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Alum distributor cleaning. #2696903
09/12/19 02:25 PM
09/12/19 02:25 PM
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 180
Bradford, Ontario
B
Barrelhouse Offline OP
member
Barrelhouse  Offline OP
member
B

Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 180
Bradford, Ontario
Im thinking of buying a used 72 340 4-spd electronic distributor which needs some parts replaced and a good cleaning of the housing .What product would clean the aluminum housing to a OE finish its going on a newly rebuilt 340 and has to look as close to new as possible.

Re: Alum distributor cleaning. [Re: Barrelhouse] #2696908
09/12/19 02:35 PM
09/12/19 02:35 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,304
Eagle, Idaho
Neil Offline
The Doctor is in.
Neil  Offline
The Doctor is in.

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,304
Eagle, Idaho
Solvent with a nylon brush and then a light glass beading???

Re: Alum distributor cleaning. [Re: Neil] #2697107
09/13/19 08:58 AM
09/13/19 08:58 AM
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,354
Iowa
burdar Offline
Owen's Dad
burdar  Offline
Owen's Dad

Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,354
Iowa
I'm not sure how you can replicate the finish on the machined surfaces. After a light soda blasting, maybe you can hand sand the machined areas with very fine sandpaper? Distributors and transmission cases have machined areas that are much brighter then the surrounding cast aluminum.

Re: Alum distributor cleaning. [Re: burdar] #2697135
09/13/19 10:37 AM
09/13/19 10:37 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,948
British Columbia
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chrisf Offline
master
chrisf  Offline
master
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,948
British Columbia
i have vapor blasted them with good results. a tiny bit brighter than OE but it fades in time. you could try a #10-ish glass bead as well. with aluminum, oils and contaminants will stain the metal. i do lots of aluminum resto stuff for customers on vintage bikes and anything that has oil cooked on will end up a different color than the part that was covered with paint or untouched so it needs to be made one uniform color before you can finish. all depends on how crazy you want to get

Re: Alum distributor cleaning. [Re: chrisf] #2698235
09/16/19 09:57 PM
09/16/19 09:57 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 14,470
renton, Washington
ph23vo Offline
I Live Here
ph23vo  Offline
I Live Here

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 14,470
renton, Washington
ebay..buy an nos housing or distributor... cheaper..and they are not really hard to find.. good luck

Re: Alum distributor cleaning. [Re: ph23vo] #2703608
10/03/19 10:03 PM
10/03/19 10:03 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 709
St Louis, MO 63026
convx4 Offline
super stock
convx4  Offline
super stock

Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 709
St Louis, MO 63026
I would clean then sand blast. Then use scotch bright the machine areas. Then a protective coating. If you want I can build you a factory mopar distributor to your specs. With a pair of distributor machines and all the engine / distributor speck sheets I can set each distributor up to factory. I can also do custom advances. I have core small block distributors that I can rebuild. Reasonable prices.

Re: Alum distributor cleaning. [Re: convx4] #2703735
10/04/19 09:57 AM
10/04/19 09:57 AM
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,671
California
biggE Offline
top fuel
biggE  Offline
top fuel

Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,671
California
I've cleaned the housings in the blasting cabinet with walnut shells and have had good results. Glass beads tend to give the surface a brighter than original look







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