Cleaning 67 GT500 intake

[Rex]

I have taken the Holleys off of my car and have them in a local shop for a rebuild. My question is, what are you all using to clean up the aluminum intake? I would like to use something on the less toxic side for my personal well being if that is an option. Thanks in advance!

[shelbydoug]

Dish washing detergent such as Dawn and a pressure washer.

Even if you water/blast it, the stains will come back, but that procedure would give you as close to original finish as there is.

The manifold did not have a flat sandblast finish to it. It had a sheen to the casting that bead blasting can not restore.

[jk66gt350]

Sounds like the intake might still be on your car.  I've used brake cleaner and a toothbrush for hard to get at places on my intake with the carbs off in past years and had good results. 

[Bob Gaines]

Sounds like the intake might still be on your car.  I've used brake cleaner and a toothbrush for hard to get at places on my intake with the carbs off in past years and had good results.

+1 if on the car. Remember that brake clean will damage paint finish's if it splash's on to other surfaces so have those items covered . Soak up any residue brake clean before spraying surface with pressure washer etc. You don't want the brake clean to splash all over.

[rmarble57]

If you take the intake off the car, there is nothing better than Vapor Honing. 

[Rex]

It is still on the car. Thanks for the good advice. I'll tackle it this weekend.

[Bobby Crumpley]

Rex,

When I'm cleaning aluminum pieces still on the car, I like to start with WD40 and a toothbrush, followed by an all purpose cleaner diluted about 10:1.  The WD40 works surprisingly well to break up the oily coating and is nowhere near as harsh as carburetor or brake cleaner.  Following each application of all purpose cleaner, rinse it well with water and when it finally looks clean, blow it dry with compressed air.  You will likely see a few spots that you missed, so hit it again with the APC until you are happy.  Once it is clean, it can be brightened up a bit with the hydrofluoric acid based chrome wheel cleaner, but it will etch the aluminum, so leave it on no more than 30 seconds at a time and cover your valve covers while doing it.  After the 30 seconds, flush it good with water, blow it dry and see how it looks.  It can take a few applications of the wheel cleaner to get it where you want it.  Also, immediate rinse off the wheel cleaner from anything that it gets on so that the finish isn't damaged.  The wheel cleaner is an optional step and not necessary if you are happy with the appearance after the cleaning or are uncomfortable attempting it.

Obviously you will need to seal off the carburetor bases since so much water will be involved.

[Zilk]

I used a hydroblaster, water and glass mix. You get a really "polished" surface that won't suck in as much dirt as a regular glass blasting does.

https://i.imgur.com/ZqdnGhF.jpg

[Bob Gaines]

I used a hydroblaster, water and glass mix. You get a really "polished" surface that won't suck in as much dirt as a regular glass blasting does.

https://i.imgur.com/ZqdnGhF.jpg

It is a given that the cleaning process that is desired in the context of what the OP is asking for will achieve a cleaned version of what once was . That is as in a factory finish when the car was new. With that said the finish in the link doesn't look even close to what the finish of intake was when the car was new.

[Zilk]

It is a given that the cleaning process that is desired in the context of what the OP is asking for will achieve a cleaned version of what once was . That is as in a factory finish when the car was new. With that said the finish in the link doesn't look even close to what the finish of intake was when the car was new.

True, getting the factory finish won't be accomplished with vapor honing/hydro blasting. I found it to be a better alternative to glass media blasting though since that always gets so dirty quickly. Also now that I re-read the OP he most likely want to clean it in place so it's not really an alternative anyway.

Btw, hey Bob! I'm the Swedish guy who called you a while back asking about the horn repair for the steering wheel.