Aluminum intake cleaning? Any options

[CST10]

The edlebrock RPM Air Gap intake has some slight discoloration and what appears to be light surface rust specs. . How do you clean this stuff off?

[hugger6933]

Have you tried carb cleaner?

[CC69Rat]

light media blasting / cleaning then a good coat of high temp clear has worked for me in the past. It will look brand new.

[69SWB4X4]

Aluminum mag wheel cleaner works well too.

[MARKDTN]

Dishwasher on high heat potscrubber cycle will go a long way. Make sure your wife is not home.....

[cdowns]

aluminium does not rust

[CC69Rat]

Originally Posted by MARKDTN

Dishwasher on high heat potscrubber cycle will go a long way. Make sure your wife is not home.....

[RustyBucket]

My neighbor recently bead blasted my old cruddy Performer RPM. Came out real bright & clean. I sprayed it with high heat clear to keep it from getting all stained up again. Finished product looks kinda cheesy/shiny like it's been painted with aluminum paint. I may grind the PERFORMER logo off and paint it Chevy orange.

[Tom Vogel]

Originally Posted by 69SWB4X4

Aluminum mag wheel cleaner works well too.

Yes... this stuff sprays on and hoses off, I beleive its a mild acid. Its available at Oreilys etc.

[71Dually]

Originally Posted by MARKDTN

Make sure your wife is not home.....

Glad to see I'm not the only one who does things while the wife's away. I use the stove & kitchen sink quite often myself. All the cleaning brushes in the kitchen really do a good job cleaning the fine part details.

Bead blast will clean it well and a matte clear coat should prevent the cheesy/shiny to glossy look.

In the absence of a bead blaster, wheel cleaner will also do the job but requires a little more elbow grease. Follow the cleaner product instructions and don't leave a acid based cleaner on to long. It will etch the aluminum leaving a dull look to the metal.

[motorcritter]

The dishwasher is a great cleanup device, for relatively small stuff. The same principle is used in the big rotisserie style cleaners in transmission shops. Watch out what you use for cleaner- some of the household ones will discolor aluminum. I had to bead blast a Triumph motorcycle head after that error. It wasn't a consistent nice grey color, either. I've often considered getting one of those free-standing dishwashers (I don't know if they're still made). I used one for cleaning up motorcycle parts, many years ago, much to my housemates' dismay. The built-ins are nice, but motor crud can discolor everything inside them (nice white wire baskets and trays? Not anymore, man!). Actual parts cleaner powder can be had from ZEP, it works great, ain't cheap, but well worth it.

[Fldawg]

Originally Posted by RustyBucket

My neighbor recently bead blasted my old cruddy Performer RPM. Came out real bright & clean. I sprayed it with high heat clear to keep it from getting all stained up again. Finished product looks kinda cheesy/shiny like it's been painted with aluminum paint. I may grind the PERFORMER logo off and paint it Chevy orange.

the clear will yellow after it goes thru some heat cycles, i would just leave it aluminum, because your taking away what aluminum is supposed to do disapate heat

[Bryan H]

If you clear it, it will yellow. What I do is after a good cleaning, Spray a little Krylon brand Dull Aluminum paint and dab it with a paper towel absorbing the access paint off. Don't wipe it or the paper towel pieces will roll up on the intake. Just dab it and do a little place at a time until the whole thing is done and it will look like a new intake. I did the one on my truck and after 2 years of driving on the weekends it still looks new. I read it in a Hot Rod magazine once and it really works.

[RustyBucket]

I washed as much of the clear (Rustoleum Hi-Temp.) off with thinner today and I'm happier with the way it looks. I'm sure there's still some soaked into the porous surface. Ain't scared about the heat dissipation, The General painted a zillion iron ones. At the rate I'm NOT getting it put back together I'll be awhile before it yellows.

[CC69Rat]

Mime never yellowed.. drove the car for 8+ yrs won many shows.

[71 super]

Greased lightening on a cloth for spot cleaning. Scrub and rinse.

[69 4by]

A bath in hull cleaner or phosphoric acid should do it.

[allchevy58]

I've taken misc. aluminum parts, intake, wheels and even a trailer with aluminum fenders and trim to a truck wash and had them acid bath the parts. They never charged for the small parts.

[Sicklajoie]

Last month I used a batch of Freon TF Solvent, which I think is illegal to get now.
Before to after:

[litew8]

Originally Posted by cdowns

aluminium does not rust

It corrodes, but it does not rust. Rust refers only to iron and steel corrosion.

[67ctener]

Bead blast and clear powdercoat

[kelsfine69]

2nds on the clear coating. This intake is almost 20 years old and counting. The gas will discolor it over time where it seaps from the carb but I cant complain. I also threw in some pearl in the clear to still give it some sparkle.

[Ricks1971]

CST10, is the manifold on or off the truck? If it is off the truck I use a product that I get from the plumbing dept at Home Depot called hair and grease remover. I just use a paint bucket with a throw away paint brush and just paint it up and when it turn white (just a few minutes)hose it off and its clean like new.

[CST10]

Sorry for the late response. The intake is on the truck. Really don't want to take it off if I don't have too. Will the al cleaner mess up the engine block paint?

[motornut]

workin on this one,finished smoothing now,gona blast it soon,then blue for the 79.
new Quad too