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how to get the white scaly corrosion off of aluminum parts like trans case
title says it all.
im aware of the eagle one acid method ive used it very successfully with the engine bay aluminum.
i was surprised when it pretty much failed at the removal of major corrosion on the 4+3 case in my 86.
ive cleaned it up to the point of it no longer being slimy and gross using warm water and simple green. then i used eagle 1 but it doesnt break down the white corrosion.
my driveshaft and cbeam came out good, but the metal type on the trans cases doesnt come out as good.
i also have to do my fromt and rear suspension so i thought id ask here. id rather let a chemical do the work guys while im doing mechanical work with my arms and hands elsewhere. something about scrubbing makes me want to rage. so, any advice appreciated.
pics of some of the white scale.
the scale is actually dark grey to white. the t10 case is a newer replacement unit and it does not have the same level of corrosion as the rest of the drivetrain parts where i did use a wire brush i was able to remove the corrosion but im not willing to scrub.
There's not much that's going to break down aluminum oxide. If you don't want to have it professionally anodized, your best bet is either paint or emory cloth and then clear laquer/paint.
for me, painting is out of the question. The work i do is return cars to stock condition (as close as i can get).
have you tried emery to break up aluminum oxide?
the wire brush did work. so did a little drill fitting with a stiff nylon brush. but it was unruly and all over.
once the majority of the scale is removed mechanically it seems like the etching cleaner will do the rest but im hoping somebody has a chemical process.
for me, painting is out of the question. The work i do is return cars to stock condition (as close as i can get).
have you tried emery to break up aluminum oxide?
the wire brush did work. so did a little drill fitting with a stiff nylon brush. but it was unruly and all over.
once the majority of the scale is removed mechanically it seems like the etching cleaner will do the rest but im hoping somebody has a chemical process.
The only way I've ever been able to remove aluminum corrosion is with some sort of mechanical process - wire wheel, sanding disk, abrasive cleaners, that sort of thing.
If you don't want to paint, then I'd suggest a final step of some sort of aluminum polish and/or wax in order to leave a non-permanent protective film on the metal.
Sure that's not just road nasty? Some of it reminders me of gravel lime or something.
I ran through a large liquid puddle of that, I think. It's still on the undercarriage after rising right away and 2 years of car washes.
Oxalic Acid. Diluted of course. It is contained in products such as Ospho which is a rust treatment for ferrous metals, but it contains Oxalic, so it should work on aluminum. Avalible at Home Depot. Green liquid in a transparent plastic bottle. (Never store Oxalic Acid in metal containers. It rots the metal).
I used to use a PPG product called DX-379. Its active ingredient is Oxalic Acid. DX-379 is no longer available in California, but it may be in your part of the continent. Purple liquid the consistency of water in a quart plastic bottle. It was the best, and I used it to prepare my 85 for its NCRS campaign. I put it in a spray bottle, and applied it to a rag, then wiped the area I wanted it on with the rag. You have to be careful of not getting it on surfaces you don't want it on, as it may stain or discolor plastic and steel. I also used a throw away paint brush to brush the liquid on to parts such as the aluminum a-arms. You must use copious amounts of water to rinse the Oxalic off the aluminum. VERY important. Start out with about 3 minutes dwell time, then rinse. Repeat if necessary. If you leave it on aluminum too long, it will discolor it a gray shade.
When I completed my chassis prep, my NCRS Chassis score went from 50 to 18. Well worth the effort. If DX-379 is available, used carefully, it is the best product available as long as being able to use lots of water to rinse it is possible.
Interesting: I opened that link and got a four-oh-four.
The requested page can't be found.
An error has occurred while processing your request.
You may not be able to visit this page because of:
an out-of-date bookmark/favourite
a mistyped address
a search engine that has an out-of-date listing for this site
you have no access to this page
I'm in California. I'm guessing I was blocked from the page by my location.
If the product is DX-379 "Metal Cleaner", that is the one I used to use, and is worth a try. Use gloves, eye protection, long sleeve shirt that you don't care if it gets a lot of holes in it in the next laundry, and lots of water for the rinse.
here's the link again, it opened for me. Its dx579 (not 379, couldn't find it)
Thank You all for sharing your secrets. im going to try something a bit stronger than what i was trying. ill grab some phosphoric based cleaner and see if it will chemically melt this scale. if it does, then a simple mist with eagle 1 should brighten. or that ppg product.
ill update later as my diff is really bad so it will make a good test.
Scrub the scale off with a wire brush and/or heavy steel wool. Then spray down with this stuff. Comes out like new. Check out the suspension pieces I just did.
H
I used to do this for a living in the USN. You have to remove the corrosion down to the bare metal. Then you can polish and clear-coat to protect it from future corrosion. Be advised you can never eliminate completely the corrosion since some of it goes into the grain of the metal. Those little cauliflower looking areas are called filiform corrosion.
We used to use what we called a flapbrush on Navy aircraft which is like scotchbright on a rotating holder that we used with an airdrill. Those would power through any paint or corrosion present.
Scrub the scale off with a wire brush and/or heavy steel wool. Then spray down with this stuff. Comes out like new. Check out the suspension pieces I just did.
H
^That. That is the fastest/easiest/best way. Little effort, little cost, BIG results.
for aluminum pieces-parts -- media blast and chem-film (PPG DX501) is the only way to fly. chem film will leave an invisible coating and stop aluminum oxide corrosion dead in it's tracks.
04-01-2019, 12:04 PM
how to get the white scaly corrosion off of aluminum parts like trans case
