cleaning valve covers
 

I searched Chike's post on how he cleaned his valve covers by using grease lightning with positive results however may be harmful to aluminum. I used a rather generic engine degreaser on my valve covers and there are still stains on it, most of the grime is off but i want these babies looking like new! Is that possible or am i just expecting too much. ARe there other products out there better than grease lightning? Also is it ok to use steel wool to try and get the stains off? thanks, chris

I used Castrol Super Clean then rised with water after a few mins so it wouldn't damage the aluminum. After I dryed them off I used really fine steel wool which worked great and thats comming from a person who is very very picky about everything on his SVX.

We use this stuff at work that comes in a big purple bottle, the tech next to me puts 5 gallons of it + 5 gallons of water in his heated parts washer, it'll take just about anything off of anything.

We also have some stuff called "Incredibly Hot" but I have NO Idea where they get the stuff from... I keep meaning to ask, that stuff is AMAZING... You can spray it under your engine and let it soak for a bit and come back and hose it off 5 minutes later and it looks brand new.

The stuff in the purple bottles is Castrol Super Clean I can almost garentee it.

guarentee*:rolleyes:

Power sprayer does an all right job. I find that simple green + power spraying does as good as I need it to be.

thanks for the info guys, i'll pick up a bottle of the purple stuff and let you know how it works out!

Extra fine (000 grade) works wonders....for removing oxidation and such, a wad of tin foil does suprisingly well (though it may leave brush marks on softer aluminum)

In the cleaning section, at your local grocery store, pick up some scotch brite pads. Or you can go to a specialty place and get various grades of the stuff. You can also use an old toothbrush to get into the corner-ish areas.

Try Simichrome (sic) Polish
 

Might well be a different spelling: this should be available at all the Harley Dealerships, a German formula that does wonders on metal surfaces. I just used a regular parts washer...

Cheers!:cool:

well i tried Greased Lightning and it didn't do so well...well in its defense it removed all the grease which it is supposed to do...however there is still a lot of stains on it, not really sure what to call it...oxidation? stains from being covered in years of grime? I suppose i'll try use a courser grade of steel wool.