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After cleaning Alum with acid, How can you keep oxidation down?


gearheadstik

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Hey guys I have been cleaning my trans cases and such with diluted acid which works great, but afterwards it oxidizes terribly to the point if turning white. I'm not going to anodize or paint, so what can I do to help this... What do the OEMs do about this problem? Coatings, sealers? Where can I find something? Thanks

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Found that Castrol Super Clean works great on aluninum parts especailly getting the sludge out of valve covers. it is a lot less caustic but still needs to be used with care. However I have never had a problem of it turning the aluninum white.

 

What you are seeing when youget the white powder is a form of oxidation where your aluninum is actually corroding. When we see this for of corrosion on our aircraft skins we remove the pitting if it has gone that far and then clean the area with a product called alumaprep. Once the aluninum has been cleaned it gets rinsed very clean and then prepped with Alodine zinc chromate or epoxy polymide primer then a top coat of paint.

 

I would sugest reevaluating your acid solution for something a little less harsh.

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Car wax works pretty well on aluminum. Hides scratches and tooling marks in the aluminum pretty well too.

 

If you have completely etched off the oxide layer with acid, then may be a bit much to ask of the wax. But give it a try on a small piece of alum and let us know how it works.

 

Got me interested so I did a quick google search. Came up with this stuff

 

http://www.theruststore.com/Bull-Frog-Rust-Blocker-P26C0.aspx

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AP300%20%26%206060T6.jpgAP-300

ROLITE'S Best Aircraft Aluminium Polish on a 6060-T6 panel.

 

ROLITE'S "AP-300" is the ultimate polish / protector developed specifically for bare aluminum surfaces. Roliteâ„¢ has developed this polish to give the best possible finish and protection on bare, Alclad aluminium, exterior aircraft surfaces. Quick and easy to use. Polishes & buffs right to a finish without having to " wipe out the black" in a separate step. Developed specifically for use with "barrel" or "drum"(pg.3 & 12) type polishing machines. Meets the most recent commercial aviation certifications set by Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, A.S.T.M. & Bombardier Aerospace (MPS 120-136)

 

This is the latest version of the stuff that I have been using for years, as you can see it is a protector as well as a polish and it is designed specificaly for bare aluminum. Because this is made for aircraft you may not be able to just go out and buy some (I got some when I used to work at General Dynamics), here is the link to where I got the above from if you would like to try: http://www.aircraftpolish.com/specrolite.html

 

I also feel that like others have said... get away from the acid, is the best advice.

 

Dragonfly

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