I took my TPI and valve covers to be powdercoated today--they will be "transparent blue," which is a SWEET color that consists of a medium blue over a silver base coat (thanks for the idea, MIKE IN AZ). Anyway, for prep work I sanded my plenum and TB plate down to 600 grit, runners and valve covers to 400 and cleaned them all off. I just wanted to get the intake base clean. I used carb cleaner and wiped it off yesterday, but I couldn't get into corners.

So today I put the intake base in the dishwasher (we never use it anyway) and set it for heavy wash. THE BASE CAME OUT LOOKING LIKE NEW!!!! Thank you so much for the idea, Ed Maher. I really didn't have time to clean it by hand so this worked out great!

 

Cort,

The dishwasher is great for cleaning anything aluminum, due to the heavily caustic nature of the detergents used in them and unusually hot water. it's a little like a "home hot-tanking" service. Just make sure anything you washed there is thoroughly rinsed so the caustic doesn't continue to erode the aluminum, then get a protective coating on the part(s) to prevent oxidation and blackening.

HELPFUL HINT #2: The range is a great place to cure powder coat material, but it does get messy. don't plan on baking a soufflé after curing out the powder coat.

BONUS TIP #1: A hand mixer with dough hooks works better than anything for blending the hardener into Bondo.

BONUS TIP #2: A hot clothes iron is a great way to "pop" hail dents and door dings from body panels without having to repaint.

BONUS TIP #3: The deep freezer is a good place to store camshaft bearings prior to installing them, since they are slightly shrunken by the cold. The same is true for any bearing that must fit into a bore.

BONUS TIP #4: A 325°F oven is a good place to heat ball or roller bearings and races to expand them before installation. That temperature is adequate to "grow" the inner races without hardening or melting the grease out of the bearing. Most sealed bearings will withstand that temperature easily without rubber seal damage.

BONUS TIP #5: A crock pot is a good place to warm engine oil to soak new/cleaned lifters and quickly fill them with clean oil.

The kitchen and laundry can be great places for the home mechanic. I knew a guy who stored his FLH Harley in his dining room for the winter (next to the refrigerator with the beer tapper in the door), but that may be a little excessive. And I'm not even gonna go near the "vibrator-as-an-ultrasonic-cleaner" theory....

 

LOL Vader! Now I hope that the rinse cycle on the dishwasher was a good enough rinse. If not, please let me know--I could probably get the intake back early tomorrow morning and rinse it some more.