I thought I would share this neat trick used in the restoration business to get car parts looking like new or NOS.
Parts such as carbureters, distributors, alternators and others can look great again, but you may need to wait until the wife isn't around the house for a while.
You'll just need some distilled water, some Tide He detergent and a large, non-coated pot for the stove top.
Starting with something common like rebuilding a carb like a Rochestor. Break it down as you normally do with the 3 large parts. Clean excess oil and dirt and place in your pot, cover with distilled water. Pour into the pot about 15 ml of Tide laundry detergent, I like the high efficiency (he) product line for top loading washers as there is a lot less suds to make a mess and perhaps even burn on the side of the pot above the water line. Bring pot to a full boil under high heat. After about 15 minutes you will see all the contaminants rolling in the boiling water, if there is very little oil and dirt floating you are done, otherwise you can repeat for a complete draw out of any petro products. Remove carb parts with pliers, rinse with some clean distilled water and place on a clean towel. Start another pot of water or if finished rap parts loosely in some paper towels and place in refrigerator for at least an hour. Refrigerators are great for drawing out any remaining moisture fast so that you can apply a light coat of flat or matt clear coat to retain original color. Note: Skip the refrigerator step if you have time to let air dry in low humidity for 3 hrs. If there is remaining moisture and you clear coat, the parts may not look uniform in color.
The same procedures work with any other disassembled parts that need cleaning and this process can retain the original Rochester gold/greenish phosphate coating that is difficult to replicate.
Parts such as carbureters, distributors, alternators and others can look great again, but you may need to wait until the wife isn't around the house for a while.
You'll just need some distilled water, some Tide He detergent and a large, non-coated pot for the stove top.
Starting with something common like rebuilding a carb like a Rochestor. Break it down as you normally do with the 3 large parts. Clean excess oil and dirt and place in your pot, cover with distilled water. Pour into the pot about 15 ml of Tide laundry detergent, I like the high efficiency (he) product line for top loading washers as there is a lot less suds to make a mess and perhaps even burn on the side of the pot above the water line. Bring pot to a full boil under high heat. After about 15 minutes you will see all the contaminants rolling in the boiling water, if there is very little oil and dirt floating you are done, otherwise you can repeat for a complete draw out of any petro products. Remove carb parts with pliers, rinse with some clean distilled water and place on a clean towel. Start another pot of water or if finished rap parts loosely in some paper towels and place in refrigerator for at least an hour. Refrigerators are great for drawing out any remaining moisture fast so that you can apply a light coat of flat or matt clear coat to retain original color. Note: Skip the refrigerator step if you have time to let air dry in low humidity for 3 hrs. If there is remaining moisture and you clear coat, the parts may not look uniform in color.
The same procedures work with any other disassembled parts that need cleaning and this process can retain the original Rochester gold/greenish phosphate coating that is difficult to replicate.
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