Well, I guess this is what I was hoping to find out. About as close as I've seen to original, untouched OEM finish is on a box-stock 9000-series TQ I bought at a swap meet, and a couple of AFB's that my Dad bought over the counter many, many moons ago. As far as I can tell, the finish is probably the sand cast (or whatever the molds were) finish of bare aluminum. If the carbs were treated with something afterwards, I couldn't tell you what it was or what it looked like.

What I don't want to end up with is the everything-is-the-same-color-silver bead-blasted look that you sometimes see. All of the hardware that can be removed will be, but if ANY blasting is going to have a similar effect, then that's out. I just figured that since the plastic media and the walnut shells were pretty big and relatively mild, they might be an option.

I've seen some of Scott's work, and I would love to farm this out to Scott, but that's a level of detail that I need to save for a later day. I want to do as much of this myself as I can, but I don't want to ruin the potential for a real restoration later.

Thanks!

Clair