speedtigger

iTrader: (16)

Does anyone have a good way to make the aluminum engine components look new again? My water pumper and engine brackets are all brown and dingy looking. I would like to make them look new again without painting them.

atrain59

iTrader: (31)

A lot of polishing if you have a drill go to your local hardware store and pick up a set of polishing cones they cut the time in half.

senicalj4579

iTrader: (41)

Any old aluminum spray cleaner should do. I know napa used to sell big buckets of it.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

Sandblast them. They'll come out looking like new.

topspeed7

iTrader: (1)

zep makes a detergent to clean, it works great i use it on my transmission wash cabinet, they come out looking new and its specifically for aluminum.

FactoryPhil

iTrader: (1)

when it comes to aluminum parts that have not been clearcoated, i use 2500 grit sandpaper and watersand the part then i use neverdull to bring it to a brilliant shine, let me know if you need more details, i have handpolished quite a few parts from raw to mirror

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Take a scrub brush with degreaser or soap and get all the crud off. Then wash and dry them with normal water and a towel. Then hit them with some Duplicolor 500 degree thats a natural aluminum color. Wont take long and it will all look brand new. Sanding water pumps is a little **** to me

For some motivation, look here:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/racers-lo...ew-engine.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/multimedi...lots-pics.html

speedtigger

iTrader: (16)

The aluminum I am referring to is the water pump & brackets. But, it would apply to my heads and 4 barrel intake as well. So, the polishing deals would not work out for that application unless I was willing to sand down and polish all of those components.

Sandblasting creates a dull gray finish that does not look like natural cast.

I tried the aluminum cleaner from Napa. It works very good, but if you leave it on too long the surface turns dull gray like sand blasting.

I would like to try the Zep aluminum soap. My friend used to rebuild transmissions. He had a hot wash cabinet that used that Zep soap. When the cabinet was clean, it worked excellent. But, he is in a different business now.

The best results I have had so far is to clean it with the Napa aluminum cleaner, then restore the shine with a high speed wire wheel, then hit is again with the aluminum cleaner for about 3 to 5 seconds. This gets the sheen just about right. However, I can't imagine being able to maintain it that way once it is assembled and in the car.

While I was going for the natural look, I am seriously thinking about just finding a nice silver color code and painting the whole thing in PPG. I did this in Silver and Red with my Grand National and it looked great and cleaned up in minutes with some soap and water.

Cheap Guy

iTrader: (3)

Steel wool worked very good for me. That and a lot of scrubbing and polishing.

nemss1

^^^i took steel wool to the side of my heads. fine grit wet sanding also works

bayer-z28

iTrader: (14)

I tried that when I first bought my car and I got some on the plastics.. No bueno.. Stained the plastic stuff pretty bad. I had to wet sand my PS reservoir to get those marks out.

speedtigger

iTrader: (16)

Oh yeah. It is acid. I used it on the parts while the engine was disassembled. That is why I can't help but think paint is the way to go. It is easy to "hose and go" on an assembled engine.

RedHotG8

iTrader: (1)

Using the NAPA aluminum cleaner with some high temp clear should give you good results that will last a long time.

http://www.amazon.com/VHT-SP115-Flam...=pd_sbs_auto_3

AES Racing

iTrader: (6)

soda blast

senicalj4579

iTrader: (41)

I dont remember that stuff being that strong. I was lucky and didnt get it on anything but the target I guess.