3rd Generation 1979 - 1993 > 1979 - 1993

restoring 1989 5.0 valve cover finish++

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sflaten:
My brother and I are restoring two 1989 SSP  Minnesota State Patrol vehicles. Right now we have the engine out of one and rebuilding. It looks like proper finishes are the pan is gray and heads and block are raw. The valve covers are cast aluminum with some corrosion. Has anyone figured out the best way to clean and restore that natural aluminum? I have thought of cleaning and scrubbing  and possibly soaking in Lysol as that worked well on a carb. Thought about a light bead blast and/or pressure wash.

Once raw finish is reached thinking of applying a clear satin to preserve the appearance and reduce corrosion in the future.
Appreciate any suggestions that others have found worked well. Even if something you tried did not work, that would be good to know. Thanks

KevinK:
I ran into this a few years ago. There are a few obstacles involved. The aluminum valve cover seems pretty straight forward but the filler tube is plated steel. This poses a problem with chemicals and abrasives.

There are several versions of the valve cover and it has to do with the shape of the outer bolt flange. I have also noticed some seem to be bare aluminum and other are covered in a yellow tinted gray paint. It’s hard to determine if it was fully cover in this paint. My 88 covers were bare but many others including NOS ones had some type of paint on them.

Mine were exposed to a battery explosion. I found some very nice used ones to replace mine. You might try using the wheel cleaner designed for rough cast aluminum wheels. Lemon juice, cream of tartar and water work well in an ultra sonic cleaner.

sflaten:
Thanks Kevin. Will try some of the natural elements. I have been very successful
With Super Klean on engines but it is really aggressive and can create more oxidation on aluminum, especially if it is warm. Never thought of wheel cleaner. Will keep trying. Thanks

KevinK:
You might want to mask off the steel filler tube when cleaning with the wheel cleaner. I believe Eagle1 makes a rough cast cleaner.

sflaten:
Was able to get a reasonable finish be soaking in Pinesol for a few days. Then used a wire wheel in an angle grinder to clean surface and get the fresh aluminum surface. The wheel left a little grainy finish, but was able to get a more uniform pattern with a little experimenting on the angle, speed of pass and direction of the brush rotation and hold time. Then used a stiff manual wire brush across any graining to remove the rest of the directional grain. Looks OK. We then coated with a clear finish to keep it from oxidizing in the future.

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