upper intake

[Magnetic82]

Hello:

Not really a technical question but more cosmetic. What is an effective cleaner for the upper intake manifold? I have it off the car for cleaning and new gaskets. Purple Power took care of most of the grime but the outside needs attention. I tried Eagle One mag wheel cleaner but it did very little. Short of soaking it in a tank of solvent or anything else, what can I do at home to finish cleaning it up? Thanks much.

[Magnetic82]

PS. I need to clean the valve covers also.

[ashley roachclip]

The intake is actually painted with color , and a clear .
Take it to an engine shop, have them soak it in the solvent they have, or have it walnut shell blasted

[ZephyrEFI]

Best way to clean those up i've found is just to repaint them.

[KevinK]

Try Pinesol. Many use it to clean bare aluminum parts. For the valve covers, I used the old style mag wheel cleaner with etching. I also followed up with one of Eagle ones wheel cleaner for newer wheels. The only surefire way is an acid dip but that would attack the filler tube. I can look up the exact when I get back from China on Saturday.

[83v6Stock]

You can start with a garden hose rinse, liquid dish washing detergent in a bucket of hot water and brush - toothbrush nylon fiber other fiber, odorless mineral spirits, Meguiar's ultimate compound, wax

[erratic50]

Easy off oven cleaner will take it down to bare metal in no time. But then it will need to be refinished.

Works great on the factory painted finish on wheels too BTW.

[sowaxeman]

The valve covers are easy...just takes a bit of patience. Spray them with a degreaser (I'm a fan of Purple Power) and then go at them with some fine Steel Wool. For the top crevices, you will have to wad it up to get in there to run along each rib...and this is where the patience comes in. The results are very nice and darn near factory fresh. Below are some I have done like this.

[KevinK]

Steel wool does not work so well on the 86 and up valve covers. They tend to be porous and sometimes rough. You need to degrease then etch them.

[sowaxeman]

I was talking about 79-85 VC's....never had to clean a set of the 86+. Aren't those painted from the factory as opposed to raw aluminum like the 79-85 versions?