Cleaning up carbs to remove stains and pitting.

[Richard48Y]

Basically none of the 'Net suggestions for home brew aluminum cleaners really work for castings that have water stain/black spots damage.
Vinegar is no better than plain water.
A nylon brush may remove dirt and soft crud but has No effect on stains.
Cream of Tartar & Vinegar paste is a waste, save it for baking.
A brass brush is somewhat effective but changes the appearance to a soft polish without actually removing any but the lightest stains.
So this set of Dellorto's will be getting soda blasted.
I've done this before and it really cleans the aluminum but Still will not remove heavy stains.
Glass Bead blasting will take out stains but is too aggressive at close range and disappointing from a distance.
I will probably end up painting the major pieces for the best finish as Vapor/Dry Ice blasting is just not available to me.

[dakazman]

  After my initial cleaning with carb cleaner spray I used a Dremel with wire brushes.
Then used buffing wheels which worked well.  You can go much further with the assortments of wool, cotton, rubber and sesame tips and really polish things up . 😎
 I think you’ll be happy with just the wire brushing and rotary wheels. Add some mother’s msg polish afterwards to help with water spotting.
Dakazman
 

[gideon]

IMO vapor blasting is your best bet for a cosmetic finish on carburetors (unless you want a mirror polish).  There are plenty of people who offer vapor blasting as a service.  This guy seems to do a nice job

https://www.facebook.com/Likenewmetal

The consensus view is that you need to fully dismantle carbs before blasting, so you could probably get a better price by supplying disassembled parts for blasting, rather than paying the blasting service for disassembly/assembly.   You could also ask on the vapor blasting facebook group to see if there is somebody local to you

https://www.facebook.com/groups/vaporblastit

Dry bead blasting could also work if you use the right beads (try #13 for final finish).

[Richard48Y]

Being cheap and in a bit of a hurry I must use what I have at hand.
There may be a blasting service in Reno but in addition their price I would also have to make two trips of around 160 miles each.
This set is just for the Kent 1600 going onto my Morris Minor PU.
I still want them to look decent but over $200 in small parts says blast and paint will be fine.
Trying the various 'Net suggestions was interesting but futile.

[Kendo]

Does Evaporust work on aluminum? I've never tried it.

[TurboFource]

I soaked my carb in a Pine-Sol water mix, ultrasonic cleaner and scrubbed with 0000 steel wool,
It was pretty awful looking before ….

[Kendo]

Apparently Evaporust won't work on aluminum. It won't hurt it either. https://www.theruststore.com/Evapo-Rust-FAQ-W21.aspx