Home brew cast alloy cleaning?

[Torqu-E-Cycles]

Hey guys, what diy/home brew methods have y'all used for cleaning crud and corrosion from cast alloy to get it all shiny and new looking again? I know vapor blasting is the answer but I'm on a mission to restore my old mini 100% by myself, I've painted it, rebuilt the gearbox/engine etc all by myself and it's really quite satisfying knowing there's is only 1 person to blame if it goes wrong haha, I have patience and spare time so maybe dipping them for a while....
What will happen if I put them in the electrolysis tank? What about phosphoric acid or even Coca-Cola?

 

[Seadog]

What AI has to say...

 

[dieselsamurai]

Mr Muscle oven cleaner works for me , work it in with a tooth brush then jet wash off . dont leave it on too long though

 

[Morris]

AI recommends hydrofluoric acid

 

[Maker]

AI recommends hydrofluoric acid

Stainless pickling solutions sometimes use HF I believe.
That AI response is almost always unhelpful, I use a brower extension called Bye Bye Google AI.

 

[Smallfry]

Hydrofluoric acid is best by far as this is what the immersion strippers use. I used to have access to this, and it brings aluminium up like new, but it does attack it, and machined surfaces will have the shine taken off.

Try some alkaline oven cleaner, BUT will need a hot pressure wash off. Some products will leave the items looking grey. it really isnt an easy thing to do.

 

[arther dailey]

Hey guys, what diy/home brew methods have y'all used for cleaning crud and corrosion from cast alloy to get it all shiny and new looking again? I know vapor blasting is the answer but I'm on a mission to restore my old mini 100% by myself, I've painted it, rebuilt the gearbox/engine etc all by myself and it's really quite satisfying knowing there's is only 1 person to blame if it goes wrong haha, I have patience and spare time so maybe dipping them for a while....
What will happen if I put them in the electrolysis tank? What about phosphoric acid or even Coca-Cola?

View attachment 463913

thats looking good , there aresome mini fans on here , could you do a thread on the resto? with pics of course.thanks

 

[johnik]

i used cheap lemonade / pepsi in the past, seems to work for me and no handling nasty chemicals

 

[optima21]

What AI has to say...

View attachment 463925

wonder what real life experience AI has in this instance

 

[frank horton]

small stuff, I used an ultra sonic cleaner with ally cleaning solution
mine will fit 2x40 DCOE carbs so quite large....spose if it's inlet manifolds etc u could do half at a time.....
I always give engine parts a bit of a soaking in degreaser.....
I used Screwfixes own......just fill up a tub/bucket and drop the parts in for an hour, then power-wash....
U need to putting only oily /grease free parts in the U/Sonic cleaner....the solution's are not cheap and dont last long anyway....

 

[Seadog]

Hydrofluoric acid is best by far as this is what the immersion strippers use. I used to have access to this, and it brings aluminium up like new, but it does attack it, and machined surfaces will have the shine taken off.

Try some alkaline oven cleaner, BUT will need a hot pressure wash off. Some products will leave the items looking grey. it really isnt an easy thing to do.

The problem with HFA is that it has an extremely strong affinity with calcium.
The human body had a very high percentage of calcium

 

[jsf55]

Soak in dish washer tablet and brillo pads for me, but i'm never after a show finish ...all that polishing

 

[brightspark]

Soak in dish washer tablet and brillo pads for me, but i'm never after a show finish ...all that polishing

its difficult to polish cast ally . it leaves black polish in the pitting

 

[rtcosic]

Having been responsible for a plant with several 10's of tonnes of HF, I have one word of advice about using it:

DON'T

 

[Torqu-E-Cycles]

So far we have lots about AI and lots about an acid that will likely kill me... surely there's something out there that will do the job, I'll give oven cleaner a go and report back!

On steel the phosphoric acid works brilliant and the electrolysis bath also great, what will happen if I put alloy in either? I don't have any spare scrap parts so can't test it without risking killing important parts...

 

[Seadog]

Used sparingly, phosphoric or sodium hydroxide, are OK. But don't turn your back on them.

 

[Torqu-E-Cycles]

Used sparingly, phosphoric or sodium hydroxide, are OK. But don't turn your back on them.

I've got phosphoric in a bucket at the moment, 50/50 with water, with the steel bits I've been leaving them in overnight so maybe just try the alloy for a couple of hours or is that too long?

 

[Torqu-E-Cycles]

Has anybody tried AL27R? Its made by a company called Carbusonic and its available on Amazon so I'm going to buy and try!
It says it removes oxidation but has a very short dwell time so will find some scrap from somewhere to try first!

 

[jo1010]

I'll give oven cleaner a go and report back!

I might save you some time.....on a land rover TDI engine age had turned the silvery alu surfaces mottled....I used Mr muscle oven cleaner...leave on for minutes and rinse off.....it removes mottling but also turns the silvery surface to grey - looks cleaner....but now grey not silver. Not a great look imo.
But MM is brilliant on cleaning carbon from aluminium piston lands - works a treat, just remember to wear gloves!

 

[Seadog]

I've got phosphoric in a bucket at the moment, 50/50 with water, with the steel bits I've been leaving them in overnight so maybe just try the alloy for a couple of hours or is that too long?

I'd watch the reaction for some time.