Slant Six Forum :: How not to clean a slant six head

I haven't done the vinegar or swimming pool acid clean, but I have sent quite a few cast iron blocks to a company here in Australia called "Redistrip" . I imagine they use a similar acidic type of treatment, strangely enough some cast iron blocks come back in perfect condition, while others have an etched,almost sand blasted type finish on all machined surfaces...the slant six block I sent to them came back with this finish after cleaning. Perhaps the type of iron used in the casting process,together with the pretty average quality control back in the day created a lot of variables in the actual iron content. Interestingly,any higher performance type block comes back perfect,I had an older Ford Motorsport block done,also the Australian Hemi six seems OK....I'm sure the vinegar or swimming pool acid does the job,perhaps just keep an eye on the process instead of leaving in for long periods next time?
Its a bit hard to tell in the pics,but it does look like an old gasket....I would imagine the whole head would need to be thoroughly degreased and hot tanked prior to the vinegar treatment for it to really do its job?

Author:	1930 [ Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:34 am ]
Post subject:
Quote: I haven't done the vinegar or swimming pool acid clean, but I have sent quite a few cast iron blocks to a company here in Australia called "Redistrip" . I imagine they use a similar acidic type of treatment, strangely enough some cast iron blocks come back in perfect condition, while others have an etched,almost sand blasted type finish on all machined surfaces...the slant six block I sent to them came back with this finish after cleaning. Perhaps the type of iron used in the casting process,together with the pretty average quality control back in the day created a lot of variables in the actual iron content. Interestingly,any higher performance type block comes back perfect,I had an older Ford Motorsport block done,also the Australian Hemi six seems OK....I'm sure the vinegar or swimming pool acid does the job,perhaps just keep an eye on the process instead of leaving in for long periods next time? Its a bit hard to tell in the pics,but it does look like an old gasket....I would imagine the whole head would need to be thoroughly degreased and hot tanked prior to the vinegar treatment for it to really do its job? Just from reading on-line Redi-strip used to have a center in California, EPA ran them out, they moved to Arizona I think, dont know if they are still there. Funny thing that I did not mention is that there are some very small spots on the machined surfaces of the head that do not seem to have been affected as badly, they were soft but not soft as deep, they could not be scraped and have material removed as deep if that makes sense......maybe I can get a picture tonight of one of these spots. I understand that its tough to judge going by the picture, I understand that I am a random guy on the internet making a post, on top of that I am not a mechanic by trade but I have been a bodyman for 25 plus years, I do know the difference between a gasket and steel/cast iron. I made the post with certainty to warn others of my experience. I will post a couple more shots of the head tonight when I pull out my intake.

Author:	SlantSteve [ Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:32 am ]
Post subject:
Thanks for the info about redi strip...and my apologies if my question about gasket material.... It's just hard to make out things in pics! The strange thing about redistrip is the etched surfaces seem like the iron has been eroded and the carbon is left making the surface quite hard. The slant block needed honing to suit the pistons I am using,the machinist commented on how tough it was to hone through the surface....strange stuff indeed! Cheers

Author:	Danarchy [ Mon Mar 17, 2014 6:19 am ]
Post subject:
Thanks for posting this 1930! Appreciate the heads up. -Dan

Author:	Sean Mallory [ Mon Mar 17, 2014 6:55 am ]
Post subject:
Holy cow...never seen anything like that. I wouldn't trust that head as far as I can throw it.

Author:	63Valiant [ Mon Mar 17, 2014 2:57 pm ]
Post subject:
Quote: Holy cow...never seen anything like that. I wouldn't trust that head as far as I can throw it. It'd be easier to throw now that it's lighter.

Slant Six Forum https://slantsix.org/forum/

How not to clean a slant six head https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=54884	Page 2 of 2

Author:	GTS225 [ Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:36 pm ]
Post subject:
That head looks like a good candidate for sectional slicing! Might offer up some good info, if one wanted to do it bad enough. Roger

Author:	Tim Keith [ Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:13 pm ]
Post subject:
The white vinegar for pickling is about twice the strength

Page 2 of 2	All times are UTC-08:00
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited https://www.phpbb.com/