Best way to clean Aluminum intake???

[SeattleCarGuy]

Hey guys, I am making great progress correcting incorrect items on my real 4K '67 L78 Camaro. Ordered correct valve covers from Crane, correct carb, clamps, etc.

Question is, what is the best way to clean the intake manifold without removing it from the engine? I don't want to remove it as there are no leaks and it isn't that bad, just wondering if an SOS pad or some other technique would help me clean it while still on engine???

This is a "before" picture. Thanks!

[Burd]

I did the bay in my buddy’s 70 Z, LT1, I heard walnut shells, but he didn’t want to remove it, I used Eastwood bare alum paint, it looked great.
Thermo, carb and dist were off. His thermo was orange.

[Mr70]

On the engine?..Paint thinner and a WHITE scotchbrite pad.Avoid any other color.
Wear rubber gloves,soft towel/pad over both fenders,and be prepared to lean forward for about an hour.

[cook_dw]

I actually use the blue scotchbrite pads and Meguiars aluminum wheel cleaner. Seems to work for me to this point. As always do a test before diving into any cleaning project.

[68camaroz28]

Looks excellent Darrell and I have an old intake spare I could play with lol. The surprise was how you were able to get in the crevices.

[1971ls6]

Brake cleaner to get the dirt and grease off and then some oooo steel wool very lightly, if you rub too hard it will get shiny, less is more.

Since covid, I have found that the water thin hand sanitizer works great for cutting grease and best of all, removes the gas smell from your hands better than soap

[firstgenaddict]

Oven cleaner is one of the best things for removing oils and cooked on greases from iron or aluminum...
To get into the pores of the aluminum use a round stiff bristled brush and wrap tape around the bristles so that they stick out about 1" that way they don't jump all around and you can work it around and get into the pores.

Here is the intake before and after on my survivor LT1.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3cc6Zq9SSBG3B-Qci4Ga68kfqJsADPp8Ly3e0wyfo99n95zzIRK3gg6Fke3sF-MwQYNlOWiH6F4ivzsjw8XGm060fIMp6HvEh7VW8ROjh23GLvi_ lubqxkUWCsI3mwolODB7kwCzsKkKGaYHtxvlOKMQA=w1179-h884-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dQTKU0_mzlbqoYMGl5CzLatVWg9NMhLx3656eFAj7OsOO3ctv yf0drSqVN-eK3Z0tymgstc5gQANFcqFqyl_GYpuruvsid9fXj6YdgXd-WB9bAoGu8DxmywUBmwE6PzQ1QHTHpHdX1zQP1quwL0d08mg=w1 281-h854-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fwcuiX7gn-Rg4DXKPwCo_VABNsd6_FA_PjzB_ov7CtdryHWMSX9UbiR011q6 in6wxBdEKOoTrqcedauMcypwNUTz34SBqlm-MYmxd3TF7SWuX3xfOBjg7xzi2h5p264r-u4yRObjU35vafjQsjx_Mnaw=w1281-h829-no?authuser=0

[big gear head]

I use carburetor cleaner on a rag to remove gas stains. Be careful about what you get it on. It can damage some plastics and may soften paint.

[John Brown]

And oven cleaner will make aluminum turn blackish if left on too long. Timing is everything.

[1971ls6]

I have used oven cleaner to take off plating before black oxid, that stuff will melt an alluminum cigar tube in under 30 minutes, be careful

[SeattleCarGuy]

Thanks everyone for the comments/suggestions! I hope to put some cleaning time in over the holidays! Happy Thanksgiving all!

[wthirty1]

For the Olds W-cars, we have aluminum intake manifolds. I've had good luck with vapor blasting the aluminum. It comes out somewhat bright at first but over time the brightness wears away and it looks more like a stock aluminum finish.

[Tracker1]

For the Olds W-cars, we have aluminum intake manifolds. I've had good luck with vapor blasting the aluminum. It comes out somewhat bright at first but over time the brightness wears away and it looks more like a stock aluminum finish.

Vapor blasting is the best I've seen, I agree. But he doesn't want to remove the manifold from the car so...

[mhm1966]

Clean the aluminum intake the best you can. Then use Hi-Temp aluminum paint. Spray a small amount into a container and add lacquer thinner to thin the paint out. Take a stiff bristle brush, dip the brush into the mixture of paint and lacquer thinner and rub the solution onto the intake manifold.

[ban617]

Nice tip on the bristles of the brush , what brand oven cleaner are you using? There used to be a brand Mr.Muscle it would remove the car lot under hood paint jobs in the old days..