cleaning an aluminum intake manifold

[Grumpy]

a stiff brush and a gallon of grease solvent and a spray bottle can make a significant improvement in appearances

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-gal-Xylol-Xylene-GXY24/100406366

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Star-Brite-Ultimate-Aluminum-Cleaner-64-oz/51201198

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/crc-brakleen-brake-parts-cleaner-non-flammable-20-oz-05089/7060459-P?navigationPath=L1*14924|L2*15037|L3*16113

if you have the room and the cash a 40 gallon parts cleaner with the correct solvent/detergents can be useful
http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/40-Gallon-Parts-Washer

A heat gun can be useful
http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-watt- ... 96289.html

a SMALL PARTS BLAST CABINET
http://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-blast-cabinet-68893.html

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/89397301

https://www.zoro.com/north-by-honeywell-northtm-5500-series-half-mask-kit-l-5501n95l/i/G3970355/
http://www.harborfreight.com/21-oz-hopper-gravity-feed-spot-blaster-gun-95793.html

Ive generally used and strongly suggest you consider using, one or both of these when using angle grinders or while porting heads due to learning from past experiences

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-Safet ... 220499-_-N

http://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable ... 46526.html

and an effective but pitiably slow hand held toy sand blaster for my air compressor
which only proves you can get the job done with the wrong tools if your persistent enough

I watched this video (below)and while the manifold looked reasonably good at the conclusion I think he could easily have done a far better quality job.
a good spray with a quality de-greasing agent and a pressure cleaning would be my first step.
long ago I purchased a decent pressure cleaner as it makes getting the crud and grease off a block or transmission much less difficult

http://www.lowes.com/pd_600025-24212-65 ... Heavy-duty

a high pressure air nozzle ,with a extended tip,
that allows you to get into and remove solvent and dry the surfaces in the the small recessed areas is a great idea

cleaning all the thread holes with the correct size tap is a very good idea

related threads

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...oving-gaskets-the-wrong-way.10464/#post-43842

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/parts-prep-cleaning.6255/#post-62107

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/carb-cleaning.12303/#post-60502

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/tap-and-die-sets.1264/#post-6141

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/bio-friendly-parts-cleaner.11547/#post-53360

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/block-prep.125/page-2#post-48605

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/thread-chaser-for-new-block.3774/#post-10002

 

[Mark Bradley]

Two common products I have found that are store bought available.
Dow oven cleaner and pinesol both.
The oven cleaner is great at removing paint and if you don’t need something that strong you will be surprised how well a 5:1 pinesol solution works.
The last carb I rebuilt was done using an overnight soak and it stripped off the gold tone off parts of the Holley.
Worked well for the Muncie I rebuilt. Sure beats some of the options.