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Polishing Wheel to Remove Gaskets?


hpfiend

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Hey guys---

 

A while back I had this guy setup the first rear end (of 3) in my LT1 F-body - He had a 90 degree air die grinder which he had this little white cloth appearing pad which he used on the rear-end housing and cap and it took the crusty gasket material off and polished the steel to a point you could eat off of in a matter of a minute. I have even seen guys do the same thing on aluminum before I think. The pad seemed to stay together such that he could do several rear-ends or heads or waterpump mounting surfaces with one.

 

I am sick and tired of scraping till my eyes cross with my replaceable razor blade scraper and spray on gasket eater on projects. Can anyone share what this tool was and where to get one for an air grinder or dremel? I have tried the tiny felt wheels on the dremel and it just ate the felt up in less than a minute on a throttle body I was trying to clean and wouldn't touch it so I brought out the trusty old precarious/stomach turning/scraper

 

Thanks!

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I bought something like this a few years ago. It's in the sand paper section at Advance.

 

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=APO&MfrPartNumber=A1705&CategoryCode=3371

 

Mine had a few discs that can go on the end of my drill (not sure of a die grinder) and it took off the gaskets with the paint stripper in seconds.

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It was just 90 degree die grinder with some 3M buffing pads on it I'd assume. Use them everyday.

 

Another good way to get old gaskets off is with the 3M rubber finger pads. Either work just fine.

 

You can get a 90 degree air grinder at Harbor Freight for less than $20. I don't know how much the pads cost b/c my work supplies them.

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hmm- the sandpaper ones look a little too wild compared to what I am talking about- have you used those on aluminum?

 

verse! I believe they may be 3M buffing pads but I can not find them that small- this thing was maybe 2" in diameter MAX likely 1" to 1.5". And looked like this:

 

http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mfi3inknbup.html

 

but I don't know how you would attach that to an air grinder and that one is 3".

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This is what I'm talking about.

 

http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mrolsurcond.html

 

They work wonders. They do wear down so maybe it just looked smaller? These will get your gaskets off in no time. Just don't try to grind into the aluminum, move it around to not cause any groves.

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It was just 90 degree die grinder with some 3M buffing pads on it I'd assume. Use them everyday.

 

Another good way to get old gaskets off is with the 3M rubber finger pads. Either work just fine.

 

You can get a 90 degree air grinder at Harbor Freight for less than $20. I don't know how much the pads cost b/c my work supplies them.

+1, I never bought the pads. Used them every day though.

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DON'T use the brown disks on the block. it gets the shit in the oil and can wipe out an engine. if anything use the 2" yellow or white rol-loc rubber wheels. i use a gasket scraper that holds a razor blade. GM issued a bulletin a few years back about this and they can find the shit in an oil sample and made alot of dealers pay them back because of engine failure.
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I never saw that bulletin. Everyone at my old dealership used those things for just about everything. I never use them on the block though. I always use the yellow rubber fingers when doing a head gasket.

 

Oh well, I work for Toyota now and it's much better.

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I never saw that bulletin. Everyone at my old dealership used those things for just about everything. I never use them on the block though. I always use the yellow rubber fingers when doing a head gasket.

 

Oh well, I work for Toyota now and it's much better.

 

 

#00-06-01-012B

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i use the rubber finger ones on aluminum. the sandpaper ones and even the softer 3m pads are harsh on aluminum. best thing to use on aluminum head is a peice of glass, and 1000 grit emory paper and water.
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i use the rubber finger ones on aluminum. the sandpaper ones and even the softer 3m pads are harsh on aluminum. best thing to use on aluminum head is a peice of glass, and 1000 grit emory paper and water.

 

i keep that in stock in my tool box at work. what also works good is used 3M cookies, that way they don't chew the head up. i only use them when the gasket is a super bitch to get off the head and the emory would take days to get it all off.

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i do the same. but some of these newer engines with mls gaskets need a super flat surface to seal up right. so many of these newer engines are running in the .0001 spec ranges you cant even fuck around. i have a bunch of the old reallly soft gray ones. but the used ones take off the heavy shit, hit them with gray then break out the glass!
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we don't have the gray ones. the new ones with the MLS i never need to do more than hit it with the glass. the older ones with the standerd gasket are the ones i need to get the wiz bang out on. i was teaching that to my school to work kid that works for me. he was about to go ape shit on a head with a new cookie and i had to learn him up quick fast and in a hurry.
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we don't have the gray ones. the new ones with the MLS i never need to do more than hit it with the glass. the older ones with the standerd gasket are the ones i need to get the wiz bang out on. i was teaching that to my school to work kid that works for me. he was about to go ape shit on a head with a new cookie and i had to learn him up quick fast and in a hurry.

i got some gray ones from a shop that went out of bis! i got 5 or 6 boxs(2" and 3" ones) for like $10. we dont have gray ones either but you can order them from napa.

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This project is for iron stuff but I will def keep that in mind for aluminum- what does the glass do? Are you talking fiberglass or plate glass?

 

Those rubber finger/bristle pads we bought are neat- I didn't know about the white ones-

 

What is a 3M cookie?

 

Thanks for all the good info...

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they kinda look like cookies. the mint cookies are like a 36 grit sand paper.

 

the glass is a perfectly flat plate then you wrap emory cloth sandpaper around it and parts washer solvent and clean the head. makes a really clean smooth gasket area.

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