How do I clean up my V8’s?

[Monkeeee01]

Hi all,

I’ve just acquired a pair of DMR V8’s that have cosmetically seen better days.

What do people recommend to give them a good clean up?

Would paint stripper or degreaser work to bring them back to a shine?

Thanks in advance

 

[bold stelvis]

a shortish bath (just the cages mind!) in some drain clearing gel or similar is great for quickly removing the outer layers of crud and oxidisation - dilute it 3:1 with some hot water and you can almost see the stuff come off (literally minutes is all you need)

however while it will leave a nice clean surface it won't polish them

It's a lot of elbow grease with sandpaper (or emery cloth strips are better for hard to get to places) I'm afraid, then some metal polish for a nice finish. If you can find a decent buffing wheel or suitable drill or rotary tool head then that might help, but its very easy to also screw up the finish with powertools if you aren't careful (NEVER use those harder grinding bits you get with dremels for example)

 

[bold stelvis]

an alternative is clean them, then prime and paint of course

 

[bold stelvis]

if the bolts and spindles have any rust then leaving them in a jar of vinegar over night is generally a good and cheap way of getting rid of a lot of that - again, use some metal polish to regain a nice finish

 

[bold stelvis]

if it was me I'd just clean them with draino and accept a fairly 'rustic' surface finish I think - those V8s would be a total PITA to polish i think with all the nooks and crannys...

 

[Monkeeee01]

Thank you both. Yeah I’m not that bothered enough to polish them, the drain cleaner bath idea and rustic finish sounds good to me.

I realise it can only be the cages but can I do it without taking them apart, just be careful to put them on upright and keep the spindles out?

 

[bold stelvis]

I should be more careful with drunken late night posting

just a warning - if the cages are anodized and you want to keep them that way do NOT use the draino - it will also do a great job of stripping any anodizing off them as well! - vinegar soak for a few hours is the more gentle approach - that will generally just get rid of surface rust and leave the original finish mostly intact

 

[bold stelvis]

a good scrubbing with a nylon brush and some warm soapy water might be a good place to start though