So just like the title says. I just had my intake blasted (Victor jr) and it looks great! But how do I keep it that way? I used to have it clear coated and didn't care for it. Turned yellow and started to peel. Is there something other than paint? Can I was it? It is just rough cast not smooth or polished. Any thoughts?
Clear power coat works for me so far, only been a year, no discolor yet Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Beadblasting open the metal up to staining and corrosion. You need to seal or etch the surface to prevent this. There are products like Alodine that will do this. You can also use some acid wheel cleaners to reclean a rough cast surface. Ethylene glycol will etch some types of aluminum and magnesium to help prevent oxidization. You can always let it sit in a damp environment for a few months which will help it form oxides that will close up the surface. Clearcoat and powdercoating a cast aluminum part never looks right. But honestly beadblasting an aluminum part is about the worst thing you can do to it.
There's a place out here that does some type of secret vibrating wet medium procedure (so the rumor has it) that makes cast aluminum parts look beautiful, like new as cast. Smooths the surfaces just enough to seal the pores.
move to Arizona, they usually stay looking decent for several years around here. Yes, I consider gas stains to be traditional, also.
Take a look at what used to be called Zoop Seal. Now it's Shine Seal. http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?750729-Zoop-Seal-is-no-more
My old friend Paul Garrigan aka Rumble seat had his flatmotor intake and heads painted with Krylon satin clear. He just cleaned them with mild soap. They kept up really nice after 100,000 miles.
That is pretty amazing to hear that Krylon would work so well on a part that gets so warm. I wonder what the chemical base is. Urethane?
My intake is not polished. Would the shine seal or similar products work on rough cast? I heard something about steel wool once? Do you just rub it down? Would the spray on mag wheel cleaner "seal" up the pours?
Do not rub steel wool on cast aluminum! Unless of course you want rust stains on it! You need to for oxides on the surface or "wash" the raw aluminum. Google washes for cast aluminum.
bead blasting makes the aluminum look whitish (flat white). I have always sandblasted my intakes then used clear engine paint to seal the pores. I leave the intake outside in the sun for a few hours to cure the paint.
After cleaning the clear coat off my eddy I found some left over silver exhaust manifold paint on the shelf so I used that. The instructions said "for best results to bake at 450 degrees for 90min" so I threw it in the oven (I'm single) and after 10k miles it still looks good!
I've used a product called shark skin from the marine industry. It is made to seal aluminum boats so that they do not oxidize in salt water. It is kinda spendy. I use the metal etch product they had first, stays satin finished and looks good forever. I was lucky, I did not have to buy it. We had left over from doing my father in laws fishing boat.
Just a very light coat of engine clear will be enough to seal the pores, but not thick enough to yellow or peel.
Bare aluminum dissipates heat. Painting it reduces heat transfer. Heat transfer is half the reason to use aluminum intake manifolds. Don't coat them!
No, I do it too. I have never liked to paint aluminum intakes. You got it, why not show it off? If it gets a bit stained, it just does. Shows that I actually drive my stuff instead of it being a trailer queen.
YAY ... Been doing it that way for years. Gets my intake looking great 'till that 94 starts peein' again ....
like jim -n- bama i just (use the good carb cleaner) clean it every so often, its a lot easier after the initial blasting. no seal, no paint, no nuttin...
If mine were aluminum I would. Mine is the stock cast iron painted with Duplicolor cast coat aluminm. I have a hard time convincing some that it is cast iron. Sent from my A520L using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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