Cleaning/restoring aluminum castings

[Rod K.]

Has anyone tried soda blasting to "restore" aluminum intakes, valve covers, etc? Results?

I know glass beads and anything coarser are not recommended, just wondering if soda is benign enough to do an acceptable job yet not damage the surface.

Thanks for any insights.

[Don H.]

Re: Cleaning/restoring aluminum castings

I would not soda blast. I had my valve covers re-skinned, and used Aluminum Naval Jelly on my intake manifold. Inexpensive and all came out perfecto!