Cleaning Hondabond4

[Zyx]

Recently there was some discussion on how to remove Yamabond 4. Since I am currently rebuilding my newly acquired model 97 which was sealed with either Yamabond 4 or Hondabond 4 (they appear to me to be the same stuff), and because I intend to reseal it with Hondabond 4 because that is what I can get locally, I bought some Hondabond 4. Of course, I laid the new, unopened tube on top of dismantled parts laid inside the clutch side cover, waiting cleaning and rebuild. Well, somewhere along the line, I managed to bump the tube which was in direct contact with the sharp edge of a steel clutch disc, and then failed to notice this stupidity until a week later. Half the tube of Hondabond managed to leak out into the parts pile inside the side case, and begin to set up nicely.

So, this unintended experiment goes way beyond scraping with a razor blade. Discs, bearings, bushings, case screws, and most of the clutch springs were down in the bottom of the case, and are now encased in a matrix of Hondabond.

Having found what does and does not work at removing this stuff, let me share. First, acetone and it's cousin lacquer thinner do not work. They will tend to jelly the stuff, but will not dissolve it. So if you are working with a flat seal surface, those might help soften the glue, but that's all they do is make the glue gooey. In my case, all it did was make a hardening mess into a gooey mess.

Here is what does work: methyl ethyl ketone, or MEK. This stuff actually dissolves the bond and washes it away leaving parts clean of all residue. I tried mineral spirits (nope) naphtha (nope, same as mineral spirits in result) acetone(makes a mess) and lacquer thinner, which is a combination of things including acetone, toluene, MEK, various alcohols, and a bunch of other things but also makes a mess. The only product that actually dissolves Hondabond 4, and does it right now by the way, is MEK.

Warning: this stuff will pass through skin, and will also degrade latex and nitrile gloves. I had to get the heavy, PVC gloves to handle parts washed in MEK, and even those are not rated for prolonged contact. It also evaporates quickly, so don't leave things soaking overnight, or you are right back to a matrix of metal and goo.

The old learning curve still works.

[taber hodaka]

Thanks shorty My memory curve works great and my forgetting curve works even better. Clarence