Prepping Cylinder Walls For New Piston Rings- Flex-Hone Them!

A very common DIY application for the Flex-Hone is deglazing cylinder walls to prepare them for new piston rings. Forums all over the web debate what solution will provide the proper finish for seating piston rings. The Flex-Hone is a fast and effective solution that any hobbyist can do themselves. The most common question we are asked is “what abrasive and grit type do I need when purchasing my honing tool?” Well, like all applications, it depends. Cylinder and ring material will govern what tool specifications will be selected.

Picking the correct abrasive type for the Flex-Hone is a very straight forward selection. You will want to use Silicon Carbide for all cast iron cylinders and liners. For a Nikasil liner, or in any aluminum bore application, you would select an Aluminum Oxide abrasive.

The most typical grits we see used for deglazing applications are 180 and 240 grit, but the range used is 120 all the way up to 400 (we’ve even seen some extreme performance ring manufacturers recommend 800 or Levigated abrasives!). If you have any corrosion, rust, or oxidation it will probably skew your grit selection a bit coarser. If you are running a high performance engine, with multiple tear downs and surface finishes per year, or very thin rings you will want to use a finer grit.

Most often your ring manufacturer will give you a good idea of what grit you need.

Here is a forum discussion of a man who used a 180 grit Flex-Hone tool to deglaze and prep his cylinder walls that is worth taking a look at. He does a great job of taking you through the process and has included some nice pictures.

As always, feel free to email us or give us a call if you need help for your specific application.
sales@brushresearch.com or 323-261-2193.

Happy rebuilding!