I have a 56 Studebaker Hawk dash insert and the Aluminum has corrosion spots. How do I remove the corrosion without destroying the dash? What looks like engine turning is actually pressed into the panel.
Eagle One mag cleaner... They have different types.. some for porus mags some for machined mags.. ask any billet rodder they will tell you how good the stuff works.. you need the stuff for finished surfaces/machined wheels.
The Mag Cleaner can be a little harsh, especially on thin interior parts. I've seen it used and actually deepen the pits if not rinsed thoroughly. Since it appears that sanding would remove that awesome detail I'd try a nice high-end polish like Mother's Billet Polish (around $12-$14 for the black and gold tin) with a CLEAN rag or towel. It's pricey but it's a ****in' genie in a bottle. -Tinman
Try a 3M roloc disk...the plastic bristle ones. That will remove most of the corrosion...then clean it up with some aluminum polish. The back of the dash piece you could spray with zinc-chromate primer to help protect it. The zinc-chromate is used for aluminum and you could get it at most auto parts stores or paint shops.
I had some aluminum pieces from my 2000 Kawasaki polished by a guy that was actually contracted to do some aluminum repair/polishing on a few pieces in the Smithsonian Ins***ute I hate to say it but that corrosion has etched the actual surface of the aluminum. The only thing "any" aluminum polish is going to do is remove very limited amounts of the corosion. It will actually take quite some degree of polishing down into the aluminum to get the pits out. What makes me an expert you ask, well after having my pieces polished, I got antsy and decided to take it out on a nice January day here in chicago, got salt dust on the raw aluminum and I ended up with what you have today !!!!!! Boy was I ever
Not much you can do but polish it out if the metal is thick enough. I would start hunting for a replacement. There is no liquid polish or paste that will help it. Most will actually make it worse. got to be machined
try some regular old vinegar!!the red, not the white, wet a rag good & rub at on, keep doing that & see if it helps. I was on a minesweeper in the Navy & everything was alumn, br*** or SS on the ship( non Magnetic) & thats what we use to use. jimV
I guess I don't have much to loose so I may try to knock it down with the stiff bristle idea. I might try the wheel cleaner to get an even sheen on the piece. I don't think anyone is repopping these yet and It is too big for me to do my own engine turning on a new panel. What about CLR or something like that, it worked good to clean the junk out of my Rochester 2G's.
use white or yellow scotchbrite and kroil, silikroil or liquid wrench as lubricant, or just get one from SASCO studebaker auto parts in south bend, indiana. I do studes & packards!!!!!
Ever try Wenol? Worked great on a set or M/T valve covers I was going to blast & paint they were so bad, turned out almost like new.
wheel cleaner will eat the living **** out of it. That's how it works !! CLR is a cheapskates way to clean and destroy aluminum post from oldcarfart is a much better idea.is a better idea!
Never tried it, but I got a cool pic of the Wenol show car from Daytona a few years back. Gotta scan it though...
I tried schtchbrite with lubricant and was able to knock down most of the corrosion, now I am left with discoloration where the corrosion was. Wenol did the same thing. A short soak in CLR didn't do much. I know you recommended against it but I want to try the wheel cleaner and see if I can get an even sheen on the panel. I have checked the SASCO site and cannot find any dash inserts, am I looking in the wrong spot?
On aircraft we use a 3m clean and strip wheel, They can sometimes be called a coral wheel. The trick is to spin em fast and just do small touchs not heavy pressure, They are soft enough to leave the good ally, What you need to ***es if the parts are hard to get is if the corrosion is on the surface of set deep in the ally. If it's deep and you try and remove it you could be opening up a nasty can of worms. Sorry this is the only pic I could find
Just remebered, walnut husk blasting won't cause any discoloration. Need someone who is good on a blaster though
What part of wheel brightner, wenol and CLR will make it worse is not getting through? Aluminum is porous. The stuff you are using ectches into it and slowly eats it away. It may look better for 24 hours after that the chemical attack takes over. With Wenol it might be a couple of weeks because the oxidizers are milder.
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