How do you restore a Edelbrock intake manifold?

 

Intake OFF off motor

GUNK etc aerosol engine cleaner followed by pressure washer.

after gunk you can either either mechanically clean via bead-blast or chemically clean via below

Then (after GUNK), Goggles and Gloves ... Oxalic Acid (Savogran/DAP Wood Bleach) mix with warm water in a tub or sponge it on.
Neutralize with Baking Soda & water mix ... flush with copious amounts water.

Same principle materials applies to great radiator/cooling cleaner.

The old-style radiator cleaners (DuPont & Prestone) in pasteboard canister ... two-part in same divided tube ... Oxalic Acid-Soda. They don't sell that for auto use anymore ... litigious idiots hurt themselves + EPA.

 

I used Macguier's Mag Wheel Cleaner-- in the Gray bottle.. Soak it down, let it set until its almost dry, soak it again and scrub with a stiff brush. Rinse with water. Came out looking like new.

 

I used to clean my natural (silver) aluminum Harley motors by spraying them with straight Simple Green, let it sit for a while, then use a pressure washer mixed with 50/50 water and Simple Green to spray them off, then straight water in the pressure washer to clean them.
If I had some stubborn spots, I would hit them with a soft non-metallic bristle brush before I used the pressure washer.
Blow out any left over water with a leaf blower or compressed air.

 

Bead blasted at local DIY sand blasting shop. Clean out really well. Sprayed with two coats of "VHT" rattle can CLEAR paint. It won't yellow over time. Still looks great after a number of years.

 

If the manifold has a lower heat plate on it... remove it and then have it blasted. If you don't remove the shield the sand will get under the shield and sucked into the engine when you fire it up....

I've got a video here of what happens when you don't do this and it's not a happy ending. We did a car 10 years ago and the customer had built the engine and bought the intake off Fleabay... The seller blasted the manifold and didn't remove the shield which meant the sand was under the heat plate. The engine lasted about 20 minutes.

If you have a heat shield on the bottom all you have to do is remove the rivets which can be tricky but it's not that hard to do... then re-use them when you install. If you don't have one on the bottom then don't worry about it.

Now... An old rodder trick that has been around for years... and weather you blast it or not... Once you have it clean get some Krylon "dull aluminum" and instead of spraying it on the part, spray it on a lint free rag and rub it into the part. You'll be amazed at how nice it looks when done.

I wish I had a picture of the FI unit on my 62, it looks brand new it's' never been blasted but the finish when you do it this way is amazing... and touch up is simple, if it gets odd looking just spray it again and rub it out. Kind of like using Caylix Manifold dressing.

This might be a good idea for a quick video to show the difference and how it works.... I've got some old valve covers and other things laying around, maybe Monday I'll blast some stuff and then do it with just cleaning and post it up....

 

Have it tumbled, will look like it was just cast perfect finish