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Alloy Cleaning/Polishing

MrBags

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I had a custom 750 built for my 393 Windsor powered XW Fairmont, best thing I did was pony up for that carb. So much better than the many previous attempts to get it running really well.
Miss that thing.
 

panhead

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Hi
I used to be a metal polisher.
Give the ali you have polished some kind of clear coating.
You dont want all that work you have done to the ali parts to tarnish do you?

There are a lot of coatings out there, can you point me in the direction of one that can handle engine temperatures.







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panhead

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Why not clean up the corrosion and get the alloy parts anodised?

You could go natural aluminium, some fancy colour or black. And anodising looks good and protects the base metal from corrosion :)

PPS: I haven’t done anodising but ensure good ventilation and you’ll be ok. I’ve has sulfuric acid stored at home and from experience the acid fumes makes stainless steel look like it’s rusted :p

I just wanted to clean it up as the rest of the engine bay is in good nick.

Bling is for the show guys and in the case of the carbie, it's mostly out of sight when the air cleaner is in place.






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panhead

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A couple of photos of the primary bowl and metering block cleaned up at component level then reassembled.

I didn't think to take photos of it when I first removed it but it was in far worse condition then the earlier photo I posted of the secondary bowl.

Apart from the gaskets the only thing I replaced was the power valve, it cleaned up okay and the spring seemed to be functioning properly but I don't have a tester to check it for vacuum so I couldn't get rid of this nagging doubt in the back of my head, what if it seizes up.

So in the end I decided to put in a new one.

I also removed the base plate and cleaned out the throttle body assembly (no photos) and used the air compressor to make sure there were no blockages.

IMG_9906 1800x.jpg


IMG_9936 1800x.jpg


I was using the tube style discharge nozzles with hollow screws (at front of the photos) and you can see how fouled they were.

I cleaned them up but ended up replacing them with the stock nozzles and solid screws seen at the rear in the photos.

IMG_9961 1800x.jpg


IMG_9978 1800x.jpg


Reassembled and ready for it initial setup before I fit it to the manifold and tune it.

I gave the body a minor rub down but didn't bother to metal polish it as most of it won't be seen.

You can still easily see the pitting the corrosion caused to the primary and secondary bowls.

IMG_0021 1800.jpg


IMG_9998 1800x.jpg







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Forg

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There are a lot of coatings out there, can you point me in the direction of one that can handle engine temperatures.
I rattle-canned the freshly-blasted alloy intake manifold on my turbo (intercooled but the air still gets hot) project car (no phenolic spacer or anysuch) with plain old VHT high-temp clear. Satin finish from memory, it's not high-gloss.

The finish has held-up really well, 16yrs later, but I will warn ... it's a dimpled finish, and those dimples all catch grease & dust & dirt, which you then can't clean off with an alloy cleaner because you'll take your paint off. I've done the toothbrush scrubby-scrubby with the soapy water etc, which sorta/kinda works, mostly (but could be because it's a little difficult to get to under bits of my home-made loom, hoses looping around for HVAC & IAC, etc etc).
 
H

harrop.senator

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I've tried 2k clear , acrylic and enamel never really had any luck.

Non ferrous lacquer works good but I don't know about the strength or heat resistance.

Really the only clear I know that definitely works is the cerakote aluminium clear. But if you were going to do that I'd have just blown it with a cerakote chrome effect LOL
 

Skylarking

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I just wanted to clean it up as the rest of the engine bay is in good nick.

Bling is for the show guys and in the case of the carbie, it's mostly out of sight when the air cleaner is in place.
Yeah the carbi is hidden under the air filter so doesn't need bling bling.
In fact, bling bling within the engine bay is, IMHO something for posers :eek:

A (sulphuric acid type 3) hard anodised natural finish isn't bling bling as its purpose is to protect the material from corrosion. It looks just like the original aluminium part before the coating was applied and has the added benefit of not being electrically conductive :p The only downside is the effort required to get the job done at home, or the $$ to pay someone else to do it :(

However I do take the point that the carbi is unseen thus it seems unwarranted. But if the hard anodiszing is also applied to internal parts of the carbi (watch clearances) then you'll protect the internal parts from corrosion occuring which may help with low use garage queens :cool:

Guess anodizing goes hand in hand with passivating all the other metal parts and screws so it's la bit of an OCD rabbit hole :eek:
 

panhead

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In fact, bling bling within the engine bay is, IMHO something for posers :eek:

The problem with bling is it take a lot of maintenance to keep it looking good and that's the last thing I want with a stored car or something that's driven every few months.

Bling as in shiny isn't my taste and is something I use sparingly on cars as possibly a trim but not like the 80's when everything was electroplated.

If I get the energy I'll show you what happen to the chrome bumpers.






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Skylarking

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If I get the energy I'll show you what happen to the chrome bumpers.
I had my bumpers covered in Norwegian Chrome, but it took little effort though lots of time :rolleyes:




The more common term for Norwegian Chrome is rust :p:p:p
 
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H

harrop.senator

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They sell air dry cerakote man. 80-100 alumni oxide grit mesh or same mesh in garnet is preferred pre spray finish . Easy enough to pay someone else to blast paint at home. (Ceramic coating is way over priced to pay to have done compared to painting and don't know why. Same guns and tips. )

About $160 a litre aud
images (1) (5).jpeg
 
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