Carb Cleaning question

[themess]

Can i use electrolysis like some people do with rusted out tanks? or is aluminum oxcide unable to be removed in this manor?

Aluminum oxide is quite stable, and you won't remove it electrolytically.

FWIW Rust is iron oxide. Rust is soft, so it falls off easily, exposing bare metal that can rust (oxidize), and the process repeats. Aluminum oxidizes much easier than iron, but aluminum oxide is tough (which is why it is used on sand paper). Aluminum oxide is also more-or-less impervious to water and air, so it protects the underlying metal from the oxidants. Stainless steel works a bit like aluminum does, by having a tough, impermeable film on top of the metal.

[craywm]

I have 4 carbs with NO oxide on them. I was switching out 2 of my carb bodies because i broke them kind of. One i fixed but since i had the oportunity, i wanted to replace it. the other had the tip of the fuel mixture screw broken off in the carb. then i identified the wrong hole to poke through to get it out and i broke the head of a sewing needle off in the idle hole in the carb throat. I was also short on some parts so i ordered these carbs for 40 bucks. got all the parts i need now.. just have to fix them! I dont have to replace the carb body that i fixed so i really only need to replace 1 carb body. which means that if the bike doesnt start.. that should pretty much narrow the trouble shooting to that carb.

Dont ultrasonic cleaning machines basically use electrolysis though? i think im getting my facts mixed up.. i have been blowing air into the carbs and every passage is "clear" that doesnt mean that it doesnt have aluminum oxide in it. My guess is i will have to clean it up nice, pollish the inside, try to get those passages as clean as possible and spray some wd40 through the carb, then clean it all out, and assemble it and see if it works.

Any suggestions on this?
Thanks for all your feedback! its been helping soo much!

[Agemax]

ultrasonic cleaning is great for cleaning all the gunk out the carbs but it wont get that amount of corrosion off the state of those carbs.

[craywm]

ill just have to work it for a while and see if they are usable

[themess]

Ultrasonic cleaning and electrolysis are completely different.

"Ultra" means extreme, and "sonic" refers to sound. Ultrasonic cleaning uses water or some other solvent. The machine makes the solvent vibrate at high frequency, roughly above the frequency of human hearing. It is a little bit like high pressure washing, except that it is for small items, and it is less likely to damage things.

Electrolysis is what happens to a battery that is discharged and recharged. It is also the most common way to apply metal coatings, such as chrome plating. Explaining it requires a lot of chemistry.