Polishing Aluminum engine parts.

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I recently purchased an used car with 17000 miles. The car looks great and I'm having a fun time cleaning the vehicle. The engine has a spark plug cover that has raised letters that I suspect is aluminum. There are a few spots of stubborn oxidation which of course does not respond to gentle detergents use tooth paste.

I cannot tell if these letters were coated or simply bare metal. I do have a dremel with a cloth polishing wheel and thought about polishing it with Wenol. I am hesitant in doing so simply because I'm afraid it may oxidize/tarnish again more quickly after this process given it may have an applied coating or perhaps simply removing the natural coat of oxidation may accelerate future tarnishing? Can someone give me some pointers on this topic that has an understanding of what may happen?

Thank you in advance.

[Eldorado2k]

What kind of car is it?


Sent from my iPhone

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Honda S2000. Spark plug cover. There's been talk online regarding polishing but no update on long term benefits.

Looks like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=honda+s2000+spark+plug+cover&biw=1078&bih=643&tbm=isch&imgil=mxZJQ0Yt14BC-M%253A%253BlEY21Xia3f8G9M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%2 5252Fwww.preludeonline.com%25252Ff60%25252Frandom-spark-plug-cover-question-274313%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=mxZJQ0Yt14BC-M%253A%252ClEY21Xia3f8G9M%252C_&usg=__7P2Uw95_wgP_Jo2X-gi6MxpmMfY%3D&ved=0ahUKEwiw8s_Wl7zQAhUHWSYKHZTyCSMQyjcIggE&ei=7yE0WPC-K4eymQGU5aeYAg#imgrc=YdLqYN0-FclCRM%3A

[Crispy]

That looks like powder coated.

Good luck getting answers to how to fix powder coated surfaces.

Tried several times no answers.

You can paint it (the red part) with a single stage paint.

The letters could be sanded and polished but they would be bare aluminum and prone to oxidation.

[DaveT435]

I assume this isn't a daily driver?? If you get down to bare aluminum metal sealants like Wolfgang are pretty effective. Obviously you have to seal them once in a while.

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Right! I wasn't sure if I would simply be making it worse by polishing in case there is a coating from the manufacturing process, thereby me removing the layer, I'll be opening a can of worms.

But if it was simply bare aluminum to start, I see no harm in doing so.

^^ I am referring to the lettering of course.

Now, I do agree the red engine is probably powder coat. I'm afraid to using Gunk which I've heard may dull finishes on surfaces. Maybe I should start a new thread to get some input with cleaning rest of the engine and opinion on Gunk.

No, the car won't be a daily driver. It took me some time to find a "near pristine" S2000. The car is simply getting old and the even examples with low miles 10000-20000miles are worn inside/outside.