General Tech Cleaning Aluminum ( Air Shock bodies )

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Thought this was worthy of it's own thread.... in my Willys Crawler build, I mentioned I picked up a set of good, used Sway-A-Way air shocks. The 2.5's have an unsealed, lightly machined surface that looked pretty roached. They looked dirty, stained and nasty. I wanted to clean them up and found a product that has a great reputation in the airline industry, which uses a lot of aluminum. I found called BondRite C-IC 33 Aero. - http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...qtwv0RwUXwP3PJpKPH0JeRY1p6J9x16gaAsd8EALw_wcB

I bought 2 quarts, thinking I can use the product for other aluminum cleanup in the future. The BondRite C-IC 33 Aero is highly acidic and etches the aluminum, you're not supposed to let it dry on the surface. You hit with water to stop the etching process.

Here's what I started with-

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And here's the difference it made!


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While they're not in new condition, they looks so much better. The actual work too about 30 min per shock, I sprayed each shock 3 times and wiped them down with a Scotchbrite pad, then paper towels. After washing them with water and drying them, I polished them with Turtle Wax and a foam ball on a drill.... hoping the wax will seal the aluminum and make the finish last longer.

The 2nd 2.5 didn't clean up as well as the first, not sure what the difference was.

Anyhow, thought others may be able to use this info. ;)
 
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WILDHAIR225

Member
If I use any bare aluminum on a build, like prerunner bumper skid plates, I will clear coat them keeps them from oxidizing. The last one I did lasted years and it was my daily for 2 winter's.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
That's really cool. I wonder why that other one didn't go so well. Looks like it was more rough to begin with

Yeah, I think the other one had a deeper discoloration? Hard to say.... I have another trick left to try clean it up more, but it's messy. Waiting until I want to get into that. ;)


If I use any bare aluminum on a build, like prerunner bumper skid plates, I will clear coat them keeps them from oxidizing. The last one I did lasted years and it was my daily for 2 winter's.

That's a damn good idea!
 

Gravy

Ant Anstead of Dirtbikes
Supporting Member
Greg got me thinking.
My Kings were pretty sad looking so I used a strategy that works well for me on aluminum dirtbike motors.
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Eagle One Etching Mag Wheel Cleaner.
Spray it on. Scrub with a scotchbrite pad. Wash off with water. After 3 times the shocks looks much better!
IMG_20180613_204834.jpg
 

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