rx1jim
New member
Most of these all purpose cleaners contains strong alkaline chemicals. Cleaners such as the ZEP purple cleaner, Castrol Superclean, oven cleaner will attack aluminum at an alarming rate. The alkalibe chemicals in these cleaners are extremely effective in breaking down grease and oil. When you get these cleaners on your hands, your hands feel slippery, this is because the cleaner is dissolving your skin. The carbon deposits on the power valves act as a mask for the aluminum, this results in what you see in the pictures which were posted Don't use any of these cleaners. The pitting and texture etched into the surface of the power valve make it easier for the carbon deposits to adhere to the valve. The power valves are aluminum which have been anodized to provide a harder, slippery surface. The anodization provides the gray color to the aluminum. The anodized surface it there to prevent the aluminum power valve from galling and sticking to the aluminum surface in the cylinder. These cleaners will attack the aluminum anodization and aluminum. You will ruin the valves using these cleaners!! The carbon deposits are not easily dissolved very easily. The best way to clean the valves is to clean them often while the deposits are thin enough so they can be scrubbed off. I have had good luck using a green scotchbrite pad with some Fast Orange hand cleaner. About 5 min. od scrubbing and they are clean with no damage to the aluminum anodized surface. I ahve tried numerous solvents, oils, etc.. There is no magic chemical or treatment to remove the carbon deposits.
