cleaning cyl heads ?

[apm]

Hi Guys
What is everyone's preferred method for cleaning cyl heads these days, in my engine shop we currently put iron heads into a hot caustic tank, a hot spin wash, then use the grinder with wire brushes to finish the job off, and aluminum heads just go into the hot wash then wire brushes also.
Just looking for a better way, we used to use an acid tank for aluminum heads as well but it was really nasty stuff and the smell was the worst, then we used to blast with glass beads but they are almost impossible to remove from all the threaded holes and oil galleys.
I have had 2 different company's come and try to sell me ultra sonic machines, both of them gave me a machine for a week to test , but I wasn't impressed at all .
I'm open to suggestions
Thanks again
Aaron

[cgarb]

One local shop uses a soda blaster to clean local parts. Probably anything stuck in the holes dissolves in the hot tank.

[machinedave]

About three years ago I started sending out my cast iron heads and blocks to another shop to get baked and shot blasted. The time I spent trying to get rusty old cast iron components clean was taking forever. Aluminum heads I take a wire wheel/driil to decarbonize the chambers then clean in my Axe spray washer.

[Frankshaft]

Same as above. Shake and bake iron, jet wash/wire brush aluminum. No bead blasting. If you can find someone in your area to bake and blast, it is simply the best way. I used to hot tank, then shot blast iron, but, you had to make sure it was completely dry on the inside after washing. If no one in your area has a bake and blast set up, that could be a nice little profit center if there is other shops in your area. Its easy to do.

[BILL-C]

Many thousands of aluminum cylinder heads have gone through my shop that we glass beaded and i can count the number of related problems on the fingers of one hand. I have my guys tape off the water jackets and especially the oil passages on the deck before blasting. We jet wash the heads before any work gets done to remove any soft and oiley stuff, and again after machine work is done. Parts gets thoroughly rinsed and VERY thoroughly blown dry with blow gun through all bolt holes and passages. There is no excuse for glass bead to be left anywhere if people do their job right.

[PackardV8]

the grinder with wire brushes to finish the job off, and aluminum heads just go into the hot wash then wire brushes also.

Seems pretty labor-intensive.

Tried a bake oven?

Tried a shot blast cabinet?

[ec1]

I Bake and blast the iron stuff. Jetwash for aluminum heads, for the gross aluminum and OHC stuff I made a cheap soda blast cabinet by combining a harbor freight soda pressure pot and a cheap cabinet. It was the best thing I have done in years! The soda takes the E85 goo off too! And it will blast carbon off better than just about anything. Even oily goo it will blast it off. You just can't reuse the soda, but it is worth it for the OHC stuff to not have to worry about the media getting into everything because it just dissolves in the jetwash.

[ec1]

However, the soda doesn't remove oxidation very well, from alum or steel, so it's not going to be the best for a perfect looking job on the exterior of aluminum heads that have to look uniform. And filling the pressure pot is a pain, but I have plans for an upgrade for that problem.

[4sfed]

However, the soda doesn't remove oxidation very well, from alum or steel, so it's not going to be the best for a perfect looking job on the exterior of aluminum heads that have to look uniform.

Etching mag wheel cleaner does a good job of removing the oxidation on aluminum heads.

[nickpohlaandp]

We have a pretty badass poly blaster setup at my work. I've used it for a few sets of aluminum 4.6 Cobra heads and it works amazing. It's non abrasive so it doesn't mess up any flange mounting surfaces, but it gets all the junk off them in an amazingly fast manner, as in I can have a pair of heads done in under 15 minutes. With that said, I'm pretty sure this blast setup costs as much as a decent house, and you still have to wash them afterwards to get any stray media out, but it's not like silica media that kind of piles up and sticks... this stuff floats up in a cleaning tank.