Raceglaze Alubrite De-Oxidiser

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

What Is It?

Alubrite De-Oxidiser. A chemical way to remove rust from steel parts and
oxidisation from aluminium.

What Does It Bring to the Table?

A powerful concentrated degreaser and restoration product ideal for
cleaning and restoring metal parts on cars and motorbikes. A long favourite of
Race Glaze customers as word has spread via users, forums and car club
meetings.

AluBright dissolves corrosion and removes white oxidation from steel, alloy
and most cast metals within minutes. It leaves a bright, as new finish on dull
grey engine blocks which you can seal in with JetLaq. So if you're rebuilding
an engine or just taking one out it really lifts the finish.

Far more effective than most similar products, ideal for cleaning engine parts
such as engine blocks, gearbox housings, turbochargers, pipework, cooling
fins on motorcycle engines - anywhere you need to get back to the original
finish.

Ideal for Concours preparation of engine bays where a quick spray and brush
will remove white degradation easily.

What Am I Using It On?

Various sizes of nuts and bolts removed from my Renault 5GTT during its
engine overhaul.

What Do I Think Of It?

This product will clean away corrosion like it's the plague! However, there is
one vital piece that's missing from the instructions. Please take note of my
preparation guidance, because this will particularly get steel items so clean,
you can watch the oxidisation, yes, that's rust, re-form on the surface!

Preparation

The bottle contents are extremely potent! As you can see from my initial
photo, I wasn't prepared for how potent it was...



Just watching the reaction caused me to seek out something to protect my
work-surface, just in case of any spillage. I was already wearing some thick
rubber gloves!

However, way before this, I would now arrange for an oil-based bath for the
cleaned parts. Something like paraffin or even diesel oil would be ideal. Just
don't underestimate just how quickly the rust will re-appear. If you're working
under a car bonnet, have some WD40 to hand and be ready to bathe the
parts A.S.A.P.

Please apply all the suggested safety precautions shown on the bottle! I
haven't applied this to parts in-situ under a bonnet, so I have no clue about
how it might react with paint. From its declared contents, I'd be ready with
some paper wipes or scrap dusters to mop up any overspill. Obviously, I'd also
be watching where they get placed afterwards...

The Process & Results

Pouring the liquid directly on to the nuts and bolts produced an instant
foaming reaction. Once this abates, it could take several minutes, add some
boiling water, more or less an equal quantity to the original fluid. This will
re-start the reactive process.

Again, wait while the foaming abates. No, you can't rush this process! Once
again top up with more boiling water. You may still get some reaction!

After all the foaming action stops, give the parts a final rinse-off with more
boiling or very hot water, carefully draining this and plunging the parts into
the paraffin bath.

I'll let the pictures illustrate the results. These bolts particularly were quite
rusty all along their threads, with a fair bit of muck around their heads...





By the time I had turned the plate over, there was new rust in place...



Pros

Alubrite is a very simple method of removing surface rust, provided that you
take care to recognise that you're using a very potent, acidic cleaner.

Cons

There is no mention of how quickly rust will re-appear on steel items or any
instructions on how to avoid this.

Conclusions

At £12 a bottle plus postage, Alubrite is not a cheap option. However, there
is absolutely no doubt about its effectiveness! I've not had any opportunity to
test this product out on aluminium corrosion; once I'd got the hang of using
it, there wasn't any product left to do this.

I only bought this product on the basis of wanting to test this on some ally
parts, but found that bead-blasting was the real route to getting "work of
art" results. However, provided you take the necessary precautions, there's
good reason to choose Alubrite when parts removal may not be an option

Where Do I Buy It?

Alubrite is available from RaceGlaze at £12 for a 500ml bottle.
Alternatively, the 2.5L container costs £30.
Both prices are excluding delivery.

Regards,
Steve