I just pulled apart the motor from a first gen I bought that had been sitting for 2+ years. I was wondering if anyone knew of any good safe methods of cleaning my housing faces and rotors.

The guy I work for who’s been in the honda game for many years said kerosine and a softer brush may work good. Haven’t tried it yet but I’m just trying to take any advice I can.

I’m also not against going to a machine shop to have it cleaned in the high temp cleaner(obviously I forgot the technical term for it).

 

Kerosene works, acetone does too. i usually start with a razor blade, and just get the big stuff off, and then move to the actual cleaners. i just use simple green and a brush, hot water helps too.

 

think of cleaning the engine as a process, as opposed to an event. there's no one-and-done to it.

the housings are fairly easy, so what follows applies mainly to the rotors themselves, but the general order (which the post above alludes to) is for all the parts.

there are steps to it. you'll want to take off all the heavy stuff first (the carbon and heavy grease/oil residue), pretty much any solvent will do (kerosene, diesel, acetone, mineral spirits, etc.) depending on your situation (time, space, etc.) soaking is better, but not necessary.

the next step is cleaning the grooves (apex, side and corner) i usually use a broken side seal to do this, but you can use anything that will get the job done. if you choose to use a side seal, just be careful as they are sharp.use the same solvent for this part as well.

now you move to cleaning ... so here is where you use some kind of detergent (Simple Green, Super Clean, Purple Power, Zep, etc.) and break out the toothbrush. i use hot water to rinse, when i can, but it's usually more important to me to use a hose to rinse everything - with some force. the main things to note about this step are not to leave the detergent on there for too long, and make sure to rinse thoroughly.

finally, you need to dry (air is best, but again, not necessary) and put a coat of fresh oil on everything.

 

When I performed my rebuild, my rotors were encased in carbon build up. I found that a spray can of Gasket Stripper and paper towel was perfect for cleaning them up with no residue.

Spray it on the rotor, wait for it to stop bubbling and simply wipe it clean. Use an old paint brush, side seal or screw driver wrapped in a paper towel to clean the seal and ring grooves.

What you don't want to do is hit it with a wire wheel or wire brush as it will leave grooves on the rotors.



Housings were cleaned with dish deturgent and scotch brite pads. Kerosene on paper towel should be enough to clean the chrome. Exhaust ports were cleaned using Gasket Stripper and paper towel, but for the more stubborn carbon, I used a dremel with a sanding pad.