Aluminum intake manifold restoration/reconditioning
 

A `67 L79 intake I just did in house.


Not spray painted.


Not tumbled.


Not vapor honed.


Yea or nay?


(Sorry about the meh lighting, I'm still a lousy photographer)

Hand cleaned/polished?

Hand cleaned, somewhat.


Polished, no.

Looks nice Eric.


Jason

Hand cleaned how, with what chemical?

Baking soda blast?

I found the BEST Aluminum intake cleaner that leaves the factory finish is Aluminum Naval Jelly by Loctite.

Sorry, that's something I don't want to discuss. It's taken me a very long time (not to mention a significant financial investment) to figure out how to do this.



No.



I've used that before and it works well, but it wasn't used here.


Basically I just want to be sure that this is something that will pass aesthetic scrutiny.

Looks similar to may process.

Eric, I'm not knocking your efforts but it looks like paint to me although it's not. Too much of a silver-chrome look IMO.

Eric:

Impressive.
Always hard to tell from pics on line.

I bought an over the counter high rise for a 69 Z/28 in 1976.

I kept it in a living room environment for about 25 years. It looked a lot like the manifold you just posted. When I would get it out to show guys, they were always shocked at how shiny it was.

I think the duller look we are used to seeing on "pristine" cars is patina from use. I think what you have done with that manifold is as close to perfect replication of the factory finish (based on my limited experience with one brand new manifold) as I have seen. My only reservation is that the studs also look silver. My manifold did not come with studs. I don't know if there is a way for you to keep the studs from turning silver in the process, that that would really set it off if they still looked natural steel.

After looking at 70-72 LT1 Vettes for over 25 years, restoring, driving and judging. The manifold looks good, but way over restored. Would be judged as such by NCRS.

I think it looks close to spot on to NOS manifolds I have had as well. It certainly will tone down a bit after being installed for awhile. Good work Eric and thanks for sharing. Are you using a cabinet? I have found that degrease, plastic media, garnet media, then real glass beads at very low pressure gives me the finish I am after. Just like painting a part, it is the prep that gets you the desired result. The aluminum has to be to "white metal" with no staining before glass beading, otherwise you are just putting a polish/seal on stains and contamination. There is more to it that that like grits and pressures but that is the general process I use for most manifolds.


Jason

I thought the Same Thing , has kind of a fake look ?
!

No offense taken, that's why I posted this, to get feedback--positive and negative.



Part of the process is media blasting (not going into details obviously), and I didn't want to risk damaging the studs trying to remove them--getting the oil filler tube out was a big enough PITA as it was lol.


In this instance, the car (/manifold) isn't going to be judged any more, it's already been down that road. Since only the top of the studs are visible once the carb has been installed, I decided to leave them in. The owner has seen the intake and was very happy with it.



Part of it is the lighting and the flash from the camera, both contribute to making it look a *little bit* shinier than it actually is--but it is pretty shiny. I also get the "over-restored" part, but that seems to be what the vast majority are looking for these days. (I shudder to think how a client would react in the event that I returned a "restored" carburetor to them that actually looked like it did when it was new--they'd likely have a fit)



Thanks Jason. My process involves several chemical cleaning steps along with media blasting as well, and the part definitely has to be 100% free of any foreign material and/or contaminants.


I was lucky in this instance in that the manifold hadn't been previously blasted with an overly aggressive media which as you know tends to pit these castings all to Hell and back--I don't think there's any other way to save one of those other than to cross your fingers and have it tumbled.


As the old saying goes, "you can't please everybody." I've had clients gripe at me because they thought their carbs were too shiny and iridescent after I'd restored it, and others gripe that they weren't shiny enough--and in both instances the carbs looked virtually the same lol.

Here's a few pics of the assembled engine under different lighting.

----How do think walnut shell blasting would look? It did a great job on a set of American Racing real magnesium Torque Thrust D's that I have just finishing a rehab on!....Bill S

Walnuts and plastic work well to remove debris and surface corrosion but only touch the surface. They are great for cleaning original parts.

Eric,

67 L79 Chevelle?

Jason

Yep, Richard's engine I just finished up (the build I posted on my FB page).

Agree with this post.

It does look better the last two engine pics as it did seem too silvery and shiny looking for what IMO it should look like. Still a nice step up from what it did look like I'm sure.

Too silvery and shiny in my opinion as well. The repro valve covers are very evident with the wavy ends on them.

I've cleaned several that are fairly rare and never painted them or blasted them. Mostly just strong detergents and gray scotchbrite then steel wool. The steel wool will provide a bit of sheen, so use with caution. They take on the look more akin to the alum. thermostat housings, more of a dull grey, vs. the silvery look. That, to me anyway, is accurate. No protectant on the eddy, boeshield on the winters manifold.

Can I ask please what process you used?

Thanks,
John

Other than post #24, NOBODY gives McCune props for his EXCELLENT Restoration of his Manifold. Mr McCune ownes a company that does professional/commercial restoration of Alumnum Auto Parts (as does Mr Jackson) ..........Correct me Im wront but the sand casted manifold in post #9 was restored by a shot blasting machine using clean metal shot that has not been contamintaed doing cast iron/steel parts.......
From what little knowledge I have, I believe aluminum sand castings were metal shot blasted by the OEM to remove excess sand and slag.........

Here are a few pics of my Muncie Case (Sand Cast) and Tailhousing/Side Cover (Die Cast)...........

I'm currently concerned with what/how best to "coat" these parts to prevent any corrosion forming........There are a variety of sprays, or thin film coating from Everbrite or CERAKOTE