Indian Head Shellac on the intake boots?

[Guest]

Watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O2pNnd1n5Q Would like to get more opinions about two things that were presented/recommended in the vid: 1) cleaning the intake boot's contact surface on the cyinder with that round sandpaper-drill bit; and 2) using Indian Head gasket shellac on the intake boots surface. Basically, should I replace my bike's intake boots exactly like that?

[tkent02]

No .

[jsandidge]

I usually like his videos, but this one is just bad advice. You shouldn't need to clean the contact surface very aggressively anyway, because it shouldn't have any sealant on it to start with. All you need to seal it is new rubber O-rings. I wouldn't use boots in the condition he is showing either. If the rubber is hard and pulling away from the metal, they need to be replaced.

[Nessism]

Bad news. Some idiot used varnish to glue those boots on. If I had that bike I'd try heating that crud and see if it would scrape off before hammering away with a flapper wheel.

[JJ]

Not only does he give terrible advice, he can't speak a sentence with cursing. I couldn't take more than a minute of it before shutting it off.

[robertbarr]

I would think (hope) that a scraper with a new single-edged razor would clean that stuff up. If necessary, add chemistry (gasket remover aerosol). I'd avoid abrasives.

All you really need is a flat plane surface (a bit redundant, that); let the O-ring do the sealing. It's there to accommodate expansion and contraction.

I don't think I've seen actual Indian Head sealant since I was in grade school! (1968...).

[tkent02]

Usually anything on there scrapes off with a fingernail. If not some previous idiot glued it on with something like Indian Head. They don't need glue, if anything a little lube will let the O ring last a while longer.

[Big T]

The rubber O ring should create the seal between the boot and the head, not a sealer

Some people use a spot of grease to hold the O ring in the boot, others (like me) use a few dabs of non hardening gasket sealer, like Tack N Seal or Gas ga cinch

Indian Head? waay too hard

Yep, it's still made

[Johnny]

Thank you for your answers this far! As for using grease on the O-rings, would technical vaseline be OK (the stuff that's usually used on battery terminals, I have that around)?

[Steve]

Anything that has a little bit of "tack" to it. Even regular Vaseline works well. Axle grease. Sorghum molasses. Just about anything.

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[Johnny]

Thanks! Going to replace those boots soon now.

[JJ]

Thank you for your answers this far! As for using grease on the O-rings, would technical vaseline be OK (the stuff that's usually used on battery terminals, I have that around)?

I have always used a small dab of axle/bearing grease. Technical vaseline, or even regular vaseline will work.. So will honey, STP oil treatment, ABC bubble gum... LOL

[tkent02]

My favorite is Siiicone lube, because I have a huge can of it and I'll never use it all up.

[hillsy]

Wow! Great video!

Ive got to send that to Ichiban Moto to show him he has some competition

[Johnny]

The guy has many bike repair videos on Youtube. The ones I have watched have been generally really helpful to me and that guy usually seems to know his stuff well, he always mentions things like replace the bolts with new ones every time, or use the correct connectors on the wires etc.. But the methods in this particular one seemed a little odd, that's why I made this thread here, to get a second opinion, to be sure.