Aluminum Oxidation...suggestions for removal
davens
familEE
You know...the ugly white powder that forms on the surface of aging aluminum.
Any suggestions for restoring the original look of the aluminum...short of disassembling the engine and hot tanking the parts?
I would prefer to use a chemical solution to maintain the original cast look...so machine buffing/polishing is out of the question.
I've been doing research and testing a couple things out. Just wanted to see if anyone had any other ideas.
So far, I've used:
Elbow grease, Simply Green Industrial Strength (its actually purple, wtf?) and a nylon brush...didn't work so great and time consuming
Spray bottle applied naval jelly (Phosphoric acid?)...Spray on, wait a couple minutes, wipe off, spray off with water...worked okay but acids are not recommended for Al.
Eagle 1 Etching Mag Cleaner...designed for non-clearcoat alloy wheels. Spray on, wait 30 seconds and spray off with a hose. Again...worked okay but at least its meant for aluminum.
Any suggestions for restoring the original look of the aluminum...short of disassembling the engine and hot tanking the parts?
I would prefer to use a chemical solution to maintain the original cast look...so machine buffing/polishing is out of the question.
I've been doing research and testing a couple things out. Just wanted to see if anyone had any other ideas.
So far, I've used:
Elbow grease, Simply Green Industrial Strength (its actually purple, wtf?) and a nylon brush...didn't work so great and time consuming
Spray bottle applied naval jelly (Phosphoric acid?)...Spray on, wait a couple minutes, wipe off, spray off with water...worked okay but acids are not recommended for Al.
Eagle 1 Etching Mag Cleaner...designed for non-clearcoat alloy wheels. Spray on, wait 30 seconds and spray off with a hose. Again...worked okay but at least its meant for aluminum.
Comments
No...it was this way while being used. It used to bug the shit out of me. No matter how much I detailed the engine, it always looked old. It was one of the contributing rationalizations for my second engine swap.
Right now I'm leaning toward the Eagle 1 Etching cleaner and a pressure waher administered wash down. Then I am going to seal it with a clear hi temp engine paint.
When i first did my swap the ZC built up a bit of the oxidisation but as soon as i ran her for a month it went away.