How to make alloy parts look new? Degreaser or cleaner recommendations.

[TERRA Operative]

As part of the ground up rebuild I am doing on my Levin, I want to clean up the alloy parts (intake manifold, alternator, etc) to look brand new.

The alternator has been bathed in grease and grime for its life and normal degreaser just isn't cutting it.

Is there some sort of heavy duty industrial strength degreaser or cleaner that is safe to use on alloy that I can use?
What do people use and recommend? I can't use my dishwasher any more (actual dishes have to go in now...) and I want my parts to be looking like they just came out the box or back from being reconditioned.

[pandaah]

ill tell ya what i do, i clean them with petrol and a brush.. then i go down to bunnings and get a metal brush bit for a drill and polish them up, comes up awesome and is very quick and easy, gives it a good clean new looking shine.. but if you want to chrome bling bling it, then thats different

something like this

[TERRA Operative]

I thought of that, but the parts are numerous as are the crevices and shapes, and my patience is not...
I just want to dunk it in a bucket for a bit and hive is a light brush and rinse. Sucks that the place I'm working at now doesn't have a robowash, although I did find this link:

http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-o.../soda_blaster/

Might give that a try.

[pandaah]

lol thats awesome... post results!

[Shifty]

Sandblast mate.

Air compressor + $20 sandblast kit from supercheap = like new

[Shifty]

Also if you can set it up with a gravity feed it's even better = either a large hopper so that the weight helps it feed, or like paintball gun where the reservoir is mounted on/above the gun.

[Rodger]

Terra.

Damned if I can get alloy to come up looking like the original casting finish. Most times manufacturers paint a gloss coat on the alloy to stop it from oxidising and particularly Toyota did this on the Solexes on our 2T-Gs and 18R-Gs sealing the factory cast finish which then locks in all the dirt fuel and grease with age.

The solution I have come up with is to sand or bead blast, I sand blast with the home (supercheap) kit as I have had a ready supply of sand. This cleans up the alloy but never gives back the original finish and texture.
Then I agree with Nate (aircooled tech guy). A better finish closer to original is to blast with the baking soda but for the tough stuff once sand blasted.
Then the soda definitely needs to be washed and blown out to stop it reacting with the alloy later.

If it is just general grease and grime and there was no clear coat to lock it on then hot high pressure soapy water.

I am yet to find and try the equivalent of steel rust converters for alloy that has really oxidised to form the white powder and if anyone knows of such stuff please write it up?

Regards
Rodger

[RiceburnaGTV]

A little tip after they are all nice and shiny is to not use an abrasive like autosol,just use some MR sheen! I was informed by my polisher to use the one in the yellow bottle but I dont know if there is a difference,just the smell.

[TERRA Operative]

It's mainly the usual greasy build up, but some hangs around even after water blasting. I'll probably try the soda blasting, home style first, and might look at getting a sand blasting attachment too. I have a compressor at hand, so I'll play around and see what works best.

I could always just give the bits to competition coatings when I get the extractors ceramic coated...

[thechuckster]

to help with degreasing, buy a 20 litre saucepan, buy a $20 gas cooker thing, buy h/duty truck degreaser or similar, grab a cake cooling rack from the kitchen.

Fill pot with water to cover parts, put on gas cooker to keep warm and keep simmering, pour in far too much degreaser, put the cake cooling tray at bottom of pot, lower your alloy parts into the resulting steaming caustic solution, regularly stir water. Remove after at least an hour or two and allow to cool a bit, but while still warm, attack the part with green scourer (keeping it wet with some of the now-revolting liquid in the pot), hose off the loosened grim and give it another dumping. Repeat as required as the liquid is good for a few baths and you can also top it up with more degreaser. This removes most greasy shit tho the odour of the steamy caustic stuff will get a bit on the nose after a while.

cautions:
- if you simply rinse off the liquid some gunk stays behind, as the parts dry you'll get that white alloy corrosion/power on the surface
- after dunking it enough, scrub off with a scourer (under warm/hot water) as you rinse off the caustic stuff
- repeat the scrubbing with a new green thing (or wire brush) when dry. This should stop any white crud appearing on the metal surfaces
- be prepared to quickly attack it with a wire brush (see pic in earlier post) after the second dumping
- avoid shock cooling things, this tends to make stains a bit permanent
- put small items in a mesh bag or thread on a wire (you really don't want to go fishing for small things at the bottom of the pot).

I don't use the wire brush on any surfaces that sealing is important on (e.g. where the oil pump sits into the front crank cover on a 3S). After degreasing I usually finish those surfaces with W/D paper (sitting on a sheet of glass) to ensure the surface is flat.

If you feel really brave, give parts a spray with oven cleaner then hose off before it starts attacking the alloy. This approach will usually ruin anything alloy so keep it to steel things (sumps, windage trays, etc). Have even seen it used on a crank tho I have concerns about what it did to the bearing surfaces. I've only done it on heavily oiled things (engine splash tray coated in oil_dirt and some cast-iron ancillary brackets).

[mookschank]

Try white spirit, it leaves a cleaner finish unlike other solvents, bunnings sells it in bigger containers. With a kero gun & air compressor the white spirit is a pretty good degreaser. Good for blasting all the oil galleries in the crank & cams squeaky clean during a rebuild too...

[TERRA Operative]

The grey stuff left over after the application of caustic solutions is the copper/etc in the alloy.
If I could get my hands on nitric acid easily, that stuff rips off all the grey muck but leaves the aluminium alone.


The trick is getting nitric acid......

[mxracer92]

pffft , oven cleaner !!! works amazing !

just dont leave it on too long its corrosive , so no more than 2-3 mins and its cheapish , $2-3 per can same as degreaser

[andrew_mx83]

simple/easy - Brake and Parts Cleaner... we call it roadworthy in a can as it just eats oil away

sandblasting is good, but makes a hell of a mess without a cabinet. you will be picking sand out of every orifice for weeks. i recently bought a cabinet but it needs a truck load of air, as such i have had to build a new compressor

OR make your own hot tank.
1) scour local panelbeaters for empty 60lt thinners drum
2) grab a scoopful of turbowash powder from friendly local mechanic
3) get decent heating element and wrap around inside (mine has a 3mt long bain marie job, draws 10amps and is thermostat controlled. tank is warm to touch in 10mins)
4) fill 2/3 with water
5) buy a big long pair of bbq tongs
6) leave parts in overnight
7) ???
8) profit


id put some pics up but it just looks like a 60 lt drum with some wires going in and an upside down birdbath for a lid.

[Supra967]

I've heard oven cleaner works a treat, I haven't tried it but I will. Have you thought about an aluminium coloured powder coating? My powder coaters have an acid?? tank for cleaning aluminium and would probably dip and coat a box of car bits for $100

I got the rods and block sandblasted and coated for $80: