If it's engine paint, you could remove it first with Aircraft Remover, then repaint the cam cover with Harley engine paint, or just leave it bare and hit is with some non-scratching ScotchBrite pads. A good scrub with some small brass or ss brushes and soap and water should clean up the rest.

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-ca...rcraft-remover

John

 

The damage is already done, the only thing you can do is wash it off and/or use some of the products above to get the corrosion off, then spray/paint/apply an anti-corrosive to limit further damage.

You can paint over the black areas to improve the visual look.

You can polish the aluminum somewhat; however, you are not going to get any pitting out.

You should also check all your connectors to ensure migration of the salt corrosion did not get past the connector seals.

You should check all your fuses and behind the fuse holder to ensure they are not corroded and will cause issues later.

You should check both ends of your battery connections and all frame grounds to ensure they are corrosion free and tight.

 

That is definitely one of the more extreme cases of oxidation I've seen. I would say your best bet is a dremel and some abrasive wheels like

these

these

. I use these all the time for this purpose and I have yet to find anything that does a better job.

 

Nice one OCSpringer 👍🏻 wheels ordered and with other ideas from above I should be covered 👍🏻

Thank you all

Lee

 

OC, those pads are cool. I bought a cheap kit with the grinder. Surprisingly, the grinder is a nice piece.

 

Take those to that flat black finish and it's going to look like a orange peal.

 

My kit has polishing pads, work great with a taste of WD.

 

A good start to get the heavy aluminum oxidation off would be to use marvel mystery oil then use the more aggressive stuff to get it smoothed out, it will save you a little effort.

 

Before you get into paint - did you try S1 engine brightener first?

 

In the spots were it's oxidized the paint is already toast so you only have a couple options really. Remove the oxidation and repaint or remove the heavy corrosion and leave the surface oxidation to protect against more corrosion. AL is very tricky to deal with. Any chemicals you use to remove oxidation is going to etch the AL and if not painted will just oxidize again, which is not a bad thing. Also, paint does not like to stick to it. I stripped all the paint off my rockers boxes and covers in order to let it oxidize to a dull silver. As long as you keep it relatively clean from then on it won't corrode as the oxidized layer will protect it. And adding a layer of some kind of oil like others have said will help but it will still oxidize a little just from the time between washing and applying the oil. This is why you cant clear coat raw AL or steel it will oxidize/rust even under the paint just from the brief time the raw metal is exposed.

With that said, I live in California and don't have to deal with road salt so I have it a little easier. A little elbo grease and I think you can get that cleaned up pretty well.