I have posted many time how I thought honing was the devil. But I have come to realize it does have its place with us "hobbiest" who resurrect the dead. I'm a perfectionist freak when it comes to pistons and cylinders. If the bore ain't perfect, I am usually looking for another. But I've had some pretty "Rare" cylinders cross my bench that I typically wouldn't even consider running, that with a couple seconds of a 320 ball hone and a quick pass with my "special" hone, were brought back to their former glory.
Contrary to popular belief, a nikisal cylinder doesn't need crosshatch for the rings to seat. They seat perfectly fine on a nice smooth bore. If u look inside a brand new OEM cylinder, there is the appearance of crosshatch, but in reality it's smooth as a baby's butt. The visible "crosshatch" is just from the final machining process.
Now I'll share my "Special" hone with ya. Makes a beautiful smooth finish inside a cylinder, and makes it easy to see any imperfections missed in th cleaning up process, as it more or less polishes the bore, without removing any material. It's a grey scotch brite pad in an eyebolt. Crude, but man it puts the slickness in a bore, also helps smooth the rough edges around port openings especially after porting, and puts a good polish on the combustion chamber. I do all my cylinders with it, whether it gets honed or not.
Here is a pic of the setup.
And here is a finished product shot. This is a 262xp cylinder that had some pretty good scratches, and some transfer. She is perfect now after a good acid bath, some sanding, a light hone with a 320 ball hone, and a "Special" treatment.
