What kinds of abrasive pads are best to clean off old gaskets?

I am a few years old into learning to work on my jeep and I recently decided getting a pnuematic impact and socket was the way to go. I added an 1/4" angle die grinder today

I took a heavier grit sand paper to some aluminum and its clearly eating the metal. The lighter stuff did the same but not as much. I remember a buddy years ago using an angle die grinder to take gasket off my rear diff (was just starting to learn to work on my jeep) and I know thats not aluminum but I was unclear of the abrasive pad.


Do you guys have any suggestions on what I should check out?

 

There are abrasive pads and discs. The discs are like the grinder discs and will take metal away like a grinder disc. The scotchbrite pads come in a screw on and stick on version. Get the screw on. They come in three colors. Blue for aluminum, red medium and green coarse. I use the blue and red ones for removing old gaskets

 

Also a wire wheel works great for what you are wanting to do and lasts much longer.

 

Don't use a wire wheel on a die grinder, unless it's rated for high RPMs though, unless you like picking bristles out of your skin and eyes...I personally prefer a wire wheel for gasket removal, use a cordless drill, takes what you want off, doesn't damage the mating surface.

 

Actually they make wire wheels specialty made for 4-1/2” angle grinders that are rated to 10-12k rpm. Not saying they don’t lose some wire but with proper PPE they are perfectly safe All the big box stores sell them.

 

Personally I try to use a razor blade and carb cleaner to take off old gasket material. This can be slow and tedious but unless you are doing it for a living it should matter little. Using anything else has risks:

* Aggressive use of wire wheel and abrasive discs can damage the surface. Especially if you are not skilled in doing this it is easy to deeply scratch the surface, which makes sealing it back up much more difficult. Even if you think you are being careful look at the surface with a magnifying glass afterward. You will be surprised.

* Using any abrasive material releases abrasive particles that can get where they should not be. This can lead to damage when the particles get into sliding surfaces, bearings, gears, etc. The particles used in abrasive discs, wheels and the like are extremely hard and sharp. And do you know where that all the broken bits of wire went?

As already mentioned use equipment as it is intended (note speed rating of discs compared to equipment it is being used with) and wear eye protection.

 

Never said it wasn't safe, and to use rated for high speed...I prefer lower speeds to minimize damage to mating surfaces.

 

Note that die grinders can achieve very high RPM. They are designed to primarily use grinding stones and burrs to remove material. As others indicated some cutoff discs and other attachments you might be tempted to use in a die grinder are not suitable for high speed operation. Please – understand the proper use of equipment and attachments as intended by the manufacture and never use a die grinder with a cutoff disc without a guard/shield in place. I am aware of a case where an individual was using a die grinder with a cutoff wheel without a guard helping a friend with modifications to a vehicle. The disc broke, a chunk struck him in the face and he permanently lost sight in one eye. He was wearing reading glasses, not safety glasses. He sued the manufacture of the equipment. The initial case and appeals went on for years but he failed to achieve compensation for the loss of sight in one eye. Hardly worth the risk of using equipment improperly and without adequate safety equipment. Stop and consider what can go wrong.

 

This is how I do it aswell.

Razor blades, carb cleaner, putty knife. I tuck paper towels and rags in the places debris shouldnt go. Then I shop vac everything out if its engine parts like intake manifold and such.

 

3m green bristle disk for removing gaskets.

 

It all depends on what your removing the gasket from. A wire wheel works fine for a differential gasket, but I wouldn't use one on a head gasket.

 

I DO NOT recommend using 3M Roloc bristle disc, Scotch-Brite type pads, wire wheels and other abrasives for most gasket removal as part of engine work. Same goes for bead blasting of parts. They all shed abrasive particles and risk imbedding them into the part. It is also easy to remove more material than intended causing gouges, scratches or low spots that are difficult to seal. You do not want to get contaminates into oil passages, lifters, gear mesh area, bearings, between piston to bore clearance, into oil pump, etc. Preventing abrasive contamination is important in this type of work. Green, red and other color scouring type pads, Roloc discs and related are made with a fiber such as nylon coated with abrasives including aluminum oxide, titanium oxide or ceramics which form very hard, sharp particles. Getting debris 100% cleaned up from using these is practically impossible. A Google search for something like “use of abrasive pad in engine” will identify a number warnings against using such on engine work. Both Ford and GM have service advisories related to contamination and resulting engine failure due to use of abrasives in removing gaskets and related activity. A razor blade (except on aluminum), plastic scraper clean rags and carb cleaner used carefully is the best solution for this type of work.

**The exception might be if you have removed the part from the assembly and can thoroughly clean it, preferably with an ultrasonic cleaner.