Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

[Mark G.]

I picked up an aluminum intake manifold that has been clear coated. What procedure(s) would I use to return it back to its' origanl look? Thanks.

Mark

[Edward J.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Mark you can use some brake cleaner it eats most spray paint.

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Hi Mark,
l would try Lacquer Thinner (100% Acetone) with 0000 Steel Wool if it is not installed on the car. (I wouldn't use steel wool if it is on the car) in an inconspicuous area to see what it does. I wouldn't rub too hard, you just want to get thru the clear coat, use a soft toothbrush to get into all the nooks and crannies then blow it off inside and out to make sure there is no steel wool particles left anywhere. Then if necessary spray it with a matt finish high heat aluminum paint.

[Douglas L.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Depends on what it was clear coated with. Acetone should work with basic rattle can clear, if automotive rattle can or urethane clear was used it might not work so well. Really the best bet is to run it through a shot peening machine such as a wheelabrator, kind of tough to find someone who has one but works very well and gives a perfect factory finish. A friend of mine has one at his manufacturing shop, last time I did a alternator I ran the case through for a couple of minutes and came out beautiful.

[Duke W.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Hi Mark,
l would try Lacquer Thinner (100% Acetone)

Lacquer thinner is NOT acetone... not by a long shot. Acetone is one of the most powerful solvents you can buy and will attack virtually ALL organic materials. It's what to use if all else, like mineral spirits and lacquer thinner, fail.

The trouble with stripping a painted aluminum manifold is that the paint gets into the surface texture and can be very difficult to remove. Mechanical means will alter the surface, and steel wool should not be used because steel particles will be left behind to rust and turn an ugly brown.

The OP should consider having the manifold professionally restored using the "skinning" method offer by Jerry McNish or something equivalent.

Duke

[Mark G.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Thanks everyone for the replies. They have been a great help.
Mark

[King M.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Ditto on Jerry McNeish. Recieved mine back the other day and really hate to put overspray on it, it looks THAT good!

[Jack J.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

King, how long was the turn around?

[King M.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

it took a while but I was in no hurry. The intake and valve covers were done in about 6 weeks but exhaust manifolds took a lot longer

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Hi Mark,
Im not sure if you did anything yet with your intake but I wanted to show you a example of how my aluminum intake came out after cleaning and a little elbow grease. This intake came off of my 73 L48, it was installed on the car by a previous owner along with an edelbrock carb. I reinstalled my original intake and carb. I attached a before and after photo, and some of the easy to obtain items I used to do the job. I used the the Lacquer Thinner (100% acetone) and 0000 steel wool to get thru the sealant and gasket build up and any orange over spray. After that I sprayed it with Awesome which is a great degreaser and let it soak for a few minutes. Then, I rinsed everything with water and blew everything off inside and out with the compressor. It was pretty nice at that point, but I then gave it a light coat of aluminum/Nickel high heat lacquer. ( same used for early C4 valve covers). I know this isn't for everyone, but for those who don't have access to a professional media blaster or the $$$$ to send parts away, you can get your parts looking pretty nice on your own with very little time and money.
I would only do this if the part was off of the car!!!

[Ed S.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Jimmy,
Your manifold looks Awesome (pardon the pun). Question for you (or anyone else that can shed light on this) - would the application of the aluminum / nickel high heat lacquer result in a point reduction during judging?

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Thanks Ed,
Appreciate your comment!
I'm not sure if there would be a deduction, I know it is pretty darn close to to what it was. (We are talking about the color, the edelbrock manifold would not do well in judging ).I'm sure there are judges out there more qualified to make that decision. If it was installed on the engine with all the wiring/hoses/air cleaner/thermostat and other necessary parts it would be very hard to tell. That's my opinion, for what it's worth.

[Mark G.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Thanks for all the suggestions. Before I bought the manifold, I was told it was clearcoated. Looking at the pictures, it didn't look too bad to me. I was expecting it to be yellowed or peeling. After I got it in my hands, it actually looks nice. Maybe a little bit too bright, but nice. Here is a picture of it.

[Robert D.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

it doesnt look to bad in the pics the thing is has it been run on a hot engine before. As noted before depending on what kind of clear was used will depend on how it reacts to heat. If you wanna take the clear off another option is have it soda blasted i did mine and it looks brand new

[Tim G.]

Re: Un clearcoating an aluminum intake manifold

Citrus Strip worked for my 400 intake that was painted silver and cleared. Citrus Strip took about five applications to remove the stubborn stuff.