No luck cleaning aluiminum intake

[LT102]

I've tried carb cleaner and starter fluid and am having no luck cleaning my intake. I really don't want to take it off and have it bead blasted so I'm open to chemical suggestions.

[enaberif]

I just wired brushed mine and washed it good then painted with appliance enamel.

[Eddie H.]

aluminum wheel cleaner

[ssxty8]

That's why I normally paint them in Chevy Orange, or aluminum colored engine paint. My Camaro's manifold was painted on Y2K, and it still looks nice. "But", you'll need to remove it.

[James Pierce]

Try paint remover, hey I'd give it a go!

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by Eddie H.

aluminum wheel cleaner

This. Eagle one makes a sweet cleaner for rough cast aluminum that will have that intake looking new.

[AirSpeed]

Acid!

[hugger6933]

Easy off oven cleaner? but of course the other guys might have had out of the box thinking when they said Aluminum intake cleaner. I had several intakes in the past that would turn the old nasty gas looking sat up and turned to varnish on the intake color. i ended up painting the intake with aluminum color paint with clear coat over the top of it.
Also when you get it clean this time make sure to seal it, like with some spray can clear to keep it looking good over the next times it is off, or else it will turn nasty looking real quick again. Jim

[Hogshooter]

I have used acid designed to etch aluminum for paint/primer adhesion and had good results PPG DX833 is the number I think, this will clean the surface and it will help paint or clear stick. I usually work from least to most aggressive wheel cleaner first then move up from there. The oven cleaner works good but care should be used around any paint you want to keep on the engine.

[loom34432]

I use Castrol Super Clean, some people call it purple stuff. It's purple in color and is an excellent degreaser. Make sure you use gloves this stuff is a base (I think) it will leave you hands all slimy if you get it on them. It works really good on removing oil, grease, or crud. You can find it at parts stores or Wal-Mart.

[AirSpeed]

You can also use lye, I use lye to strip aluminum all the time. I use four tablespoons of lye per gallon of water, tie some wire to the intake and dip it in a bucket of lye solution. Be sure to pull it out once in awhile to make sure you don't etch it too much. Do it outside as well, puts off a lot of fumes and can burn you. It really works well when nothing else will. You can get lye at any hardware store for a couple bucks, they sell it as drain cleaner. You can easily use it to take off chrome and anodizing, I used it to remove the chrome from my 69's grill, it was peeling and ugly, stripped the chrome and polished the aluminum.

[swamp rat]

Just make sure whatever you put on it doesn't eat your intake gaskets or you may end up having to pull it anyway.

[MARKDTN]

[QUOTE=loom34432;7087908]I use Castrol Super Clean, some people call it purple stuff. It's purple in color and is an excellent degreaser. Make sure you use gloves this stuff is a base (I think) it will leave you hands all slimy if you get it on them. It works really good on removing oil, grease, or crud. You can find it at parts stores or Wal-Mart.[/QUOTE.]

I'll second that.