How to clean/paint intake manifold?

1

19stang66

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Apr 16, 2003

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Mar 27, 2006

#1

• Mar 27, 2006

• #1

So im in the process of painting my engine and now I want to paint my intake manifold because it looks like crap. I dont know what kind of material it is but I think its iron. I think its fairly new, 2 yrs old maybe, but there are brown stains all over it. How should I go about cleaning it so I can spray paint it silver? Im using Hi-Temp engine paint.

 

geostang351

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Mar 30, 2005

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Danb., CT

Mar 27, 2006

#2

• Mar 27, 2006

• #2

Just looking at it, it looks aluminum. Looks like serious fuel leakage that stained the metal. I would media blast it and you can do what ever you want to coat it. I think if you use spray paint it silver, you would be disappointed.

 

6

66HertzClone

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Aug 24, 2004

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Central New Jersey

Mar 27, 2006

#3

• Mar 27, 2006

• #3

You could try the cast type of mag wheel cleaner, it is an acid and will etch the surface. Maybe that will remove the stains and you could hit it with a coat of high temp clear.

 

SoCalCruising

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Jul 25, 2000

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SoCal

Mar 27, 2006

#4

• Mar 27, 2006

• #4

Well, don't use oven cleaner, just in case you were considering it. I generally use lacquer thinner to clean bare metal. Aluminum is rather porous, so you need something that will get in and remove residues. You can buy 2 gals. of thinner and pour it into a 5 gal bucket and soak one half at a time. If the level doesn't quite come up half-way on the manifold, put something else in the bucket, too, to displace liquid and raise the level. I'd also use a self-etching primer.

Be aware that silver paint has some insulating properties and will hinder disipation of heat. Hot manifolds make less power, but it will be very minor. I believe that if you used a black paint, heat will disipate better, but that may not go with your paint scheme.

You might also try an aluminum polish, like Mother's, and see if it will remove the stains, then leave it natural. Mothers acts a little like silver polish and doesn't require a lot of rubbing.

 

H

hunterhicks

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Dec 4, 2003

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D/FW

Mar 27, 2006

#5

• Mar 27, 2006

• #5

Wire brush on a drill-

I found this by accident. Works well with Edlebrock aluminum intakes- the surface is very rough (textured) and the wire brush does an amazing job- without leaving a mark. The dents and crevices can prove to be challenging, though.

A nice suprise I found...

 

1320stang

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Nov 13, 1998

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89

Edmond, Oklahoma

Mar 27, 2006

#6

• Mar 27, 2006

• #6

I had my tunnel ram bead blasted, then painted with automotive clear, it turned out a nice consistant color, but wasn't a bright aluminum color, more like the grey between the center two runners there on the side. It was stained like that one and someone had tried to polish it at one time, at least the top anyway. People say it won't hold up to fuel leaks, but it was on a drag car and we'd change the jets often, used a rag to wipe it off and I haven't noticed any discoloration.

 

jdowen2

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Dec 18, 2005

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Mesa, Az

Mar 27, 2006

#7

• Mar 27, 2006

• #7

Sent it to Jet-Hot coatings. They will blast it and then coat it with any of numerous colors.

 

1

19stang66

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Apr 16, 2003

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Mar 27, 2006

#8

• Mar 27, 2006

• #8

Well I decided I'd just use some stuff we had in our shop. I used Aircraft Remover first, and that got most of the crap off as you can see. Then I used a solvent called Gone after the aircraft remover. Looks soooo much better than before, but up close you can still see some black stains.

After reading your replies, I've decided not to paint the manifold. I'll try the wire wheel and aluminum polish. Thanks for the help!

 

Fastback_1

New Member

Jan 23, 2006

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Mar 27, 2006

#9

• Mar 27, 2006

• #9

Brake clean works very good on the stained part, Us a brass brush and Mothers to clean the intake, a regular steel wire brush will leave depositis in the pores of the aluminum and start to rust over time.

 

1

19stang66

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Mar 27, 2006

#10

• Mar 27, 2006

• #10

thanks for the heads up on the brass brush

 

allcarfan

The Answer Man

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Mar 28, 2006

#11

• Mar 28, 2006

• #11

....I woulda blasted it and coated it.....

 

1320stang

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Nov 13, 1998

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Edmond, Oklahoma

Mar 28, 2006

#12

• Mar 28, 2006

• #12

One word of warning if powder or ceramic coating an intake manifold. A buddy had a intake that had the crossover's blocked off. There were pipe plugs in the bottom, but they didn't remove them, when it was coated and heated, the bottom of the manifold cracked big time.

 

krash kendall

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Nov 19, 2004

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Aldergrove, B.C. Canada

Mar 28, 2006

#13

• Mar 28, 2006

• #13

I've taken cast steel intakes in to the local Auto parts/machine shop and had them hot tanked for twenty bucks. They look brand new and are clean inside-out. I don't know if you can do aluminum though.

 

1320stang

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Nov 13, 1998

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Edmond, Oklahoma

Mar 28, 2006

#14

• Mar 28, 2006

• #14

Probably can, the old hot tanks couldn't, the stuff would eat aluminum, but with so many new engines having aluminum heads and/or blocks, the stuff is different, but doesn't work quite as well as the old stuff on cast iron. Lots of places don't have hot tanks anymore even, due to EPA, they bake a lot of stuff nowadays, but I don't think they do that to aluminum.

 

SoCalCruising

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#15

• Mar 28, 2006

• #15

If you want to coat an intake, the best thing to do is to use a heat dispersant. The ones I am familiar with are black in color. They promote a release of heat and the intake stays cooler. Using ceramic coating on the outside of an intake winds up causing the intake to hold the heat in. There are other coatings that can be used inside the runners to insulate the intake charge. Just my $.02.

 

1

19stang66

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Apr 16, 2003

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Mar 28, 2006

#16

• Mar 28, 2006

• #16

I think im going to pass on the powdercoating, aint got no $$$. Thanks for suggesting it though, i may consider it in the future. I'll just try to clean her up the best I can.

 

5

5oundbit3

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Oct 17, 2015

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Oct 17, 2015

#17

• Oct 17, 2015

• #17

19stang66 said:

So im in the process of painting my engine and now I want to paint my intake manifold because it looks like crap. I dont know what kind of material it is but I think its iron. I think its fairly new, 2 yrs old maybe, but there are brown stains all over it. How should I go about cleaning it so I can spray paint it silver? Im using Hi-Temp engine paint.

Click to expand...

Either wire brush and drill/compressor for big spots and small brush for finer parts or here's what I did though it take time and commitment to get it done but it's not hard: get a dremel and 5pack of strong about one inch black sanding. Wheels and sand it down starting with open areas and getting to tighter spots when it wears down then use the cylinder for tighter areas and gray tip sander for small areas then the screw tip for inbetween the letters and smallest areas. If there's still rust or something left clean with naval jelly. It's really strong so don't breath or get on skin! Get a pipe cleaner or three of different sizes to scrub. Then after washing off with water take a tooth brush and engine degreaser and scrub the gold/brown residue free. Rinse with water later then use a clean shop towl and rub the metal to remove the minor tint. Let dry, tape up and roll binder paper half inch by size of holes and stick in all holes. Then prime it up and paint it.

 

5

5oundbit3

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Oct 17, 2015

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Oct 17, 2015

#18

• Oct 17, 2015

• #18

 

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5oundbit3

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Oct 17, 2015

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Oct 17, 2015

#19

• Oct 17, 2015

• #19

Before I finished sanding and before using naval jelly