Well, I crawled under the rear of my truck yesterday to inspect my K5 and to make sure everything was still tight and secure. I noticed alot of oxidation on my horns due to road salt and other dirt and grime. I removed one of the rear covers from the horn and noticed the oxidation was in the horn channel too and left a ring build up on my diaphram that makes contact with the inner bell. (the horn still sounds as good as the day I installed them) I am going to try to get some “Aluminator” (or so I was told) to clean them up real good and spray them with some aluminum paint primer. if you all remember my CSX K5LA was a direct train horn that was cleaned/refurbished and I was in such a hurry to get it installed that I never protected it rather left it bare unfinished aluminum.
A buddy of mine does HVAC service and there is a solution that he sprays onto the aluminum cores of the outside air conditioners, lets it soak and then sprays it off with a hose, I am wondering if anyone knows if this product might work on the horns as well. I called him this morning and he is bringing me a gallon of it today or tomorrow. He said that you spray it on, it foams up and then you rinse it with water. I need a rather clean surface to spray the primer and to stop future oxidation.
Any/all feedback that I need to know while doing the above process, or if you know of any good acids/cleaners that I can use to removed some of the grime and oxidation from the horns, please post it here. Also, if there is anything I need to know before I spray prime the horns as far as covering the holes in the back cover or any other prep, please let me know. I am planning on using rustoleum spray primer to protect the horns inside and out.
Bixby1980 helped me drop my horns down yesterday and we noticed that the o-rings appeared flattened and need to be replaced as well. I am going to give HB a call this morning to see if they can send me out a pack of them.
A/C coil cleaner is some strong poop be careful with it
Thanks for the reply
I wont leave it on long, just enough to smooth out the oxidation and I will rinse with water immediately.
I called a local trucking company and they use a product called Easy bright for unpolished aluminum. He said to dilute it, spray it on, let it foam and rinse it off, it takes the aluminum back to its original finish. It is $14 a gallon.
I called a local supply company and gave them the specs on the black rubber O-Rings from Nathan and they actually carry them in stock. I will stop and get the Easy Bright, O-Rings and primer/paint and will be back in business very soon.
be sure to dissasemble them… i dont know if i would put that cleaner on the stainless dighprams also just another warning on that cleaner it does a chemical reaction to clean and it gets HOT so yeah dont keep it on there too long
be sure to dissasemble them… i dont know if i would put that cleaner on the stainless dighprams also just another warning on that cleaner it does a chemical reaction to clean and it gets HOT so yeah dont keep it on there too long
Yea, I will totally dissasemble everything and double check everything. I am going to clean the diaphrams with soap and water.
I do this for real I swear. Its one of my businesses.
pm sent.
Click Images.
Sand cast removes 95% of the factory defects, leaves the horn in a state thats perfect for painting or powder coating. Glass beaded is perfect for clear powder coating, or polishing. Just the sand cast version alone puts the horns in a better state than stock for defects.
Nice job on the “Horn-Blasting”…lol…pun intended…lol
I dont think I want to invest that much time, money or effort on your part, but I appreciate the offer. I am going to clean these up and prime/paint with good spray paint.
I totally dissasembled my horns yesterday and gave them a blast with “EZ Bright” which is an aluminum cleaner and oxidation remover. It worked wonderful. I am going to treat them again this evening and let them dry for a few days before I began throwing some paint on them.
#1: Is there any areas where I need to be careful and not to spray? Caption below should say “diaphram” at the end. Do I paint the inner surfaces of the rear caps and inside the rear end of the horn?
# 2: Also, should there be a gasket in between the horn and the diaphram other than the rubber o-ring? I saw a cork gasket on the Nathan website. I thought about using head gasket seal around the mainfold. Any thoughts/suggestions or does the o-ring serve as the main purpose?
Here are the horns after first application of EZ Bright. Some of you may be thinking that they still dont look good, but believe me, They were coated. I used a whole gallon of EZ Bright and there are still some slight oxidation spots. It has to have been from the road salt this past winter. I am telling you, it was almost like you sprayed rhino lining on the horns with the texture of the build up that was on the horns.
Here are some flash back pics of when member Bixby1980 and I were installing the K5LA
Dont spray inside where the Diaphram is. So long as the rubber orings are good you dont need any cork. If the orings look flat, just get new ones.
You mean the pocket inside the back cap and the inside of the horn touching the diaphram? I was wondering if this area will oxidize (see pic above) I bought new o-rings yesterday as well. I noticed my diaphrams had an oxidation ring around it from where it made contact with the area that I took pic above, thats why I was wondering if I should paint the ring area that makes contact with the diaphram
(unless you are being serious, then send me a PM)
