I'm preparing to start assembling my engine and was planning to use the brown/red Scotch-Brite pads to take the gloss off the rotor housing surface, but im not sure if i should be doing it a certain way. Should i go in just one direction, like around the surface like the apex seals go, or should i do it in a circular motion, or even perpendicular to how the apex seals travel?? Anyone have any thoughts on the subject??

 

wait, what are you trying to do? take the gloss off? what do you mean by that?

 

He don't like how the chrome look so he want's to polish the stainless underneath.

 

ROFLMFAO.

Seriously for a moment though? you got a pic of The "SHINEY?"

 

maybe some pictures of what your planning on doing...

 

if you've ever seen brand new rotor housings, the chrome surface isn't polished like when you open up an engine that has a lot of miles on it... its dull and kinda scuffed. i have read and been told you can 'scuff up' the surface of used rotor housings to be kinda like it is in a brand new housing. I don't know that it really has any benefit, but since they come that way new, i figured it couldn't hurt.

 

i figure it can hurt. i wouldn't touch the surface.

 

If it can't hurt then try some 1200 grit and report back. Maybe even lighter grit I would say it depends how thick the factory chrome is and what's left.

 

the guy that said to do it has been building rotarys for a long time, he builds race motors for a road race team and a off-road truck team... he wouldn't tell me to do it if it was going to damage the housings. i just want to know which way to do it. Thanks for the advice though...

 

I've always been told, and it was how I was taught, that as long as the face is within specs, clean, and free of any blemishes it's good to go. Housing surfaces were to be treated the same way. I've never heard of resurfacing via scotchbrite or by hand period. Id say leave em the hell alone.

 

yeah, the way he said it when he told me to do it was more like "you can use a red scotch brite and just go over the chrome to scuff up the chrome a little if you want" kinda like its not gonna make a difference but it'll look closer to what a new housing looks like. a scotch brite isn't gonna sand off the chrome or anything... it probably doesn't scuff it up much unless you spend hours doing it.

 

I'v had the same kinda guy tell me to take a belt sander to a side iron to in effect "LAP" it smooth. that engine lasted 67 miles. the side seals ate them selfs into the rotors. both were ruined. but then he gave me new(used) parts for my trouble.

 

he's definitely not the same kinda guy as you had the misfortune to get screwed by. and besides that, he's also my nephew, so he knows if he gives me any b.s., he will have the whole family on his ***! LOL seriously, he knows his **** so if he says its ok, im gonna go with it. but like i said, he just mentioned it as an afterthought so its not like its something thats gonna give me 10 more hp or another 20,000 extra miles on the motor if i do it. just thought maybe someone else might have done it and could tell me how to do it or how not to do it. Thanks for all the input gentleman...

 

It's just like what we do on motorcycle engine cases. the red scotch brite pad gives it a brushed look. don't use sandpaper because it won't get down into the dimples.
your not doing this on the mating surfaces are you? if you want to do this to parts that you see then ok. I like to do it in little circles, but it's hard on the hands and fingers. you can also get round scotch brite disks to put on little air sanders. they range in size from 1.5" to 4". as long as you are not doing the mating surfaces you can't hurt it.

 

TweaKed,he was talking about internal surfaces.

 

Just wash them with solvent to remove any of the junk that has built up. If there is black/brown staining from oil, then a fine Scotch Brite can be used with plenty of solvent for lubrication to remove the stains but don't go wild.

The sides of the housings (where they meet the irons) are easily cleaned with 600 grit emery cloth on a sanding block. Lubricate it through this process with solvent, oil, parts cleaner fluid, etc.

For the irons, I have a little mandrel that mounts to my electric drill that uses Velcro backed Scotch-Brite pads. I put the iron in my parts washer and flow fluid over it while I use the "fine" pads. Works very well.