what exactly is acid dipping? i'm not quite sure and yes i did search. A friend of mine said to acid dip my head before i go to get it polished, wasn't quite sure why i should do this?

 

Lol do a google search and you'll find a little more info.

Basically it's similar to sandblasting, except it gets absolutely everywhere, in every nook and cranny. Typically it removes surface coatings (paint, rust, other junk) to get it down to the raw metal. It's good to do the head like this so when you put it all together and do any other modifications, you're starting with a perfectly clean head.
I'd recommend it if you're going to do any work on your head, and I don't think it's that expensive.

 

would it make it really clean then so if i shined it up it would look nice? thinking of getting my manifold dipped

 

I would stick to Hot tanking unless you go to a professional shop that does acid dipping for aluminum heads. There are different chemical compounds involved when doing cast aluminum especially when you have to find out the "type" of aluminum. Acid dipping is what people use when they want to get rid of access weight (body panels, hoods, trunks etc) They get for example the hood acid dipped to "thin" out the material.

A lot of hot rod guys use this method.

Also, before you dip your head to clean it, you must remove everything.

I would stick to Hot tanking unless you go to a professional shop that does acid dipping for aluminum heads. There are different chemical compounds involved when doing cast aluminum especially when you have to find out the "type" of aluminum. Acid dipping is what people use when they want to get rid of access weight (body panels, hoods, trunks etc) They get for example the hood acid dipped to "thin" out the material.

A lot of hot rod guys use this method.

Also, before you dip your head to clean it, you must remove everything to a bare head.


1337 3d1t: What are you polishing? The outside?

 

I don't think is shines, so much as cleans. A good polish would be beneficial, the acid just gets rid of junk and carbon buildup and other nasty stuff in your engine.

 

ya the outside i already had the inside matched up for better flow but it sorta looks like crap on the outside.

 

LOL.


Okay, don't acid dip your head. You will HAVE to remove everything to a bare head plus it would cost you in respect to return A LOT of money.

Get some degreaser, tooth brush, w/e and polish away. They have products out there now, spray on, let it sit, wash away.

 

so buy some of that engine crap u say and rub away...il do it in a few days and take some ebfore and after pics! thanks a bunch.

 

Honestly, the name alone should tell you what it does.

Dipping - The act of pushing something into a liquid.
Acid - A substance (usually a liquid) that eats away material.

Using the context of "Acid Dipping a Head", this would tell me that you are pushing the head into a container of acid, to have the acid eat material away. Since this head is to be polished (ported and polished more like), I'd assume that the acid is safe for metal and that the dipping is to remove unwanted grime and buildup that needs to be removed for porting and polishing.

But that's just using common sense.

 

ahhh common sense..... its one of those things you wish everyone had just a little bit of.