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What is the best way to clean and orginal aluminum intake. This one has been setting on the shelf for 25 years. Gas stains and a little oxidation. Thanks for any help. john
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Re: Cleaning an aluminum intake
I like Alumi-prep which is a thick, gel like liquid. Brush a little on and rinse it off. Your other option would be to send it out to Jerry MacNeish and others who can do a procedure called re-skinning which restores the original appearance. This runs about $125. HTH
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Re: Cleaning and aluminum intake
I had my '67 manifold reskinned by Jerry MacNeish. Well worth the $$. PT
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Painted intake manifold
Don't get me wrong, but that intake looks like it been painted with aluminum paint. And I thought all aluminum dress up's were left bare aluminum?
If you want to clean you aluminum intake or vale covers without damaging them, just do a light glass beed shot or walnut shot beed and they'll come out just like stock.Comment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
In this picture above the manifold has NOT been painted. If you're looking to have your car NCRS Judged, the manifold should be painted silver. The first thing judges look at on manifolds is to see if it has been glass beaded, which ruins the original texture and patina of the manifold. I'm sure others will agree. PTComment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
Per 63-64 TIM&JG:intakes(aluminum)may show a light overspray of silver paint on the sides.......Comment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
Jerry MacNeish did my manifold and it too came out looking like that. I also suspected that there may be some paint in the surface because it really is pretty and shiney. There isn't. I scratched it slightly when installing it last week. There's no paint. It's all aluminum.
I work in an engine factory that refurbishes cast aluminum cylinder heads. I've been to the casting foundry. They both use sandblasting to make them pretty after they've gotten dirty in service. These heads were a sand casting. Believe the intakes were sand castings. Don't know about the valve covers.
I just treated my aluminum valve covers to every chemical advertised to clean aluminum. Only way to even the mottled grey and get the black streaks out is mechanically. In my case, steel (brass) wool. Some type of media blasting would work too.Comment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
When younger I ruined a couple of intakes by bead blasting the crap out of them. Didn't know better and was just looking to clean them up. A bead blasted manifold sticks out like a sore thumb to me. My #374 intake was very nice but needed a little cleaning. I used some fine sand at low pressure and just did enough to clean it up a little and it gives a totally different appearance from bead. I had ordered the aluminum protectant/sealant that ASL used to sell and had some left over from about 10 years ago, can't remember what it's called. They used it after reskinning manifolds and alternator cases. You spray it on and let it sit and then wipe away the excess. It came out very nice and looks as good as reskinned manifolds I've seen. Someone posted a while back about using walnut shell and then dunking it in some type of chemical, can't remember what it was. Supposed to give an excellent, original look. In retrospect I don't think I'd ever blast another one with anything with sand. I'm going to try walnut shell next time.
BLComment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
I had Jerry MacNeish retore my low script rocker arm/valve covers for my 58. When I had it judged at a regional, I was told by the juddged that it was painted. I told him it was reskinned. He didn't believe me. I told him to to scratch it and detrmine that it was not painted. He siad it didn't matter becasue it looked like it had been apinted, therefore a deduct was warranted. He said it looked way too good, and sine the car was almost 46 years old he could not justify that it was not original. Fact is I have another set of restored low script covers and they look great too. (Not for sale)
I can tell you the covers look good and I would not change it no matter what this judge said. I believe he was wrong. Just another nightmare in the judging for that weekend on my 1958 car.Comment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
-------Way back in the late 70s an absolutely untouched 64 365hp car with somewhere around 4000 original miles went through our dealership (Classic Motors). Mike H will remember it well (red/black convt). The intake and valve-covers had a stripe of silver paint running down the length of both. I believe the reason was to cover up the narrow stripe of cast-iron between the two. Mike actually brought up the fact that the paint was there. Dont know if he was aware that the factory did this before he saw that particular car or not, but I suspect he did (he has always had that analytical eye). I have seen several original alum. intake small blocks from that era since with the remains of the silver stripes. I have never seen an original car with the whole intake squirted silver, however...........Bill SComment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
I worked in an aluminum foundary and we did all types of custom and industrial work and I can tell you no aluminum will come out looking the way that intake did. somebody did or added something to it, because the factory (GM) had them cast and cleaned up and that's it... Also if you know what your doing, and use the right beed blast you won't damage your valve covers or your intake manifold unless your using ROCKS.Comment
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Re: Painted intake manifold
I worked in an aluminum foundary and we did all types of custom and industrial work and I can tell you no aluminum will come out looking the way that intake did. somebody did or added something to it, because the factory (GM) had them cast and cleaned up and that's it... Also if you know what your doing, and use the right beed blast you won't damage your valve covers or your intake manifold unless your using ROCKS.Comment
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