alum intake cleaner

[Grant Hile]

I was getting ready to clean my alum intake, Just wanted advice on a good cleaner to clean behind all the bolt heads as well as those small hard to reach areas.

[Mike M.]

Re: alum intake cleaner

i first Gunk them, then use metal prep(phosporic acid soln available at auto paint stores) and a soft bristle nylon brush and copious amounts of water to remove the oxidized film on its surface. don't sand or glass bead it. they weren't shiney when new. mike

[Grant Hile]

Re: alum intake cleaner

Thanks Mike I'll pick some today

[Greg L.]

Re: alum intake cleaner

I was wondering if the etching type of mag wheel cleaner would work well on alum parts like manifolds and alternator housings? Any thoughts on this method?

[Mike M.]

Re: alum intake cleaner

i use a phophoric acid cleaner to restore the finish on our 1956 GM 4104 bus(ex greyhound, now nascar party bus for old boys).i'd guess most mag wheel cleaners contain phos. acid. look on label of your wheel cleaner. they usually list the ingredients. mike

[mike geary]

Re: alum intake cleaner

Greg:

Yes the "green label" Eagle wheel cleaner is very effective, because it has a pretty good phosphoric acid content. You want to look for "not clearcoat safe" on the label. To do my '65 350hp intake, I first got it clean with aircraft grade paint remover, followed by the wheel cleaner (don't leave it on more than about 15 seconds). As a final step, I hit it with some Comet cleanser and a medium stiff brush. The result was so good that everyone thought it had been tumbled in ceramic media.

Mike