Does anyone know how to clean aluminium that has furred up? I am doing up my XJ40 and the gearbox casing has all furred up and is very dull. I would like to clean it while I have it out of the car. Does anyone have ant good tricks for cleaning this?

 

Presuming you only want to clean the rough casting and not polish the surface, the usual trade method is a wash product containing dilute phosphoric acid applied with a hot or cold pressure washer.

However, any of the "non acid" alloy wheel cleaning products for the DIY market should do the job. I use Sonax Wheel Cleaner.




Spray on, agitate with a brush and hose off.

Graham

 

Thank you, I will give it a try.

Is there anything I can put on it after to prevent the furring starting again?

Regards, Gerard

 

Autoglym do an Alloy Wheel Protector aerosol. I haven't used it so can't offer an opinion on the effectiveness but it should offer temporary protection. The problem is the transmission casing will always be subject to water spray so If you want a permanent seal to prevent oxidation, an aerosol Clear Coat is probably a better option.

As I recall from my XJ40, the transmission casing is quite a rough finish so once thoroughly cleaned, a clear coat should adhere without any additional preparation.



I took this out to replace a faulty torque convertor. Three weeks later, the transmission front seal failed and I had to do it all over again!


Graham

 

Thanks again Graham!