Topic: Aluminum bell housing restoration

[kcodecoupe]

Looking for ideas to clean and restore an aluminum bell housing without meadia blasting to retain the factory smooth look ,the bell has your normal oxidation ,dirt & grime,  thanks.

[67gta289]

I had mine tumbled and it looks brand new.

[drummingrocks]

I had mine tumbled and it looks brand new.

After tumbling, did you clearcoat it or anything to protect it?  I'm curious as to how the finish would stand up to regular usage without being protected; would the aluminum just start staining and oxidizing again?

[67gta289]

It is still in a "clean room"

Have not thought about clear coat.  As with everything in life, I'm sure there are pros and cons to that.

[jwc66k]

Aluminum when exposed to the elements forms aluminum oxide on the surface, similar to iron oxide, aka rust. The big difference is that, while iron rust will allow additional moisture that causes more rust, aluminum oxide "seals" the surface stopping (or slowing down) any more oxidation. That's the good news, if you clean the aluminum surface you will be OK, if you scratch the surface don't worry (a lot). Don't apply any paint or other sealer. Do pay attention to steel permanently attached to the bell housing.
That being said, one local restorer type took his aluminum bell housing to a steam cleaner business. He recommended that procedure to me, I didn't take mine yet and I don't know the cost. It did look good. A second restorer type used his portable home pressure washer on his bell housing and C-4 transmission and he recommended that method. (And, you can also use the pressure washer to clean your cement walks and driveway if you borrow one. Wow!)
Jim
 

[Bob Gaines]

I used to have a steam cleaner (old age problems,pump, coil on and on) but while it worked many years it was wonderful on how well it cleaned things. The steam (sounded like freight train when steaming) would get out dirt and grim incredibly well on parts that were not oxidized already. Small block bell housings and C4,C6 transmissions too.

[Bossbill]

My bellhousing (or bell housing) was in serious need of cleaning. It was also getting in the way, so like other projects around here if it gets underfoot it gets restored and goes on the "finished" rack.

Media blasting or vapor blasting would destroy the look or texture so that was out.

After searching around for the typical cleaners to get the embedded dirt out of my bellhousing  I forgot I had the right cleaner for this job. Aluminum trailer cleaner, as used by the 18 wheeler trailer cleanup guys.

I cleaned off the years of nasty stuff inside the bell using a commercial caustic cleaner followed by a finish rinse in the stoddard solvent tank. I used the caustic cleaner first so my solvent tank wouldn't go black.

After trying out methods on another bell I decided to used a somewhat course stainless steel wool for the fin areas where regular steel wool would abrade too quickly and a "fine" grade regular steel wool for the other surfaces.

The steel wool is dipped in the mixed down (1-2oz to a gallon of water) aluminum cleaner mixture-- a phosphate solution with lots of other goodies mixed in --  and the areas scrubbed. It's tough to get into all the nooks and crannies. You must rinse after you do each area between the fins.

The finished bell housing looks great and you can see all of the different shades of aluminum (some bright, some duller) since the aluminum pot has various batches of different aluminum pieces thrown in.

The pictures were done outside on a sunny day so they reflect a bit more than typical. But all the casting flaws and different aluminum bits in the mix are highly visible.

[J_Speegle]

The pictures were done outside on a sunny day so they reflect a bit more than typical. But all the casting flaws and different aluminum bits in the mix are highly visible.

Thanks for sharing. Yes the bright sun surely affects the look in the picture but it does help us see the marbling of tones in the aluminum.

[Countrysquire]

Here’s one that I vapor blasted this afternoon