Any reccommendations on off the shelf product to clean an Intake Manifold?
Thanks,
Angelo
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On or off the car? Iron or aluminum?
quote:Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
On or off the car? Iron or aluminum?
Oops, sorry, Aluminum off the car. Would it also need to be sealed somehow after cleaning?
Angelo
I have found that I can clean aluminum castings using the heavy duty etching wheel cleaner and a pressure washer.
If you have highlighted logos like a COBRA lettering, etc, they can be polished up using a 220 wet grit paper by hand or a little electric palm sander.
Caked on deposits can be removed with oven cleaner. You let it dry and then just peel it off.
Of course you can media blast them as well with a medium glass bead but personally I like the wheel cleaner. The blasting usually removes the natural luster that they have when the castings are removed from the molds.
Edelbrock products are media blasted before maching with a blended media. I think they use sn unusual blend to get the shot peened look, like iron shot but I can't get the formula quite right to duplicate it.
Wear safety goggles for your eyes since these cleaners use an acid to etch with and let them dry off fully and you will see how they return the natural luster to the aluminum without blasting.
If you have highlighted logos like a COBRA lettering, etc, they can be polished up using a 220 wet grit paper by hand or a little electric palm sander.
Caked on deposits can be removed with oven cleaner. You let it dry and then just peel it off.
Of course you can media blast them as well with a medium glass bead but personally I like the wheel cleaner. The blasting usually removes the natural luster that they have when the castings are removed from the molds.
Edelbrock products are media blasted before maching with a blended media. I think they use sn unusual blend to get the shot peened look, like iron shot but I can't get the formula quite right to duplicate it.
Wear safety goggles for your eyes since these cleaners use an acid to etch with and let them dry off fully and you will see how they return the natural luster to the aluminum without blasting.
quote:Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
I have found that I can clean aluminum castings using the heavy duty etching wheel cleaner and a pressure washer.
Wear safety goggles for your eyes since these cleaners use an acid to etch with and let them dry off fully and you will see how they return the natural luster to the aluminum with blasting.
That is with the cleaner or blasted?
Thanks, I'll try the cleaner route first. Most of the wheel cleaners say they are safe for all wheels, are those etching cleaners or should I look elswhere. Should I spray a clearcoat or something to seal after cleaning?
Thanks,
Angelo
You want the bad-ass stuff that is not safe for all finishes. You want to cut into the aluminum and remove anything that is stuck to it.
Of course if you are in California, it probably is banned there.
When you spray it you can really smell the acid in it.
This should work well enough so that you do not need to media blast.
Very often when you blast, the media blasts in impuraties into the aluminum and in addition to the blasting, you need to "wash" it.
Personally I wouldn't clear coat anything. The clear coat is a paint and at some time in the future it is going to peel and chip making cleaning it in the future more of a chore.
Just leave it alone.
'
One of the nice things about a Cleveland is there is no coolant in the intake. This makes pulling off the manifold very convienient.
When I was showing I'd pull it off on Saturday morning to do a afternoon show.
Of course if you are in California, it probably is banned there.
When you spray it you can really smell the acid in it.
This should work well enough so that you do not need to media blast.
Very often when you blast, the media blasts in impuraties into the aluminum and in addition to the blasting, you need to "wash" it.
Personally I wouldn't clear coat anything. The clear coat is a paint and at some time in the future it is going to peel and chip making cleaning it in the future more of a chore.
Just leave it alone.
'
One of the nice things about a Cleveland is there is no coolant in the intake. This makes pulling off the manifold very convienient.
When I was showing I'd pull it off on Saturday morning to do a afternoon show.
If just cleaning is what you want. I like S-200 cleaner. It is sold in most motorcycle shops, spray it on a dry intake, scrub with a brush and just rinse off with the water hose. Safe on paints and most other finishes.
Jeff
Jeff