Cleaning Chassis Aluminum?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,512
Likes: 49
From: Franklin IN
Cleaning Chassis Aluminum?
Has anyone found a good cleaner to use on the Aluminum under carriage on our C5. I'm not looking to shine it I'm just looking to take the dirt and oxidation off it and make it look factory new again. Thanks!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 9,598
Likes: 960
From: Palm Harbor not far from Sebring Florida
St. Jude Donor '11
Oldtimer
I used Adams All Purposes Cleaner. I did take it a few steps beyond that and after it was clean, I rubbed it with a real fine steel wool and then applied Mothers Aluminum Polish followed by Adams Metal polish. It takes a lot of time and effort to truly polish it to a real shine, although I do know of a few that have spent the time.
Here is how mine looks.
Here is how mine looks.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,266
Likes: 8
From: Indian Rocks Beach FL
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 809
Likes: 7
From: greer/upstate sc
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,995
Likes: 61
From: Fort Wayne IN
Looks great but I just don't have the time to devote to this much cleaning. My motto is if I can see it I'll try and keep it detailed. Besides when I bought my C5 it already had 65XXX miles of road grit on the bottom. 
Pro
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 623
Likes: 0
From: SpringHill Florida
I used aluminum brightener from napa when i did my trans and dif swap.
I did clean it first with purple power degreaser to get any oily junk off.My car has 148k on the chassis. Don't worry about mileage it will clean up.
I did clean it first with purple power degreaser to get any oily junk off.My car has 148k on the chassis. Don't worry about mileage it will clean up.
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,389
Likes: 24,790
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
I've used mild steel wool and Mothers Mag Polish on the aluminum pieces before. Haven't invested the time to try and get the stuff really shiny, but it does clean things up a lot.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,747
Likes: 224
From: Hillsboro Oregon
