Cleaning aluminum the easy way!

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dumprat

Well-Known Member
Finally an easy way to clean aluminum castings. Mix "Green works" toilet bowl cleaner,vineger and sunlight dish soap and boil the part. I had to scrub the part a bit with a stainless wire brush to get rid of the real thick crud.

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This intake came out real nice and will clean up more with more boiling. The old gaskets came off easy and the silicone fell right off. I have a very understanding wife. You might want to ask permission before useing the kitchen, don't blame me if you get "Cut off" or divorced.
 
Great picture for hot rodders photo album, hope thats KD cooking in the other pot. I,d be right there with ya on not removing the label on pot before using it. Your cleaning method looks like it worked real good!
 
sure hope that wasn't her good stock pot.....
Will have to keep this cleaning method in mind.
 
Hahaha....you so lucky, big trouble at my house GI...
Hope the fumes were mitigated safely....may work with the same type of ingredients, just using the external burner on the BBQ.
Hot tip of the week:D
Greg
 
Actually the kitchen fan got rid of all most all the oil smell. It wasn't bad at all. ( Just do it when the wife isn't home) The toilet bowl cleaner smells good which probably helps.
 
Now if you want this to look bright take a brass wire brush on your drill and it will clean up to a bright finish .Don't use a steel brush as it will blacken the finish:eek:
 
That's interesting and looks like it works quite well. How much of each "ingredient" did you mix and how long did you boil??

I've got to try this out, also a good tip on the brass brush for a bright finish.
 
...my wife has an extraordinary sense of smell (better than the world's best Bloodhound)....I can hear the words now, as she comes in the door....
She: "....So, just WHAT have you been up to today....the whole house stinks....."
Me: "...nothing....what are you talking about?....maybe it's the kitty litter....."
 
I used about 1/4 cup of toilet cleaner and vinegar and 1/8 cup of dish soap.
As for the smell it is compareable with wearing you coveralls to the dinner table. The toilet cleaner covers most of it. I am pondering buying a propane "Crab cooker" for this purpose.
 
another product i have had very good luck with is Castrol super clean purple jug i soaked a set of used and really badly carboned up pistons for a flattie and they can out lookin like new in a matter of 5 mins and just rinsed off with water ..
 
Ya might want to invest in one of them outdoor stand alone tri-pod propane cookers from Crappy Tire, you know, the ones that hold the big pots for boiling water and doing corn on the knob.
I got one for camping, but come in handy for all those other jobs. You could even use it to melt lead. They're only as restricted as your imagination allows.
SP50-L.JPG
 
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We use a commercial product at work called "houdini" We have a spray patcher machine for repairing potholes and cracks in the highways. It sprays a tar like emmulsion that sticks just like road tar. This stuff actually breaks the tar down and makes it easy to remouve.

Russ
 
This is all fine and dandy if the parts are loose, but say you want to clean up an aluminum intake thats on the engine, without taking it off.

That oil lift degreaser looks like it may do the job (supplier pulled the auto vid)
but lots of questions on it.

Therefore, what is the best method leaving everything in place?
 
brian- easy off oven cleaner- works better when engine is warm, then rinse with water. you can also spray it using a straw like on a wd-40 can to get in tight spots.
 
Ever use alumibrite? The stuff is amazing for rough cast aluminum.

Some real precautions need to be taken though when using it.
 
Used oven cleaner from the $ Store on a SP400 trans, came out really clean. Only regret is the ID tag with the serial number stamped on it and SP400 painted on it now only has the serial number :( . Paint was cleaned off along with the grease.

Canuck
 
from Rusman @Gemblasters

dumprat said:
Finally an easy way to clean aluminum castings. Mix "Green works" toilet bowl cleaner,vinegar and sunlight dish soap and boil the part. I had to scrub the part a bit with a stainless wire brush to get rid of the real thick crud.

HPIM2305.jpg


HPIM2316.jpg


This intake came out real nice and will clean up more with more boiling. The old gaskets came off easy and the silicone fell right off. I have a very understanding wife. You might want to ask permission before using the kitchen, don't blame me if you get "Cut off" or divorced.
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JUST WONDERING if sand blasting might of worked better?
 
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