I'm trying to clean up the aluminum components that have been exposed to salt grime on my late model Durango...not sure what the correct terminology is as I know that aluminum does not rust per se, but it has some sort of "crud" on it from being exposed to salty water, grime, etc. Kind of looks like a "mold". Like the water pump, heads, etc. Some sort of flaky buildup, I'm assuming from a reaction to the salt? You guys from states where the roads are salted in the winter should know what I'm talking about!

Basically what I would like to do it power wash the undercarriage and engine to remove the crud and make the aluminum parts (as well as the painted/iron parts) clean up. Any tips?

Thanks!

Good Luck...

It's called corrosion, same as rust but not on Iron.

When I was a sailor we used to do lots of corrosion control on salt crusted/corroded aluminum.

We sand blasted it and repainted with two part epoxy.

Don't think you're gonna find something you can use in a pressure washer that will acoomplish what you want.

We see a lot of that in the great white north. You can try some of the acid-based aluminum cleaners to neutralize it and remove the corrosion but you're still going to be left with an ugly pitted surface which will need to be coated with something immediately. The parts have usually been clear anodized to begin with but its a poor defense against salt!

I use Aluminum Jelly from the same folks that make Naval Jelly. Paint it on intakes and slotted wheels and then hose it off and it shines them right up.