Topic: Berryman's Carb dip safe for pistons?

[ts354]

My pistons are very heavily carbon deposited on the tops.  Can you dip them in Berryman's carb dip or is it bad for pistons?
Thanks,
Todd

[ekpent]

 I say dip away,stuff is getting pretty weak compared to the old days. Might be some other ways to remove carbon and slag if that is your objective.  Are the rings loose or out yet ?
  A friend of mine recounts a story of when he was a diesel mechanic at a repair shop and a co-worker apparently left some 350 Chevy pistons of some kind of his personnel project on a Friday to soak in a parts cleaner bin over the week-end and when he came back in Monday they were pretty much gone.Apparently that stuff was the real deal they had in there way back then and not alloy friendly.

[BomberMann650]

Yep, absolutely awesome at cleaning carbon out of the ring grooves!

[DaveBarbier]

Yeah I agree with the new stuff not being that great compared to what it used to be. If you have a vapor blaster near by that'll clean them up brand new in about 30 seconds.


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[BomberMann650]

Yeah I agree with the new stuff not being that great compared to what it used to be. If you have a vapor blaster near by that'll clean them up brand new in about 30 seconds.
L

But will they do it for under $30?

[Fezzler]

Cheaper and easier to drop them in a pot of antifreeze and boil them. It will completely clean them up and the antifreeze is dirt cheap, widely available, and won't spoil if re-used. And completely non-corrosive to your pistons.

After that your pasta will never taste the same!

[pjlogue]

Cheaper and easier to drop them in a pot of antifreeze and boil them. It will completely clean them up and the antifreeze is dirt cheap, widely available, and won't spoil if re-used. And completely non-corrosive to your pistons.

Be sure to do this in a well ventilated area!  The Ethylene Glycol in antifreeze is poison (2 tsp) can kill you through kidney failure.  While it is not as volatile as water it still goes into vapor with boiling.  If you ever had a leak from a heater core in your car you can see it condense on the inside of the windshield and appears as a greasy film. 

-P.

[PeWe]

I cleaned my pistons and head combustion chambers with pure muscle power. Not that strong but it what I had home.

[garyS-NJ]

Actual carbon on the tops is very inert and I would be surprised if any solvent or cleaner works at all.  I think I wire wheeled mine but attacking with thermal expansion might work, say get the piston hot then quench the crown in oil or hit with freeze spray.  Ring grooves I can't remember but I think it was chem dip and a pick.  You can heat the chem deep bath also but don't breath too much of that either..

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[Lostboy Steve]

Berryman's works great. I add a bit of time to the recommended amount. Before rinse I give it a bit of a scrub with a nylon brush.