Dremel Detail Abrasive Brushes & Finishing Abrasive Brushes

YL82

YL82

Perpetual Restorationist
Messages
851
Reaction score
8
Points
16
Location
Goose Creek, SC
I've just started removing oxidation, black spots, dirt, discoloration, etc. from my crankcase exterior in the finned areas.

I'm trying different things. No plans to bead blast or soda blast, although that may be the most expedient method.

Has anyone tried Dremel's Detail Abrasive Brushes (included in their Sanding/Polishing Kit)? I've never thought of using these odd little brushes, which are rubber, but look like plastic.

So far, they seem to be doing a good job of getting in between the fins since they are about an inch or so in diameter. They appear to be rather durable too.

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/SubCategories.aspx?catid=2083

I've also used their finishing abrasive buffs, although they don't last long. The Course ones (light brown) really take oxidized layers off quick - just hope I'm not being too aggressive.

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=511E

I might throw some pics on here to show how well I'm doing ....or how badly I'm disfiguring my engine....not sure which at this point.
 
Ive used dremel like you suggest but never with the abrasive buffs. I imagine though you would have to be pretty aggressive to do any real damage. It's not like you are in there with a grinder and some flap discs. I've used desic pads with black compound before and that works well. Gets pretty boring though...
 
Thanks. I think the detail abrasive brushes (rubber ones) are doing a good job so far. I just don't know how in the hell I'm going to get in those nooks and crannies (and deep recesses).

I'm also going to pick up some Scotchbrite Roloc disks (2"), but not sure where best to pick some up at a good price. Plan to use in my new (1/4" collette) Die Grinder that I just bought.

I've got a long row to hoe for sure....
 
I'm seriously considering painting the crankcase, at least the upper assembly. The thought of painting the crankcase has never appealed to me, but I'm warming up to it.

On my 76' it looks to me like the smoother top has been painted, because some fading is noticeable here and there while the lower crankcase looks rougher textured, uncoated, bare, oxidized aluminum. Does this sound typical? Not sure what other 2 PO's have done.

If I remove oxidation from the crankcase leaving shiny, bare aluminum, will I not need to paint anyway to prevent oxidation or use something like Eastwood's Diamond Clear ( heat resistant to 300F)?
 
Yes, the top half of the crankcase was painted silver from the factory. I'm not sure about the bottom. After 30+ years, if it was it's probably all sand blasted off by road debris anyway. I might re-paint the top but I wouldn't bother with the bottom. Try as we might, it's difficult to get one of these motors 100% oil tight. You can get them drip-free so they don't mark their spot but there always seems to be a bit of oil sweat on the bottom. You've got drain plugs, a sump plate, the starter motor stuck into the case, and multiple studs protruding through.

The occasional wipe-down with kerosene, usually during an oil change, keeps mine pretty clean. I don't see any corrosion forming but due to the oil sweating, the engine is sort of self-protecting itself against that. Many that I work on are really bad underneath, resembling what you find the first time you remove your left cover. I don't let mine get like that and a quick wipe-down at oil changes is a simple way to do that.
 
Thanks, 5twins. You provided me with some excellent perspective especially as it pertains to the lower case.

I'm also deciding about what to do with my head and cylinder block in terms of beautifying them. I've done a home-made soda blaster job on them so far. Not sure that I want to paint them, although I've seen a lot of amazing engine paint jobs on this site. Am I correct in stating that you prefer not to paint your cylinder head or cylinder block?
 
Yes, I just leave them ala naturale (or however the French put it, lol). I did my rebuild before I had my glass bead set-up. The jugs and head are clean but don't look nearly as nice as a freshly bead blasted set. They will be blasted next teardown for sure.
 
I have what HF calls a bench top unit, although you'd need a big bench, lol. I built a frame with wheels for it and use it on the ground, plus it's easy to move around this way .....

CabinetFront.jpg


After a few tweaks, I'm quite happy with it. I added a handle to the side to drag it around with and had to re-do the crap Chinese caulking job on all the seams .....

CabinetLeft.jpg
 
Cool. I set foot into a HF store for the first time a few days ago. Went crazy and bought an arm load of Chinese shit. My kids were laughing at me. I need this and I need that...

What are your air compressor specs to run it?
 
I have an old 5HP Craftsman with a 20 gallon tank. It works hard but does the job. You learn to use the blasting gun in short shots and now run it continuously. Something else you'll need is a water filter. The gun will clog up without one.
 
To get in between the fins I've used mini brass brushes used for gun cleaning, they worked ok but in the end I soda blasted using the larger harbor freight soda blaster.
 
5twins said:
I have an old 5HP Craftsman with a 20 gallon tank. It works hard but does the job. You learn to use the blasting gun in short shots and now run it continuously. Something else you'll need is a water filter. The gun will clog up without one.
Click to expand...

I've got a DeWalt 1.6 HP 15-gallon compressor that delivers 5.0 SCFM @ 90 psi. I'm sure that would have to operate such a blaster in short spurts with my compressor.
 
Yes, that's quite small. I could really use a bigger one myself because as I said, it works pretty hard. I've been toying with the idea of adding a second air tank to it.
 
5twins said:
Yes, that's quite small. I could really use a bigger one myself because as I said, it works pretty hard. I've been toying with the idea of adding a second air tank to it.
Click to expand...

Lowes sells a wall mounted compressor that has two extra tanks you can add. I don't see where it would be a problem adding one to yours. Maybe a old freon or propane cylinder would do???
 
The HF blast unit is decent for what it is. Add another light or two and get some extra glass covers as they get dirty quickly.

You will need a decent compressor to keep up with it, or at least work in short bursts, most compressors are not ment to run full duty cycle.

I would also add a few water separators, as the smaller the compressor the hotter its going to get the more water you will get.

WATER and SAND blasting will drive you crazy.

My current set up is a 48"x28"x32" blast cabinet, running a series of 4 water separators on the unit and two after the compressor. Works GREAT. Currently working on neatly adding some extra lighting to it.
 
oh yes dont forget that the HF unit will not have a dust collector, while loud and annoying a shop vac will work well on it to keep the dust down
 
As far as the polishing goes I found that scotch brite pads, and some al polish works well with some elbow grease. If you are lazy like me you use your rockwell tool as the elbow grease.

Have maybe 30-40 minutes into each side cover and made them look like this, far from done, but 10x better than it was.
 

Attachments

  • IMAG1549.jpg
    IMAG1549.jpg
    169.6 KB · Views: 183
  • IMAG1547.jpg
    IMAG1547.jpg
    147.5 KB · Views: 210
  • IMAG1558.jpg
    IMAG1558.jpg
    167.1 KB · Views: 208
One of the secrets is putting the water filter close to the tool, it does no good close to the compressor. The 25' coil line doesn't seem to create much condensation, not anywhere near what 25' of rubber hose does .....

WaterFilter.jpg


I mounted my filter on a bracket and have several "hanger" brackets inside and outside my shed to hang it off of .....

WaterFilter2.jpg


I also set up another on a little tripod type stand so I can take it to the end of long, long hoses if need be .....

WaterFilter1.jpg
 
Back
Top