Best way to clean aluminum finned valve covers?

[Levis Classic]

Got some great Cal Custom deep finned aluminum valve covers with 30 years of grease and grim.

Whats the best method for cleanng? What should I stay away from?

Thanks.

[WildWilly68]

I'd soak them in some Simple Green cleaner if you are worried about anything abrasive on the finish. Soak them for a couple days then hit 'em with a high pressure hose. Once you get them cleaned then you can buff them to a mirrored shine if you want. Get yourself a couple different buffing wheels and compounds and have fun!

[Muttley]

If they arent polished or if you are going to re polish them I would use carb cleaner.

[dvlscoupe]

I just cleaned mine up with some simple green like Will said. They were painte so I also used carb cleaner to peel that off quickly. If you nees a polishing kit I'm done with nmine for now...It worked great!

[Deuce Rails]

Simple Green can leave spots on polished aluminum.
Check Napa for a product called "aluminum brightener".

[Ragtop]

Two words = aluminum jelly

[The Wolf]

ya like will said, simple green is good. i've also used oven cleaner if the simple green wont work.

[Roadsters.com]

You asked for the best way to clean old aluminum castings.

Start by baking the parts in your oven overnight at 450 degrees. In the morning, turn off the oven and let the parts cool naturally for at least two hours before you open the oven door. This process will cause most of the grease to dry out and fall off, and it will get any remaining oil out of the pores of the aluminum.

After wiping off any loose residue, the ideal step to follow the baking is plastic media blasting, with bead blasting with walnut shells a good alternative. All we want to do is clean the surfaces, and that means avoiding chemicals that etch or harm the metal. You especially want to avoid acids.

Now you can get to work with the appropriate grits of emery cloth to remove any surface scratches. Once everything is as smooth and even as you want it to be, then you can start polishing.

Dave Mann
(602) 233-8400
http://www.roadsters.com/

[Levis Classic]

Great idea Dave - wonder if the wife will go for it?!!

[Roadsters.com]

We learn here that one of the ways that you can determine whether a woman is truly a keeper is by seeing if she passes the baked valve covers test.

Once she does, then it's time for the next phase of the audition process: rinsing out an early Ford gas tank in the bathtub.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

[Levis Classic]

I did use her dishwasher to clean some parts once. Did it while she was gone, boy what a chicken shit!

[kustombuilder]

good argument for picken up an old stove for the garage. tell her it's that or you use hers!! i'll bet she even goes out lookin for one with ya! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif it could be usefull for powdercoating small parts or even drying paint on small parts. had a friend use the oven to bake the custom paint jobs he did on the big scale die cast cars.

[kustomd]

If you want to clean them up pretty easy and polish them at the same time go buy some jewelers rough and crumble some up into an empty coke bottle then fill the rest up with lighter fluid like you would use on your barbque grill. next shake or mix the hell out of it and make it turn into a paste then put it on a rag and rub the shit out of them untill they get cleaned off the polish will turn black when your polishing on them but all you gotta due is wipe it off and you got a nice polished valve cover. I actually got this tip from a friend of mine with a streetrodded 34 ford. I've seen it clean up some nasty aluminum before it works great. If the grease is real bad I would probably try and clean them off some before polishing them with some carb cleaner or parts cleaner. OH yea don't smoke while your polishing them either I would hate to hear of someone lighting them self on fire trying to polish some valve covers.

[smittyshotrods]

Brett just tell the wife you are baking cakes! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[CherryBlossom]

I thought we decided to go with the "traditional" dirty look? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Levis Classic]

Unless you let me use your oven I may have to!

[polisher]

DO NOT USE ALUMINUM BRIGHTENER.
It eats aluminum.
It is also hard on the body and environment, and very fussy when around other chemicals as it is based on hydroflouric acid, which is bad shit.
Also busting up "Rouge" in lighter fuel is a bit crass too.
It makes the aluminum absorb all the greases in the "Rouge"
Not only is it volatile, the benzine is a rapid way to cancer and the fumes will make you heady.
Baking is a good idea, as is soaking in simple green.
We soak our pieces in simple green at around 140 degrees F, for maybe 40 minutes, when we prep are prepping them for chrome.
If you want to polish after, just buy a decent pH neutral polish, ( avoid polishes that are supposed to be pH balanced, that just means they are probably acidic or alkali depenmding on what the manufacturer wants.)