ok..now to throw a curve ball at ya.. how would you clean it while on the engine?.. with a nice painted block, chrome accessories around it, and all assembled?
The wifes dishwasher with Cascade dish washing soap.........shhhh.......don't tell her. Oh yea, make sure that you run it a couple of HOT cycles after trying this method......she will not be very happy to find "stuff" on the plates.
i agree with the eagle one magwheel cleaner, i cleaned an o/t intake last year with this stuff & it turn out great & still looks good jt
Eagle One mag wheel clean aluminium etching you could use it with the intake still in the car like asked earlier.its all i use it works great cb
This is what I used AFTER a first cleaning with purple stuff, 50-50. Don't let either one dry on the manifold. Don't know if that manifold has a sheet metal shield on the bottom to keep oil off the heat riser passage, but if it does, don't blast with anything without removing the shield. The media trapped behind a shield left in place while blasting will really do in your engine's bearings! Dave
Tried to clean a nasty one in our dish washer using "Tang" orange juice mix. Guess that's one of the reasons I ain't married anymore.
and i bet you still use the stove, dishwasher and other home appliances for their non intended purpose....dont you?
ok once i had a crusty old 8BA flathead intake manifold,, at one end a little rot set in ,, i got at it with some house paint stripper ,, it cleaned the whole thing real nice , gave the whole the thing an almost new shine too just scrubbed it in with a stiff brush ... well pleased i was
If you want a "NOS" finish (not bead blasted) I've had good luck with a 3-step process: 1) degrease it - carb cleaner, brake cleaner, or Dawn detergent & scotch brite pad 2) paint stripper - spray on, let it sit, scrub with toothbrush, then wash off 3) aluminum cleaner - best I've found is called P21S A final trick from the numbers-matching resto guys - if you have any dark spots left in the alum, mist a very lite coat of dull alum paint over it, let dry, then dampen rag with thinner and wipe off the surface. It leaves the paint deep in the pores, but the surface shows the natural aluminum. The intake will look like it just left the foundry. Or you can do like I do - polish it.
+1 on the K&N filter cleaner! I just cleaned up an old Edelbrock Scorpion intake and that stuff worked great.
I was told on a different thread to use oven cleaner..... BAD MISTAKE!!! it turned the intake blackish and even the aluminum mag cleaner would not touch it. even tried the wifes diswasher. I eventually painted it with chrome paint. Looks ok, but it's not what I was after.
In a pinch after cleaning. I used the dull aluminum from krylon. The same stuff I've used on corvette rallys.
I know this is an old thread but I have a similar issue here... I have an intake that is cast aluminum and being very old the gunk and oils and other things were literally baked into the metal. I used a diluted aluminum acid cleaner that is meant for wheels/etc. and followed the instructions, diluted it, etc. This cleaned the surface quite well but got rid of that cast look and the part looks almost 'bleached' white. Any idea how it could be returned to the cast look other than painting?
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