too.
both of which will break down with water and not abrade the interior.

MDchanic

I agree with the others - I would definitely not media-blast it. The grit WILL get in.

Along the same lines, I would not pressure-wash it either. Pressure washing is notorious in the motorcycling community for destroying sealed wheel bearings - people use the pressure washer on their bikes, and it packs grit and water INTO all kinds of places it would never be able to get into on its own.

- Eric

navvet

You can get numerous styles and sizes of steel brushes in automotive and national hardware stores. Some of these brushes come with flexible handles so you can bend them in any shape you need. When i detailed my engine I think I had a dozen different brushes. I even used baby bottle cleaning brushes for delicate areas near wires or electrical components.
Find old bed sheets, bath towels and tear them up, they work great. I used old tube socks on the brush to remove dirt.
I went to goodwill and purchased a large bed spread for $3.00 and had my nephew cut it up in small squares .!!! The more cloth rags you have the better. Nothing better then seeing the before and after!!! Send photos when you get done. Good Luck

442rocketdave

At harbor freight they have large cleaning ***** of scotch brite material that fit on a drill and the cleaning disc like 3m disc lock and it comes in 3 different grits I used these on my engine along with gunk and simple green and it looked good so then I used a tight wound wire brush and the drill and it looked like a new motor, then I painted it! Stay away from media and pressure washing! Good luck and take some photos and let us see the progress and end result!

Kennybill

I dug out a greasy 455 1968 Toro block a couple weeks ago. I soak with kerosene via stiff parts cleaning brush. Let it sit for a day. Repeated but worked it in cleaning, last step was a good soaking. Next went over it one more time, nice and clean, maybe 1/2 gal kerosene used. Ya, I'm cheap but I call it thrifty. Ken

ddd777

Here is a shot of it after cleaning and painting.

It is further along now (back in the car), and I'll post pix soon in this thread I have going on the rebuild.

Many thanks to all for wisdom and suggestions.