any tips guys?
how about rust...any body try vinegar, evaporust???
this would be for a bare block or other parts as well you want to reclaim.

I just did this, and truthfully for the money I spent on supplies and chemicals, and the time it took and the mess it made, it cost less to have a machine shop clean it. It's about $50 to have my local shop do it.

For grime gunk oil wax and dirt I still haven't found anything that cleans better than laquer thinner. For heavy rust, I use a muratic acid bath. For light rust, I'll either put a wire wheel brush on my drill or use baking soda in a gravity feed blaster

For parts other than the block, I typically clean with laquer thinner and wire brush

Lacquer thinner fine for internals, but will/can leave a residue that might affect paint adhesion on the outer block surface, I generally use acetone

Have it burned, and tumbled...

I havent experienced that with laquer thinner, I use it to clean and prep about every surface (car parts) I paint. I switched to laquer thinner years ago when i figured out mineral spirits left oily residue, and brake cleaner also left a residue.

Ill have to look closely next time Im cleaning to paint, for the residue.

Hopefully you guys are wearing rubber gloves and the appropriate respirators, with laquer thinner, acetone, muratic acid etc.

Does shorts and flip flops count?

..o.k. like Adam suggested 2 inch wire wheel in my drill.
..no easy task and time consuming but effective and it is cleaning
the rust up fine, looking like a new casting
..tx A71.

What worked well on mine was hot tank, tumble in shot and "jet wash" (high pressure hot soap and water). It came out very well. The shot tumble was not real expensive (~$75) and removed remaining paint, rust and minor casting defects. It looked like a new block.

You gotta be a glutton for punishment or just plain ol' CHEAP to want to do this yourself !!!

Evaporust will get the rust off but a drum to submerge it in is $1,000 and it doesn't remove grease or paint. Burn and tumble won't clean out the oil galleys or get the rust out of the water jackets. Hot tank is the only real choice.

Not really !!

Hot tank is "old school". The caustic chemicals remove "most" paint and "most" grease and oil but because there s little motion in the tank, it can only attack what it soaks into and relies on the manual rinse to remove the sludge its managed to penetrate. Oil galleys need major attention afterwards. Hot tank chemicals DO NOT remove rust. Any bearings left in the motor will be eaten by the caustic.

The hot solvent washers will remove paint and grease and oil very effectively because the block is getting a constant flow - removing the crud with the flow of the solvent. But oil galleys still need major attention. The solvents are safe on bearings.

The bake process turns paint oil and grease to ash. But again, does nothing for rust.

The shot process does a great job on rust BUT only where it can come in direct contact, so water jackets still don't get touched. Shot will peen every machined surface so its advisable to leave all bearings and main caps in the block so those surfaces don't get damaged. The lifter bores will need adjusting afterwards and the block will need to be decked.

Regardless, a very good cleaning with hot soap and water is required after all machining then a thorough spray of WD40 to prevent rust.

Once you've done assembly to a point you want to paint, wash off the WD40 with brake cleaner. After brake cleaner I wash the motor down with oil and grease remover in a paint gun. Pay attention to the small pores in the surface. You want to make sure they're dry before painting.

On my blocks I remove every bit of casting flash both inside and out before I send the motor out for cleaning.

As long as they are steel toe.

I'm also getting tired of cleaning parts in general on my garage floor and side of house. I'm going to invest in a solvent tank/sink. And when I get to the point I can afford a good enough air compressor, I will get a blast cabinet.

well i do have a lot of time and a heated shop.
.. the shops around here can no longer use the harsh chemicals and only steam or
boil so i was more concerned with scale in the water passages and rust..
..what would you suggest?

besides submerging the block in a rust dissolver, I dont know. And Muratic acid is the cheapest it is sold straight as a pool and cement cleaner, it costs about $8 a gallon at my local hardware store. You could put freeze plugs back in and fill it up. BUT, by the time it dissolved all the rust in the water jacket it may eat the threads for any galley plugs that go into the water jacket... So probably bad idea..

can.al ... where are you located ?? There are still shops around with hot tanks and chemical washers. I can even tell you where there's a company that will soak your whole block in an acid bath to remove the rust. The downside is they charge by weight so a block will not be cheap.

Personally I don't know why you're worried about the water passages. If they're that caked with rust you have to figure the block and cylinder walls will be thin - that rust came from somewhere !! Otherwise, it will just be normal stuff like millions of other motors ... just let it be.

There is some stuff at Canadian tire great for removing rust green stuff I may have a can I'll see if i can get the name brush on wait wipe off and rinse with water later.