Sandblasting an engine, good idea or not..

i'm doing a entire drive train swap on my 50.. i pulled the engine out of a donor car, complete and ready to drop back in the 50... it's got many years of grease and grime on it.. with all the passages closed up (intake, exhaust, etc) i've gunked it and scraped it. it's cleaner, but not near enough for paint.. next is either presure wash it or sand blast it.. would sand blasting be a good idea or not?? it just seems it would clean it the best and be ready for a little paint right after cleaning.. any thoughts on this??

 

I use a wire wheel on a drill, spins is slow enough as to not impale you with the wire, done a bunch that way...

 

As a lesson learned by a co-workers experience, Don't Do It. You will never get out all the media. My 2 cents

 

thanks Vintage48.. that's kinda what i was thinking

 

Definite DO NOT!

 

Elbow grease! Elbow grease! Elbow grease!

Wouldn't do it. Sand gets everywhere, even with OCD preparations.

Try lacquer thinner. It does a great job emulsifying oil. Just control it's application because it's aggressive. A short 6" to 8" round wooden dowel/stick with a rounded off tip is a great tool to wrap a soaked rag with. It will get you into all the cracks and save your fingers tips. Follow that by washing with Dawn (blue) and a stiff brush(s). Dawn is an amazing emulsifier too. It rinses clean, unlike "purple type" cleaners which contain phosphates. By the way, phosphates will eventually eat paint and clear coats. With proper use, a phosphoric acid like Ospho, will be a good treatment after all the grease and dirt is gone. It will neutralize the any rust converting it into a iron phosphate, which will need to be "knocked down" (sanded) to make it ready to except primer, top coat and clears. I've used Red Scotch Brite with great results because it molds and conforms.

Lots of work but worth it! Good luck!

 

Use oven cleaner cheap and takes it down to the bear block. Done alot of motors that way....

 

How many miles does the donor engine have on it? If you can 'justify' a freshening up, then strip it down, 'vat' it, do a gasket, hone, ring job or whatever it takes. Anything left after vatting (which shouldn't be much) I would wire wheel and follow Loppy's 'reciipe'
with the red Scotchbrite and lac thinner.

 

not sure of the miles, it came out of a 73 chevy van that i drove home. it ran good enough for me not to even think about having to go through it. so the plan is just to clean it up and re-install.. guess it's going to be back to just alot of elbow grease and scrubbing of it..

 

Castrol Super Clean, don't dilute it let it sit for a while, then scrape or wire brush etc, non caustic and cleans like a white tornado (pun), I do this with all my greasy, dirty clean up, a little expensive but it will not harm your parts. I apply it with a cheap 1 gallon weed sprayer.

 

Thanks for these two ideas! If these work for whole engines, will they work in an old gas tank?

And, I'm on the side that says DON'T sandblast an engine with all those ports wide open. Sand or other media will remain in the motor and could cause beau coup trouble.

 

pressure wash...... no sand

 

Pressure wash, use mineral spirits to soften the gunk then follow up with multiple applications of Super Clean and Pressure Washer.

I've never liked the idea of sandblasting any assembled driveline parts. You can drain/dry out water if it gets in, but it's kinda difficult to do that with sand.

 

Super Clean, straight, wire brush, another spray of Super Clean. Rinse with warm water if available. Dry, then apply laquer thinner. Dry. Worked for me.

 

I've had good results with a debur tool on a air tool. After cleaning with whatever you chose I clean the whole block with a debur tool. Its quicker than you may think and leaves a great surface to paint and smooths the block. Use etching primer first. This process has given me great results.

 

...and no one mentions 'steam cleaning' ...not the same as pressure washing. The steam is around 300°, the grease melts and goes away.
If you can't rent one, check with an implement dealer or truck repair shop. No chemicals, no ragged fingers, and the mess stays at their shop...

.

 

I've done bodywork for years so I've done my fair share of blasting.

No matter how carefull you are or how well you seal something up you'll still get sand/glass/whatever into what you are blasting. Likewise no matter how well you blow it out or clean it, you will have the media coming out from somewhere years later.

On an engine.... this is a bad thing!

Don't do it!

 

Use oven cleaner then take it to a car wash, they usually have a hot or steam cleaner.

 

I've always just taken the complete engine to manual car wash in the back of a pick up bed. I leave the exhaust manifolds, the old intake, and the old carb all on but sealed off with plastic bags. I try to avoid spraying the intake as much as possible. I've always just replaced the intake with an aluminum one anyway. It's always worked for me.

 

Take the block to reputable automotive machine shop and have it baked. the block the block will come out like brand new.

 

Check out "Oil Eater" can be purchased at COSTCO, it's the best de-greaser bare none.

 

putty knife all the big chunks you can, use some good engine cleaners let the product do the work dont rush it. I bought por 15 engine paint kit that came with some additional cleaners and prep products that worked awesome, but do in a well ventilated area. Engine paint was pretty much a one coat coverage worked great there for I would use again.

 

I take the block to a ready strip place where they dip it in an acid tank to remove the rust etc ...

Frenchy

 

Oven cleaner! HRP

 

man, i'm sure glad i got some opinions here... i was seriously thinking of sand blasting, not anymore.....

 

Dry ice blasting can do the job and does not leave any residue, but it's probably not something that you could do yourself and may be hard to find.

 

Oven cleaner, simple green and a pressure washer. Get to work!
Butch

 

put the engine on a stand,two layers of duct tape over holes, blast, being care full around taped areas, blow off good, replace duct tape with blue tape and paint you can't get it any cleaner than this. I don't see the problem ( did comerical blasting for 10 years ) everything from model cars to rail cars. don't use glass beads, use 20-30 or no finer than 70 grit sand, Dave

 

Aircraft remover does a great job on oil/grease buildup, and it will get the paint too.

 

Dry ice blasting is the way to go if you have access. Leaves no media behind because it just evaporates. If you sand blast, have a new set of crank seals handy.