Projects Cleaning an Aluminum Intake?

WTF just wondering if this little lady lets you warm your hands in her pockets??

 

If you just want it clean try oven cleaner, then if no one is looking slide it in the dish washer. Then you can actually eat off it.

 

Do you really think there's room for hands lol

 

Vibratory deburring is what they use on new manifolds that are not going to be fully polished. This is not "tumbling" which is a rotating drum with parts and media in an impingement condition. Most all die-casting shops have various sizes of vibratory deburring machines and prices are very reasonable. - EM

 

Vapor honing is awesome. I’m lucky that a friend has one locally
I did my side cover plate on my 28. It’s like blasting with water. When done it’s as clean as the day it was cast.
The trick is to find out who has one near you.


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Edmunds intakes came polished from the factory, so it was smooth at one time.

 

I agree with Bandit Billy and Early Mopar with "vibratory deburring" aka "tumbling". Some people I know use the term "tumbling" when referring to "vibratory deburring". Anyways, this is a process I would use on any manifold.

 

Matt Lauer says he wants to try.

 

The "symbols" you show pictures of are probably the original owners name or initials used to identify it and have been disguised by the person who stole it from him......or "aliens" left a message on it. Has it been near Roswell?

 

BIG improvement! You can clean up the letters with the end of a small triangle file with light pressure and two hands for control.

 

I'm tellin' ya, Scotchbrite discs are the way to go....







Top to bottom: as found, prepped with the discs, polished. Total time a bit over 1/2 hour for both steps. The only time I use sandpaper is to 'blend out' deep gouges and scratches. Cost you some bucks in supplies, but once you've done it this way you'll never go back....

 

Make a solution of a quart of vinegar (5% acetic acid) and a teaspoon of dish washing detergent, not dish washer stuff as it has a caustic that is not good for aluminum. Put the mixture in a plastic container and soak the piece. Rinse it. While it soaks, go to the grocery store and buy a container of Bon Ami or Barkeepers Friend cleanser. Wet a section with water, shake on some cleanser, and use it rubbing compound, rinse and reapply cleanser as necessory. Finish off with Nev Er Dull wadding. The cleansers are felspar based and will clean the remaining oxidation without scratching the surface.

 

Wouldn't he need more than a quart of liquid to submerge a manifold?

 

I use spray on aluminum wheel cleaner first with some scotchbrite

 

Might need to 2x or 3x the recipe.

 

I picked up a gallon of aluminum cleaner from work today and sprayed the manifold with a 25% solution. It cleaned it up a little but I still have a lot of work to get it where I want it. I am going to hit a spot on the bottom with a Roloc pad and see what happens.

 

I added about 25 hrs to my polishing time on an intake from inexperience and being too aggresive. Be careful with rolocs and sanding rolls! They gouge real fast.... Not saying a person cant use them, just use care and think about what your doing.

 

A lot of good ideas here I have polished literally thousands of aluminum motorcycle parts, engine cases, rocker boxes barrels transmissions you name it, there is no easy way but there is definitely a hard way and sanding it by hand is way too hard. Yes you will need to hand polish and sand some nooks and crannies but that all depends on the part. Just like doing body work you need to start off with having it media blasted with walnut shells, or as mentioned soda blasting but typically soda blasting has been way to fine in my experience a coarse grit on a wheel preferably a flap wheel and progress to a finer wheels/grit. You may need to employ several different tools such as a die grinder or drill motor with an arbor that will accept both grit wheels or cones as well as buffing pads. When you get it as smoth as a baby's butt then you start all over again with polishing. Now having worn my arthritic fingers to the bone I recently started doing something at the suggestion of my powdercoating guy whihc is clearing the final product. I don't care how nice a job you do it immediately starts to oxidise and in a short time all your hard work looks like dung. There are two places you can get polishing supplies from the first is Eastwood of course everyone knows that but the guys I uses exclusively are Caswell Plating. Their stuff is a little more money but the quality is head and shoulders above Eastwoods and their staff along with being very knowledgeable are a good bunch of gearheads. Excuse the poor picture quality but this represents about 100 hours of hand polishing

 

Thanks for all the great ideas. The problem I have with this intake is the relatively deep nicks in both runners. I have wet sanded with a coarse paper and just about have them out of one end. I may get my Dremel tool out and try it. And, it looks like I will have to work around the water inlet and outlet as they nor the carburetor studs will move. I have soaked them with penetrating oil for several days with no luck. I may spring for a torch and see if heating will free them up.
It may take a while with the upcoming holidays and a medical procedure I am not looking forward to after the new year but I will keep at it until I finish it or destroy it!