[Mgs] aluminum look

[Mike Duvall]

Rick,  Use a very mild acid.  Body shops sell such a product but  
vinegar works well.  Media blasting scars the finish and dulls it.   
Polish it up with a chrome polish and wipe it clean with the acid.

The dullness is oxidation.

-----Original Message-----
From: mgs-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:mgs-bounces at autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Rick Lindsay
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 2:11 PM
To: MGS; IPOG; sl; disco disco
Subject: [Mgs] Cleaning aluminum

Hello Friends,

Merry Christmas and all the other salutations of the season!

I write to you this Christmas Eve to talk about engine restoration.
Specifically, I want to ask about cleaning aluminum.  I have always used
cloth, steel wool or ScotchBrite lubricated with WD40 or lacquer  
thinner and
I like the results.  However, the finish does not look 'new'.  I'd  
like to
know a technique to get that really clean white-aluminum finish of  
freshly
cast aluminum.  I've tried media blasting but the shop I visited used  
steel
balls not glass, plastic or shells.  The result was a dull gray  
finish that
I didn't like.  I ended up painting the part with 'Cast Coat Aluminum'
engine paint - a sad, second-class solution, if attractive.

So today I ask; How does one get that 'new part' aluminum finish?

best regards,

rick
'08 M-B C300