Cleaning an Intercooler

[Your Mom]

inside is fine just want to clean the crap off the front of it. really would like to set it into some chemical and have it come out clean.

anyone ever do this?

any ideas?

Trying to sell this, its a griffin IC.
http://home.comcast.net/~your.mom24/100_0969.JPG

[Cory]

The typical brake cleaner doesn't work?

[Your Mom]

didn't try, but i will

[pedroramosjr]

PPG Aluminum Cleaner DX533 might work. It is found at automotive paint shops.

[Matt93SE]

Stay away from oven cleaner..... just fYI. :eek:

[Cory]

Is oven cleaner actually strong enough to eat through aluminum? I would expect that from brake cleaner before oven cleaner.

[KA240SX808]

Hot Water and Degreaser???

[Rittmeister]

Good grief, what brake cleaner will eat aluminum? Most of the time the brake cleaner I use (Autozone el-cheapo) won't even damage paint, although it'll take the wax right off...

[Cory]

Good grief, what brake cleaner will eat aluminum? Most of the time the brake cleaner I use (Autozone el-cheapo) won't even damage paint, although it'll take the wax right off...

That was my point. Though, I haven't found acetone, brake fluid(new or used), brake cleaner, carb cleaner, ATF, or various other chemicals to actually damage paint other than paint stripper.

[Matt93SE]

I've ruined a paint job before with brake fluid. It will even take off powdercoating if left on there long enough. It seeps between the metal and coating, then the coating blisters and peels off.

the oven cleaner has caustic chemicals in it which will react with aluminum. I made the mistake of spraying some on a set of old Wilwood calipers I was trying to clean up.. The result was fuuuuugly!!! It turned whatever black coating is on them into an almost pink-ish color. not cool. same thing with some of the stronger wheel cleaners- they're only designed to be used on properly painted surfaces in good condition. use strong wheel cleaners on bare aluminum, and it will turn white and hazy as the aluminum almost immediately oxidizes.



Brake cleaner, acetone, lacquer thinner, and etc are all a different story. They're strong degreasers due to the non-polar hydrocarbon makeup of them (thus the reason they're highly flammable!) Oven cleaner, wheel cleaner, etc all use harsh chemicals to chemically eat the buildup vs. mechanically mix with it and wash it away.

[Your Mom]

PPG Aluminum Cleaner DX533 might work. It is found at automotive paint shops.

this sounds perfect. I got a shop not to far away i'll try that too.

[Def]

Oven Cleaner contains lye, a strong base. It'll strip/mess up anodized aluminum, and it generally makes aluminum oxidize very rapidly.

[Cory]

OK. That makes sense.

[Your Mom]

The dx533 worked awesome. the bottle is 15 bucks. with brake cleaner it dries to fast and it really didn't do much for me. the aluminum cleaner took a tad of rubbing but the cleaner didn't seem to dry in the rag at all, so alittle went a long ways.

I tried just dripping some on the IC and letting it sit for 30 sec and that worked really well too. So i went looking through the house for a tub that i could fit it in, but couldn't find one big enough. now i'm stuck debating on going and buying one or just selling it like this.

[veilside180sx]

Put it on your car, and sell the Greddy POS.=)

[McCoy]

^^^ yeah yeah... what he said :)

[Your Mom]

its too big it won't fit. the headlights are in the way. and if i put it on anyway it will hang below the bumper. than i will also have to try to get the pipes to fit. plus the inlet is 2" and my pipes are 2.25. WWYD

oh yeah and another word of advice, use gloves when handling the cleaner, my hand is still tingling. and yes it did say avoid skin contact on the bottle, but who reads directions.

[Your Mom]

so i had to get a container and do this. so i filled it up with really hot water and maybe 3/4 of the bottle in. It sounded interesting. but really made it look alot better.
http://home.comcast.net/~yourmom.124/100_1308r.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~yourmom.124/100_1309r.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~yourmom.124/100_1312r.jpg

some before and after
http://home.comcast.net/~your.mom24/100_0969.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~yourmom.124/100_1310r.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~yourmom.124/100_1311r.jpg

[2Fass240us]

Wow, that DOES look a lot better.

[Matt93SE]

I shoulda mentioned it earlier, but acetone works pretty well for cleaning greasy stuff too. might be an idea to rinse out the inside if you want to get rid of any residue on the inside.

Also if you want to try to clean up the few fins that are mashed in, Harbor Freight sells a radiator fin straightener tool...
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37892

I bought one and never got around to using it. (My radiator is pretty bent up after removing my AC core and running at a track that had a tone of marbles getting kicked up. need to put some wire mesh in the grille opening.

[Your Mom]

wow i didn't know someone made a tool. thats cool for 4 bucks.

forgot to mention that i left the IC sit in the solution for like an hour but kept checking on it. i think if i left it in there to long it would have really etched it.

[Matt93SE]

I haven't used it yet. it's got to be very tedious.. but then again, it's probably better than sitting there for days with a dental pick or tiny screwdriver!