Engine cleaning advice prior to painting

Hi,

I started to strip and clean my engine after de-greasing I've been using a wire wheel in a drill to clean the block and just wanted to check that this safe and not going cause damage to the block and also is it safe to use the same method on the head. As the head is alloy I was just wondering is a wire wheel likely to cause damage? If so what would be the best way to clean up the head by hand? There is a certain amount of oxidation that needs cleaning up that obviously de-greasing alone doesnt remove

Thanks

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Are you taking the head to a machine shop to get it skimmed or any work on it?

No I wont be removing the head just want to give the external a clean up and possibly paint it

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Brass tooth brushes and a Brass wheel will remove the corrosion that you want to remove with out damaging the Metals.

Wear eye protection and a mask.
Brass won't spark to cause a possible fire

But tooth brushes and a good degreaser like simply green work well to get the grease out of tight places.
I usually use a good degreaser Spray the engine and let it work about 20-30 minutes, then I use my pressure washer.

See my Threads in the archive how-to's the link on my signature usually takes you there.

 

Thank you, I'll take a look

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

mk1newbie said

No I wont be removing the head just want to give the external a clean up and possibly paint it

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

What Briano1234 said for cleaning the head as I would avoid painting it as it should clean up with a bit of elbow grease.
My thinking was if the head was getting set away to be worked on they have a big dish washer to clean the head.   

Thanks for help, I'll spend some more time on it when I get a chance and see how I get on

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Does anyone know if the block if steel or aluminium? I was just wondering if it's safe to use a paint remover on it to to shift some of the tough paint that the wire wheel is struggling with

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Engine block is cast iron.

Thanks for the reply. Should be okay to use  a paint stripper then? Was also thinking of using a rust treatment, something like kurust for any remains of rust the wire wheel cant remove

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

mk1newbie said

Does anyone know if the block if steel or aluminium? I was just wondering if it's safe to use a paint remover on it to to shift some of the tough paint that the wire wheel is struggling with

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

if its that well adhered I'd leave it and paint over it

Yeah that's a good point. Do you know if a rust treatment, something like kurust will be safe enough on it to treat any remaining rust in the pitted areas that a wire wheel cant get to?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk