A few years ago I had Steer & Gear (Ohio) rebuild my manual steering box for my 1969 Roadrunner. However, they did not provide any service to refurbish the exterior of the steering box. The steering box, being all aluminum, has become quite tarnished. I am looking for someone to restore the natural aluminum finish back to my steering box, not polished, not painted, just the bright aluminum look. Does anyone one know of someone doing that type of work? The steering box components do not need to be rebuilt as they are fine. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

If all you want is a stock looking finish try hitting it with some Alum-i-prep and very fine steel wool just to get the dirt and corrosion off of it.

You could try this trick at home if you have the time and a compressor.

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


Bob

Now that is pretty trick.

I have heard that air conditioner coil cleaner works great on aluminum. I haven't used it so I would try it on the back side of the box or an old valve cover first to see if it gives the results you are looking for.

We have a local media blast business here as well, I haven't checked with them yet because actually, I thought the steering box housing would have to be put in a "shot tumbler" to restore it to new looking condition. How are the Alternator Housings done? Is they "soda" blasted? Any time I've checked out a "remanufactured" alternator at the auto parts store, the housing looked like brand new. I'm sure the same process would work for my Steering Box housing as well. Your thoughts on that?

The reman alternators are probably blasted but that is NOT the correct finish. As soon as you blast a part, you've lost it's original appearance.

Also check out this link. It was mentioned in another post a couple days ago.
http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/auto/paint-chemicals/rust-stripper/

Really? Obviously, the housing is not rusty (being aluminum). Have you by chance tried this product on aluminum and had success with it?

I tried an Eastwood product a few years ago that was advertised to bring back the natural finish of aluminum...it didn't work.

I have not tried it. It was mentioned in a thread on how to bring back the natural finish on a carb body. There was also an article on refinishing alternator cases and that product was mentioned. That's all I know.

the article on restoring aluminum parts was in the February 2013 issue of Mopar Action

http://www.moparaction.com/Next/history/feb2013.html