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Cleaning a Radiator


tanuki

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I need to clean the crap out of a radiator.....you know all the crap that gets inground and lives inbetween the little fins.

anyone know how this can be done, I have tried soaking it and brushing it with a soft toothbrush but even that is damaging the fins.

Anyone know how its best done or that can steer me towards someone who can do it for me.

Cheers

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On a related note (because I need to clean up my rad too) whats the best way of straightening the fins? And for painting the rad?

I do seem to remember Frosts doing a radiator comb type of device for theis sort of problem.

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I have just done the radiator on my RG500.

I de-greased it 1st using gunk in a spray tin then hosed it down. I then sprayed through the radiator fins using brake/carb cleaner, which blew out 26yrs of crap nicely with the pressure & dried quickly!

I repainted it with smooth black hammerite out of a spray tin. Looks like new!! :eusa_think:

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Cool,

I'm guessing you didn't spray the fins?

Yep sprayed the fins, but you have to spray from all directions to make sure you cover every bit.

I use the smooth hammerite as it has a rust/corrosion inhibitor & goes on thinly,[ a bit like PJ1 exhaust paint] so does not gloop up the fins.

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If you dig around you can find foaming air-con heat exchanger cleaner. This suff is nicely alkaline so you need to use a lot of water to neutralise it after use, but it works. I work it in with a stiff brush and leave to foam away. I've had a small beach come oot of a rad that had been kindly installed by a certain James Hayden, no need to ask how ;) It realy will shit a lot of heavy particles and not just dirt.

This stuff does wonders and neatly etches back the alloy a little to a bright finish. Loverley stuff.

I'm thinking that some of the alloy wheel products might do something similar, but I've not tried yet.

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I do seem to remember Frosts doing a radiator comb type of device for theis sort of problem.

And somewhere in my beaten up memory is the thought that the tool is called a frog in the trade. ;) I've managed to lose the set of specialist pliers that I was once given that did the job perfectly. I mainly use a cable tie nowadays.

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