[Amps] LYE

[Robert Bonner]

Yes I have to agree with Larry on intelligence of use.

 

We used LYE to clean melted aluminum off steel cylinder sleeves on Top Fuel
Dragster engines.  You could toss the sleeves into the lye and not worry
about the steel cylinders but watch the aluminum bubble away.  Within an
hour you could run a hone through the cylinder and life would be good again.
Teams back then would constantly have baths going (most used acid stupidly
not knowing the difference)

 

SO yes if you used a low grade concentrate and watched the bath while the
parts were in it, constantly moving the chemicals, you could probably do a
good cleanup.  I would recommend the sanding the pitted parts first as the
lye will remove the low spots as well as the high spots.  It's not
selective.

 

And I would not just wash the parts in water afterwards if you use a high
concentration of LYE, I would acid bath them to neutralize the LYE.

 

After dipping in acid, I would then thoroughly wash with water.

 

BOB DD