is it safe to sand blast rotors???

my rotors are dirty as hell,but i am scared that sand blastinf might damage something...

 

Engine rotors? No. Not even close.

Brake rotors? The centre hub would be fine to sandblast.

Again, no to the engine rotors.

 

any speck of sand not removed is bad news as far as i know. buy some heavy duty cleaner and a metal brush. and some rubber gloves that go to your elbow; chemicals eat your skin. oh, and have fun!

 

Yeah I thought you meant brake rotors too....

some people actually rough em up a little before they hit the track. At least that what that one guy said on Speed that one time.

 

If I remember right, the FSM says:

1. Remove the carbon from the rotor with a carbon remover or emery paper. CAUTION (a), Do not use emery paper on the groove of the apex seal or side seal. (b) Take care not to damage the soft material coating on the side surfaces.
2. Remove the carbon in each groove.
3. Wash the rotor with a cleaning solution.

That's from the online FSM I just looked at.......online. Free. Cheap. Download two for the price of one.

 

Call me crazy if you must but all of the old head rotary guys I've spoken to usually submerge their rotors in gasoline overnight before cleaning. I've done it on one motor and it seemed to make cleaning a little easier but i've only done it once and i've only ever rebuilt 3 motors so i dont think its enough to swear by. Anyone have a legit reason not to do that they can support with proof or reasonable certainty?

 

Sand blasting removes material that is required for tolerances at the side seals, corner seals, and apex seals. After sandblasting, there would be no way to get the seals to fit with spec.

 

There will be a small abount of the blasting media left behind. It can come off and ruin the engine when you run it. The same is true for sandblasting spark plugs.

 

As for doing brake rotors, I sand blasting tends to leave things pitted and not a smooth, even surface. I'm certainly no expert on the process, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea.

 

I used a dremle and a soft wire wheel to clean my rotors. You have to be very carefull around the seal seats thou. Work realy well thou, got all the carbon off.

 

dump them in castorl superclean...that should alteast loosen the carbon to come off easily with a little elbow grease. superclean did wonders to all the parts i needed to clean and its cheap.

 

this is so easy I cant believe it.

Buy - one gallon of simple green
submurge a rotor for about three days
rinse off
oil to prevent rust

 

I was hoping somebody would get to simple green soon...Great degreaser, and safe for the rotor and your hands

 

Safe for rotor, safe for hands.... not safe for rotor bearings. Neither is Castrol.

 

No, not smooth. That's why I said to use it on the center hub, and not on the friction surface. You tape off the friction surface with lots of layers of tape.