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Hi all,
Usually when I replace a piston/rings I will take the valves out of the head bring the head to the shop to have it glass beaded an cleaned in an ultrasonic tank. They usually charge me about $50-$75 and I also have to replace the valve seals.

Is this similar to what everyone else does to clean the carbon buildup or is there an easier or less costly option?

Thanks,
Nick.
14' CRF 450

If your talking just the combustion chamber then i use a Dremel with a wire wheel , then once i have all the carbon off , i use a sanding wheel , then a polishing pad with Mothers , once that is done , then the next time all i have to do is clean with solvent , and maybe re-buff

Since the polished surface has no real pores to hold soot/carbon , it builds up less , i also use Trick Race Fuel mixed with Pump Non Ethanol Premium (1 gal. of Race Gas to 5 gal. of Premium mix) which gives a far less carbon buildup than when using just normal gas , the combo of polishing the surface and the gas mix , leads to less overall buildup over the course of the year

For the outside , my engines are painted black , so i do not get any outside staining

I also have a solvent tank with Purple Power in it (you get it at Wal-Mart in 2 gal containers) i fill my solvent tank with it , as its biodegradable , but it cuts grease really well , but keep it off rubber parts as it will dry them out and ruin them (wear heavy duty cleaning gloves because it will dry out your skin and cause it to flake , as it removes all the oil out of your skin) , i use that stuff when i rebuild my suspension every year , it cleans EVERYTHING and it will remove paint

Yeah I'm referring to the combustion chamber as well as the exhaust ports. I'm following you up until you say you use mothers polish. Won't any wax/polishing product burn off immediately.

Also I run straight VP 108 the build up isn't terrible but I'd still like to clean it. It's much better than I use to see in my 09 250.

Well obviously you wipe off the excess with a cloth just as you would when polishing rims , the "polish" does not leave a "wax" residue , so no worries there , as far as ports goes , just the wire wheel on the Dremel in there , or you can soak in the solvent/cleaner i mentioned , and it will clean any soot , then just rinse with a hose (or in your sink) , and blow it dry

We disassemble the head and soda blast the ports and combustion chamber. Clean with Simple Green. For tough stains on the outside we'll use some contact cleaner.

Ken

crfsonly wrote:We disassemble the head and soda blast the ports and combustion chamber. Clean with Simple Green. For tough stains on the outside we'll use some contact cleaner.

Ken

Ken,
How much do you charge for soda blasting?

It's part of our Performance CNC valve job service:

http://www.crfsonly.com/catalog/product ... ts_id/3816

It really would not be worth the cost of shipping your head back and forth for just a cleaning. If the valves have life left in them then no need to have a valve job or this level of cleaning service unless you happen to have a soda blasting machine handy.

Ken