i recently bought an e303 camshaft with what the guy said 200 miles. it has little rust and was wondering if this will affect the engine, how can i clean it up? i was thinking with some 3000gr sand paper and mothers polish. any help? will post pics if needed
If it's just super light rust, don't worry about it. Hit it just enough to get the rough stuff off and stick it in. I wouldn't hit it with a polishing compound of any sort, only a clean rag.
if you want to take the time, set up an electrolyte cell in a bucket that has a fair amount of baking soda in the water. Apply a battery charger - one side to the cam in the middle of the bucket, and one side to metal or foil draped insdie the side of the bucket. Let it sit for a few hours or a day (or more depending on the amount of rust) and it will be clean.
Before you install it, use a micrometer to make sure the lobes aren't worn. I bought an Edelbrock cam from a friend. He got it out of a 302 boat motor that had only been run a few hours. When I measured the lobes I realized that a couple of them were shot. They guy that had the boad before must not have broken in the cam correctly and fried a few lobes. I ended up buying a new one.
Assuming the lobes are in spec and not super pitted from the rust - super fine steel wool and WD40 sounds pretty good. I would not polish it, you just need to remove the surface rust.