Carbon removal from piston

[Bone Head]

@mofosheee Yep, appears to be for fuel systems.

 

[pontiac428]

Hoppe's #9.

Sometimes, you need an electrophilic solvent. Nitro solvents are tough to get in the US, but they are found as ingredients in certain products.

 

[Provincial]

A popular accessory in the early 20th Century for automobiles was a device that vaporized water into the intake manifold. It introduced a small amount of steam to the combustion process, which dislodged carbon from the combustion chamber.

 

[David2011]

oven cleaner and then wash it off

I used oven cleaner on the outside of an aluminum model airplane engine once. It permanently turned the metal very dark.

 

[Firstram]

A popular accessory in the early 20th Century for automobiles was a device that vaporized water into the intake manifold. It introduced a small amount of steam to the combustion process, which dislodged carbon from the combustion chamber.

This, water and methanol injection will clean it right up. Then you can add some boost to keep your mind off the carbon!

 

[mofosheee]

@mofosheee Yep, appears to be for fuel systems.

Soaked for 24hours, no effect. Moving on to paint stripper

 

[WobblyHand]

Walnut shell blasting is relatively benign for aluminum clean up. Leaves no abrasive grit behind. Just don't go heavy near any edges or ring grooves. Even a light pass followed by ultrasonic cleaning ought to help. Lacking that a plastic scraper?

 

[pontiac428]

Tip on walnut shell, whenever I need it I go straight to the pet store. It's like cat litter for reptiles, and really cheap. It's crushed, sieved, and washed, so very clean and uniform. I tumble brass with it, but it should feed through a siphon blaster really well.

 

[Charles scozzari]

Soaked for 24hours, no effect. Moving on to paint stripper

Give it a shot. I put a coat on by pouring the stripper into a tray and submerging the pistons up to the ring lands and set them aside. I like to let them lay for about an hour before washing them clean with a Scotch bright pad and soap and water. You may have to reapply. I also have used more aggressive paint slippers with great success. Wear protective gloves.

 

[mofosheee]

Thanks everybody. Cheers to the unsung heros who recommended Jasco paint remover and brass brush! Jasco by far the most effective in softening up carbon. For anybody who cares, I wasted my time with;
Ultrasonic cleaner using diesel, soapy water soak, acetone soak, diesel soak in excess of 48 hours, Chemtool carb cleaner, (reluctant to use, cautionary advice about aluminum) useless Seafoam snake oil.