Aluminum Intake

[racer_amx]

Anybody happen to know of a way to clean up an aluminum intake that has water damage on it besides sandblasting it? It isnt very old but due to a leaky garage ceiling it has rust and corrosion growing on it. I tried some clr but it dosent seem to phase it, i also tried mothers alum. polish but that just gets stuck in the porous surface and makes it look worse. I at least want to get it back to original condition and if its not too much trouble i would go for that high polished look but i dont know how they go about getting that. Any ideas?

[rumblefish360]

Eagle one has some nice cleaners. Just let it sit but not dry.
To polish it up takes a ton of time and serious effort. Most people that i have meet were sorry the started that project BUT were happy with the results.
Check out standard abrasives for kits and polish.

[fastback340]

i use aluminum wheel acid. let soak up for awhile and hose it off

[Christopher]

Bead blasting works excellent,then paint the manifold with some of the new clear urethane and it will last for years.I did a old Edelbrock Tarantula this way about 10 years ago and it looks brand new today.You can spray the clear and by adjusting air pressure,give the clear the flat non gloss look to make the intake look new again.

[Hammer 74]

Eagle makes some stuff called Etching Mag Cleaned. It is a spray bottle used to clean the old Hurricane style wheels like the Dukes of Hazzard Chargers have. Porous sand casted aluminum like a intake looks like new after you use it.

[xf69fs]

My buddy tried some aircraft paint remover and a little wire brush...looks new.