Cleaning engine, wheels

[Hrvatin]

Hey guys,
I'm a newbie here, have an 84 R65, and wanted to get opinions on the best way to clean the snowflake wheels, and engine from slight oxidation.  It looks good from 10 feet away, but really could use cleaned up.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ron John
Salem, Ohio

[montmil]

Hey there, Ron John. Welcome to our asylum. Remember, resistance is futile.

You might be interested in an El Cheapo Soda Blaster to clean your parts. I built one from scraps in the shop for a total outlay of $0.00, tax included.

http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

Here's what you might expect after about fifteen minutes of effort. These are the fork lowers from my 1983 R65.

Come see us!  Monte

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

DO NOT use steel wool!  It will leave behind minute particles that will rust.

It is said that a Scotchbrite pad, Simple Green and plenty of elbow grease does it.

I have never found a way of getting anything clean, myself, and gave up a long time ago.

[trolle]

And if you want anything stronger than simple green use something alcalic and never something acidic, as it will remove the protective layer from the steel bolts and nuts.

Some of the rim cleaners for aluminum rims are very acidic and will destroy the coating of the steel in a matter of minutes so be very careful if you use those.

greetings from a wet and grey morning in the north

[Ed Miller]

I have never found a way of getting anything clean, myself, and gave up a long time ago.

Sadly, me too.  Well, if I have stuff apart I get the internals clean, but not the outside stuff.

[Bob_Roller]

Only problem with aluminum, is once you get it nice and clean, it tries it's best to tarnish and turn gray again .

You would be amazed how much effort it is to keep American Airlines aircraft in their shiny natural aluminum look !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nhmaf]

There are some abrasive pads/brushes made of scotchbrite material (or something very similar and nonmetallic) which one could use with a variable speed drill to help with the scrubbing of alloy parts.  But like the folks say - it will want to re-establish that lovely patina over time.

If you do use a soda blaster, be SURE to keep it from getting into orifices (orifi?) that it shouldn't get, and the soda must be washed off with water afterward (don't use a high pressure car-wash hose either as that could force water and soda into grease seals).

[Blackjack]

I always say, despite the huge amount of trouble it gets me into, if you want to get stuff cleaner, get a woman to do it, if you want to get it clean, do it yourself.

Bottom line is whether you want to take it to pieces or not. Soda (or vapour if you're spending money) blasting is best if you're stripping everything apart.

If you're not, Scotchbrite works best when it actually says Scotchbrite on the packaging, and when it's not sold as a kitchen scourer. Most engineering or autobody paint supply places sell it in several different grades.

Either way, you want to think about what's going to stop it oxidising again.

[luxlogs]

I used a buffing wheel on a hand drill with the grey Stainless Steel compound on my heads and bean can. Came out pretty good, not as good as soda blasting but an improvment nevertheless. I see these pics of guys who painted there entire block black. I wonder if they wanted it that way or were there blocks so bad that that was the only recourse.