The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop cleaning aluminum

Wondering what you guys are using to clean aluminum? I would like to clean up my 700r4 & paint it.

Trailer companies sell a cleaner for about $12 a gallon. Go to any trailer dealer such as Trailmobile or Wabash and ask for aluminum brightner or the stuff used to acidize aluminum. We use it all the time.

on the expensive side=brake cleaner of Easy-Off oven cleaner[wear eye protection,because of spray-back]What about a soft wire brush and solvent,followed with a dish soap rinse

If you can clean it up nicely, you don't need to paint it. I got mine clean buy using a wire brush in my drill and Dremel tool with a wire brush or wheel. It shines pretty nicely so I left it ah la natural.
Joe

Easy Off oven cleaner, followed by a good bath, courtesy of the power washer or car wash...that stuff will peel the chrome off a trailer hitch ball.

To keep the factory sheen, after the clean, you can clear-coat it with a low-sheen coating. Eastwood and several other paint suppliers sell this product.

Thanks fellow Bolters for your time & consideration. I will try the oven cleaner, then pressure wash, soft wire brushes if needed.
Also like the Idea of coating it with a low sheen lacquer to keep the factory clean look.

I haven't looked at the labels lately but the Easy Off heavy duty liquids & griddle cleaners usually contain sodium metasilicate or potassium hydroxide which will slowly dissolve aluminum. The aerosol formulation doesn't list either of these as an ingredient. I would do a small test area first.

Any good wheel cleaner should also work, look for one with a acid base. The ones made for clear coated wheels probably won't work. Simple Green or Castrol Purple will also work if you are going to the car wash, just soak them down and let them set for awhile, it will come clean.

As Harold41 stated - Do not use Oven Cleaner very caustic Use a brass wire wheel.

Good advise!! on the oven cleaner. Simple green & wire brushing
will be my new plan.

Thanks guys

Using oven cleaner on aluminum... BIG MISTAKE! I learned the hard way. Many years back we found this cool vintage oven/stove with tons of aluminum bright work and chrome trim, all in great shape. It was greasy as can be, which had perfectly preserved the finish underneath.
Now what better to clean an oven with than oven cleaner right? I went to work on that thing with a can of Easy-Off... covered the whole thing... emptied the can.
OK, lets let it soften up and start bubbling then wipe it off.. I can hardly wait to see it shine!
As I'm standing there waiting and watching this stuff do all the hard work for me, I can see the aluminum panels and knobs and stuff start to turn white. What the...?
I quickly grabbed a rag and started wiping it off. To my horror, the aluminum was all dull and milky colored. Permanently etched. All of it, RUINED!
That stove has been in use in our kitchen since then, and every time It catches my eye, I am reminded of how stupid I am... or was.

Find an HVAC supply store and buy aluminum coil cleaner or A/C coil cleaner. It is pink, it will eat the skin off your hands - so wear good rubber gloves and a pair of chemical goggles. Follow the directions and you will have shiny aluminum - just like the day it came from the foundry. if you dont follow the directions you will have black aluminum.

hose it on, wait a short period of time (I think it is either 30 seconds or 1 minute (on the directions), and rinse with plenty of water. Then coat with something - paint, clearcoat, etc.

Also, if you just want to paint, PPG has an aluminum cleaner that is used when they repaint tractor trailers. Contact your local PPG / Ditzler paint supplier.

Scott

Phosphorus acid. It looks like it would glow in the dark, and it will clean aluminum better then most anything else. The beauty of aluminum is how easy it is to polish, removing shallow damage!

I owned a detail shop and we used wheel acid. Have a gallon at home now. If your aluminum is shiney don't use and acid based chemical is will dull it.

Tom