One of the first steps of cleaning your carburetor is to clean the outside of the carb – they often have dirt, dust and grime stuck to their outside surfaces and you’re better off removing this now before the parts are disassembled. No point in trying to wash it all off once the tiny passageways inside the carbs are more open. Here’s an example of a dirty set of VB30B carbs (Need a set? eBay UK):
The other side:
Bottom:
Top:
A closeup of the dirt:
You don’t need a lot to clean up the outside of the carbs – a parts brush (eBay US, eBay UK, eBay AU):
…a cheap can of degreaser and some elbow grease is a good start. Try not to wash any of the grime into the carbs. For more stubborn grime or an even cleaner finish brake cleaner is a good option that won’t strip the clear coat that came stock on the carbs. After only a couple of minutes of scrubbing they look better already:
Keep on going until you’re satisfied with how clean they are; the cleaner you get them now the less junk will be floating around when you soak them and put them in an ultrasonic cleaner later.
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