How to DeCarbonize the Head?

Have some 12,000 miles on my Commando head since last rebuild.

CNW says for $1000 they will completely rebuild a head with new valves, guides, springs, clean, equalize chambers,etc
This is great, but a lot of money, for me anyway.

My head is as one would expect with those miles, all full of nasty black carbon.

Used to be some story of spraying water through the carb when running would do something, or maybe this is just a tall tale?

Is there an accepted method of de carbonizing a head, solvents, tricks, other than remove and scrub,scrub,scrub?

Or just forget the idea and ride it anyway. As Alfred E Newman says, "What, me worry"?

If it is not pinging yet leave it. Otherwise trickling water in to an engine being held at least 3,000 RPM is an old technique to de carbon. I've done it on a number of old vehicles when they get to the point of detonation, but never on a Norton. People use Seafoam also for this, I understand that makes quite a lot of smoke and is not popular with the neighbors.

Cookie said:

People use Seafoam also for this, I understand that makes quite a lot of smoke and is not popular with the neighbors.

Click to expand...

But it cuts down on the skeeter population...

Leo Goff in Memphis will do the head for probably less than 1/2 that price. I understand he is quite good, but have never used his services but he has had good reviews on this forum.

Dave
69 S project

I've done the water into the intake tracts thing on my commando. Pulled the air filters (I use pods) and squirted water from a spray bottle into each tract while revving enough not to stall. Yeah, a lot of smoke!

Works pretty good though. Can see the piston tops through the spark plug holes and they're pretty clean.

I use SeaFoam (and to a lesser extent Lucas top end lube) pretty regularly too.