What is the Best Carburetor Dip?

'59Edsel

'59Edsel

Senior Member
I'm going to do a rebuild on my Edsel's two barrel Ford 2100 carburetor and want to know the best product to soak it in for the best clean. Thanks


Oh, and I know here in California all we can buy is the weak stuff, so is there any way to get real carb dips here in California without physically having to go get it? I was thinking maybe eBay or amazon might not restrict this. Who knows...
 
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'59Edsel said:
I'm going to do a rebuild on my Edsel's two barrel Ford 2100 carburetor and want to know the best product to soak it in for the best clean. Thanks


Oh, and I know here in California all we can buy is the weak stuff, so is there any way to get real carb dips here in California without physically having to go get it? I was thinking maybe eBay or amazon might not restrict this. Who knows...
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Been following some threads on the Hamb, which led to a link to a cycle site. Long story short, Pine Sol works well especially if warm. I've used Awesome (dollar store) and it works well. If you have a bead blaster, you can lightly hit it after the soak (and it's dry). Just make darn sure you really blow out all the beads from all the passages before assembly.
 
I second awesome cleaner that stuff works pretty good just make sure to wear gloves and keep it away from painted parts you don't want messed up.
 
Berryman Chem-Dip professional carburetor and parts cleaner, They make an environmentally freindly dip that I'm pretty sure you can find in CA. It works very well and its about $20 for a 1 gallon can. FYI, If your bolts and small parts are cadmium plated dont leave them in very long as this stuff will remove the plating.
 
you wont find any carb cleaner in calif that works, when it says enviromentally friendly you may as well soak the parts tide soap, this is a wonderful country where a few nuts can dictate what you can buy
 
Yea, the so called carb cleaner has been watered down since the old days. I remember when carb dip would make it shine in a couple hours, now I leave it in for days and I still have to scrub them with a brush.
On a side note though I started using straight Methel Ethel Keytone-MEK and it does better than the carb cleaner. Of course I don't think they let you play with it in Calif.
 
Mark T said:
Berryman Chem-Dip professional carburetor and parts cleaner, They make an environmentally freindly dip that I'm pretty sure you can find in CA. It works very well and its about $20 for a 1 gallon can. FYI, If your bolts and small parts are cadmium plated dont leave them in very long as this stuff will remove the plating.
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I just bought the Berryman product and used it to clean my carb. It did just a fair job. I had to do a lot of wire brushing and water washing to get the parts clean.
 
Carb cleaner is expensive but you can make your own a little cheaper. Get a quart each of Alcohol, Acetone and Xylol from the hardware store and dump it together in a used gallon paint thinner can. You then have carb cleaner. Works great at less than $15 total for 3/4 gallon.

By the way, alcohol, ethanol and white lightening are all the same thing, just distilled alcohol from fermented grain. The ethanol and alcohol you buy as solvents or in gas are "denatured" so they are undrinkable. The white lightening is drinkable..... hic....
 
I've used Berryman's and it works well but don't get any on your hands. It takes a long time to get rid of the stench. It seems no matter how hard I try protect my hands from it, I always manage to get some on me.
 
Yes, Berryman is excellent just give it time to soak and it gives a fresh new look to carbs as well as cleaning orifices. I would respect highly anything that leaves a stench for days just for touching a microgram. Not sure it is good for ya so grab some in Nevada and treat it with respect.
 
Cool Hand Lurker said:
Carb cleaner is expensive but you can make your own a little cheaper. Get a quart each of Alcohol, Acetone and Xylol from the hardware store and dump it together in a used gallon paint thinner can. You then have carb cleaner. Works great at less than $15 total for 3/4 gallon.

By the way, alcohol, ethanol and white lightening are all the same thing, just distilled alcohol from fermented grain. The ethanol and alcohol you buy as solvents or in gas are "denatured" so they are undrinkable. The white lightening is drinkable..... hic....
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I just read this and I know this is an old posting but I feel strongly opposed to using any fluid that burns invisible. Please use extreme caution when using alcohol as a cleaner. It is the scary feeling burning and not knowing you’re on fire.

On the Berryman cleaner the great California banned several cleaners, 2-cycle weed eaters, Fun and other nasty pollutants. Berryman changed their formula to meet California standards in other words they water downed the recipe. The old Berryman formula was great and scary and had a life of its own. I had one gallon in my garage and during the day it expanded and at night it would contract like it was living. You had to use extreme caution when opening it as it would sometimes burst. Wearing gloves helped but didn’t always keep your hands from smelling this was dangerous stuff which meant good stuff.

The older dip had a safety ring to keep the lid from blowing off most of the time. In the Texas heat watch out when opening it. If you have read other posts on carburetor cleaners some swear by Barryman’s and some swear at it and that’s the reason why, which is Barryman’s changed the formula. The old formula was 0996 and the new is 0996C I think the C stands for California.

This posting although late may help a reader. Always test a cleaner for fire if it burns invisible don’t use it or keep fire extinguisher handy.
 
Another thing, don't store Xylol in a plastic container. It ate through a 1/4" thick ABS container overnight and really stunk up the garage. Had fans going for a week!
 
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