Thread: Cleaning old carbies

Hello Tins,

I had a look online about different ways to clean old carburettors. I practiced on a Holden Stromberg off a HQ that was far from well maintained. I bought one of those really cheap Aldi jewelry sized ultronsonic cleaners. I used one of the products that an overseas ultrasonic cleaner manufacturer recommended. The reason I chose one particular recommended product over the other recommendations was that I could only find a supplier in Australia for one of the products. It was and still is available from Bunnings.

Simple Green 1L Green Concentrate All Purpose Cleaner Simple Green 1L Green Concentrate All Purpose Cleaner - Bunnings Australia

Due to the small size of the ultrasonic cleaner I could only do half the carburettor at a time. After multiple rotations the carburettor came out really clean. I only had to use an old toothbrush to scrub off some tough debris. I just dipped the toothbrush into the ultrasonic cleaner. I followed the mix rates that are provided on the bottle. Yes - you have to read the label!

On other old Holden Strombergs I just used CRC Clean-R-Carb Heavy Duty Parts and Throttle Body Cleaner 400g (spray can) that I bought at Autopro. Allow one tin per carburettor. A mate of mine built and raced his own rally cars and the CRC product was his recommendation of the field of carburettor cleaners.

My next step, since the little Aldi ultrasonic cleaner provided me with proof of concept, is for me to buy a bigger capacity ultrasonic cleaner.

Kind regards
Lionel

Thanks, Lionel. That solution seems to be a popular one. I have been considering a Vevor 10L us cleaner. I might pull the trigger, as I could also use it for circuit boards etc.

Or, there's this:

I just took delivery of a 10litre ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning carbies.

Spoke with a mate in the UK who has been doing motorcycle carbies with excellent results. The only proviso.....spray with a lubricant immediately afterwards or it'll be white with corrosion the next day.
He takes it out while still hot and lets it dry then lubricates.

Colin

Originally Posted by gromit

The only proviso.....spray with a lubricant immediately afterwards or it'll be white with corrosion the next day.

Colin

Possibly why they are often coated with some sort of varnish or something. I wonder what it is.

Originally Posted by Tins

Possibly why they are often coated with some sort of varnish or something. I wonder what it is.

Probably automotive clear coat would do, but experiment on a small part first. You will find 'specially formulated' clear coat for bare metal ie door knocker, brass decorative pieces, automotive parts etc.

Originally Posted by workingonit

Probably automotive clear coat would do, but experiment on a small part first. You will find 'specially formulated' clear coat for bare metal ie door knocker, brass decorative pieces, automotive parts etc.

Good idea. There's an old copper jug here somewhere that had that done to it maybe 25 years ago. It still gleams. I have an old Holden style Stromberg I'll try it on first, cos that's for the 109 and doesn't matter so much. The Webers on a FIAT manifold might be worth a bob.

It always looked like a robust shellac, on Toyotas.

Originally Posted by workingonit

Probably automotive clear coat would do, but experiment on a small part first. You will find 'specially formulated' clear coat for bare metal ie door knocker, brass decorative pieces, automotive parts etc.

Need to check it's petrol proof !
I wouldn't clearcoat, just a spray with something like lanolin or WD 40. Gets into the pores of the aluminium.

Colin