One of my rotors had a sticky corner seal when I last rebuilt it that caused the engine to have low compression. This time I was going to sandblast them to ensure that they got nice and clean. Then I'll mess with that corner seal if it still has problems. I was just going to cover the bearings and do the whole rotors. I just wanted to make sure that using abrasives was okay on the seal grooves. I didn't think that it would wear down the material noticeably, but I just want to make sure.

i'd like to know this too

Sand blast? Hell No. Walnut shells would be ok but not gonna get the carbon off. You could use soda.



Just clean the thing and inspect/clearence it before you install. its not that hard.





GregW

I absolutely do not recommend doing any of the above. Most of the time mishandling of the rotors causes dinks and problems on the seal grooves (mainly apex to corner seal grooves) that have to be filed out.



I use a gallon sized jug of Zep industrial cleaner (from Home Depot, $8/gal). I think it may damage the outer portion of the bearing so use new bearings. I use a brass brush to scrub them down.



B

Okay, thanks for the replies. I had been just scrubbing away on them with a brass brush and engine degreaser before. I will just continue with that and make sure I get the seal grooves really well.

if your replacing the bearings, just soak them in a carb bath for a few days. Mak sure you clean that crap off good. then repplace your bearings and you have two rotors that look new.

Soak in kerosene for a day or two, let dry. Then take a stainless steel wire brush to the rotor. The kerosene removes any trace of oil form it, and the dry carbon comes off like nothing.

I doubt people will like my method, but I've had good results with soaking in gas and using a toothbrush to dislodge the loose stuff. After the rotor is dry, I then wirewheel the faces with a fine bristle wheel. The gas doesn't hurt the bearings and cuts through the oil.



Gas is dangerous.

Zep is awesome stuff. We use that stuff to clean all of our engines, transmissions, and parts. THAT STUFF WORKS!!!! We also get it in 55 gal drums.

You need to pick the abrasive for the situation. There are abrasives designed for use on precision machined parts.

i sandblasted...why is it wrong to do? cause u might not get all teh sand out?

because you will totally ruin your side, corner and apex grooves. I cant see them clearencing out very well after sand blasing. If you just do the tops then fine. They are really not that hard to clean!



GregW

I just used Zep Purple with fantastic results. I was uncertain as to whether It would eat at the Bearings or not. Regardless, they had to be replaced. But we were amazed on how well It turned out after when I removed my entire Engine from the parts cleaner.

I use a steam cleaner, with just distilled water in it and have had very good luck.

Check this out, I had mine done at a machine shop, they did a boiling process for $20 for the pair. The reason you don't want to sandblast is because it will remove material were it



I can't get the pics to post, just go up to my post about my new parts that I got. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

This is what my friend told me to do last time.



Basically I wanted to avoid soaking the rotors in anything, because I was going to reuse one of my bearings. It only has about 4k miles on it. The other one was the same, but it was scratched. Aparently some crap went through my oil or something. It scratched a bearing and my e-shaft. I had to get a new(used) e-shaft.



I'll just continue to scrub away at them. They're pretty clean already. I just need to make sure all the seals are clearanced properly and move real smoothly. I had a sticky corner seal when I took the engine apart.

Bad idea. First off, sand is meant for heavy rust removal on heavy iron. Never use this on such a precision part. As has been mentioned, it WILL remove material. Oh and lets not forget that the sand will shatter when it hits the metal, creating dust that will cause silicosis so NEVER use it in a cabinet or indoors no matter what. :( Next on the list is aluminum oxide. Less abrasive but is still more geared to use on iron/steel for rust removal. Better would be glass bead. Removes corrosion and crap without removing metal. Suitable for softer metals but still works well on iron/steel. Next would be walnut shells. Less abrasive but works slower, again for soft materials. Last would be baking soda. Very mild and suitable for soft materials. HTH

Look on page two of my car pics.

click for shiny rotors

Wow that's clean. Looks practically new. :-O

Where I work, we glass-bead many parts, some of them rather sensitive to dimensions. Glass beading will not remove material from the base metal, just the junk you want off in the first place.



It does have to be dry, though, so you have to degrease it first, say in a bucket of Berryman's carburetor dip. Berryman's will annihilate any carbon based material, just as oil, carbon deposits, and anything rubber. Dunk in the bucket overnight, rinse with regular old parts cleaner such as kerosene or mineral spirits, and you will probably find that glass beading will be unnecessary.

where do you get this Berryman's stuff? just a regular auto parts store?

Yes. Costs about $20 for the dip bucket, which is large enough to soak an entire carb body, or some rotors.



Rinsing off afterwards is essential. The solvent stinks to high heaven and you do not want it getting on your skin, or you will smell like it until that par of your skin wears away.

i used glass beads it does not harm rotors just remove the carbon build up. i used it on my rotors and a couple of people including treceb. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR

Something else to keep in mind when cleaning rotors: There's a coating on the sides of the rotors (Cadmium?) that you don't want to wear away. Also, with all the little oil passages inside the rotors, can you be sure you got all the little bits of abrasive media out?

I clean the faces with a soft bristled wire wheel and drill all it does is take the carbon off doesn't scratch the rotor. The rest I clean with a pick and a modified screwdriver to get in the small pockets and crevices. After all the carbon is off I simply wash them with a toothbrush and DAWN dishsoap with hot water and everything comes off. You can even clean the bearings with a soft bristle toothbrush it wont scratch it. Shake as much water off and out the rotor and then blow it off with air compressor let it stand for one day and it will be totally dry. Doesn't hurt the bearings and you can reuse them. Never had problems with GOOD used bearings and yes DAWN cuts grease out of your way just like the commercial says...

after i blasted the rotors i used compressed air to get the glass bead out also i heard that black beauty beads work as good. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png