Restoring Aluminium Manifold Cam Cover....

[Lloyd]

As I'm in the process of fitting a new turbo, EM, Oil cooler and Hydraulic Pump, I figured I might as well follow other forum users in cleaning up some Aluminium parts.

I found that it is not enough (for me) to simply have your parts Aqua Blasted, as this still leaves some discolouration. Doing it the hard way, I've found that you should have your parts sand blasted first and then aqua blasted.

I used these guys who I can recommend. £60 the lot.
Their website is down at the moment so here are their details:

RFI Screening and Blast Cleaning Specialists
Units 3a, 3b & 3c Station Rd Ind Estate,
Station Road,
Braughing,
WARE,
SG11 2PB

I know that others can also recommend http://www.phoenixmetal.co.uk/

[Acidburn]

those have come up good mate

[Lloyd]

They have and the phone photos do not do them justice. Look much better in sunlight.

NB: Just in case anyone was wondering, do not shot blast these parts!
Sand blasting uses really fine media and is not aggressive like shot blasting.
The Aqua blasting then finishes off and gives it a nice satin finish.

Apparently, using WD40 or GT85 occasionally is all you need to keep it looking good.

[s4boy]

very nice

[pixsaudisex2]

Looking good,,,

[Fat Audi 80]

I am not jealous at all.

Very very nice.

[JP]

Alternativelly I found if you stick a handfull of hand cleaner from gsf in your aqua blast tank before starting it keeps the beads crisp and comes out shiny and not patchy without the need for sandblasting unless the corrosion is real bad in which case yes sandblast first.

Putting that aside looking real nice. To keep it clean use engine machine cleaner from autoglym as it doesn't corrode the ally. alternativelly a rag saturated in some brake parts cleaner from carplan works well too. I personally got fed up as every winter the salt on the road killed the finish which was a pain as I originally blasted the alternator and every little bracket in my bay. Ended up powder coating the lot in the end for ease of cleaning.

[epic]

Or have them anodised now you had them blasted clean and then they will look OEM.

[Lloyd]

Are you suggesting they are anodised in the factory?

I quite like the current look to be honest. I'm hoping liberal WD40 will keep them looking good for a while.

[epic]

Not sure if they are or not. I had my catch tank anodised and 2 years on it looks perfect still. Wd40 traps dirt in my experience.

Uncoloured anodizing will look almost the same as your parts do now.

I use these guys and they do a lot of work for F1 and the McLaren MP4 road car work.

Metro Plating Slough