what is the best cleaner for aluminum?

I want to clean the light rust on my kz1000 engine. Does any one have experience with this?
Thanks Guys!
Greg

Aluminum can oxidize, making it look old. A product called "Nevrdull" is a cotton fiber with a cleaning/polishing compound in it available at most auto parts stores: www.nevrdull.com/

mothers regular aluminum polish is my favorite

The best aluminum cleaner is elbow grease of course! :woohoo: I crack me up... Na, seriously, x2 on what they said. Both work great. But a Dremel and a polishing wheel couldn't hurt!

I found a polishing wheel attached to a drill along with a soft metal cutting/polishing compound (I use Porter-Cable light polishing comp. #4) works best. Getting at the cooling fins is a pain, but you can use a Dremel with a polishing wheel for that. I tried the Autosol Aluminum polish without much success. Have I use the Nevrdull with great results, but mainly for chrome having light rust. It also takes some elbow grease. For sheer speed and results, a wheel/compound combination seems to work best on aluminum.

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If you have a good compressor, soda blasting (using baking soda)is another option. I have read many posts on KZR regarding soda blasting. Plan on trying it myself but haven't got around to it. I think I saw a post by patton describing the process and how to set one up. Lots of nice looking results posted on here. Seems to be better suited for cases, cooling fins and so forth. Where the aluminum has more texture. But as I said I haven't tried it yet. So better informed individuals here can give you better insight.

If it's badly oxidized, then the spray on Mag wheel cleaners that say "Not for use on coated wheels" will clean it right up. Just be sure to wash the motor thoroughly with water after use.

I forget the name of the acid that's in it, but it's the same stuff they use on aluminum fuel tanks and wheels on big trucks at the truck washes.

And then you polish

Ragman's Polish from Norwalk Ohio. Never found anything that cleans aluminum like this stuff.

martin_csr wrote: Semichrome. Mothers mag wheel & aluminum cleaner. BlueMagic. Autosol. Maas. Metal Gloss. MetalWax. The last two are mentioned as being used in the aircraft industry. A ScotchBrite pad might be good to use if the oxidation is bad.

Do an internet search for Best Aluminum Polish.

I use Eagle One cast mag wheel cleaner and a scotch brite pad. Does an AMAZING job ! Be fore warned, there is a high concentration of acid in wheel cleaners ! Work a small area for like a min., then quickly hose off the cleaner. To prevent further acid staining, after I am done I rub the aluminum with penatrating oil. Here's some pics of my shiney clean GSXR frame after a day's cleaning :

I have been working on polishing various engine covers/parts. Here are some finished covers, cam chain tensioner and cap, and breather cover. I have some other parts on my paint table drying.



I used some aircraft paint remover first (careful with this stuff). Then wet sand (800 grit automotive paper) with some soapy water. Then I used my bench buffer with a stiff buffer and black polishing compound first. Do this until you get rid of all the spots and piece shows a nice shine. Wipe the piece down with paint thinner and rag to get all black compound off. Then I use the loose buffer with white compound. This I used with very little pressure for a good and even mirror shine.

It has taken me 3 days of my vacation to polish several pieces from the engine, but how else am I going to spend my vacation anyway since the engine is pulled from the frame at this time.

Good luck and have some fun with it (helps to have a few beers in the garage fridge).

Oh. I forgot to add that I cleaned them again with paint thinner to get rid of the white compound. then washed with soap and water. Made sure they were good and dry, then sprayed them with high temp engine clear coating.