Cleaning an aluminium oil pan

This thing is defeating every effort ive tried. Aluminium oil pan with roughly 100k of rust belt and hard usage. 

Im talking about getting it squeaky clean in preparation for welding.

Ive tried parts washer. Barely a dent on the baked on crud.

Superclean and a scrubby. Little better, but not great.

Brakeclean: after 2 cans, somewhat better.

Soaked with dawn soap and hot water for 12 hours: nothing

Next are more nuclear options: 

Pay for hot tanking (rather not, challenge car)

Rubbermaid tote full of hot water and drain cleaner (ive stripped anodizing this way from aluminium plenty of times. Drain cleaner heavy in lye)

Set it on fire to cook the grime out

Car wash and superclean

Ideas or reccomendations?

To clean the inside of the pan try aircraft paint stripper in the aerosol can...   this stuff will strip the baked on oil in a few min.... and is safe for aluminum.   Try to keep the temp above 60F if possible.  The colder it is the slower it works.

Aircraft stripper? Ill try it. Got nothing to lose 

Don't use the drain cleaner or EZ-off. The caustic is strong enough to start dissolving the aluminum.   The aircraft paint stripper sounds promising, as it's for stripping epoxy or urethane paint.  Another possibility is the "carburetor cleaner" in a dip tub if you can find it at the auto store.  One more is "brush cleaner" in the paint section of the home improvement store.  I've found it can clean stuff that denatured alcohol, xylene, or acetone won't touch.

Cleaning oily aluminum for welding is damned difficult because aluminum is somewhat porous.

I have heard of people using methylene chloride (?) to degrease aluminum to be squeaky clean but you damn well better do it outside and don't get any on you!

Boss's dad would just clean as normal, then use the TIG torch to burn out any impurities before adding any filler rod.  I can sort of see where he's coming from because i have used that method with a MIG to weld dirty steel (burp in some weld, let it cook out the junk, add more weld, let it cook out some more, etc), but I don't know nothin about aluminum or TIG...

Were still working on the baked on residue. Inside us completely gold still, outside is grime. Just nothing seems to be touching it.

Just don't use fire. Cast aluminum is fragile enough, you don't need to weaken it more. 

Wire wheel? Belt sander?

Dusterbd13 said:

Aircraft stripper? Ill try it. Got nothing to lose 

It will work great for you, I use it all the time.

Bake it in the oven at like 450F until it doesn't smoke anymore.  Let it cool, clean up the residue.  Best not to tell Momma about it.

Have you tried MEK. 

Oven cleaner?

Mek: don't know much about it.  Can you elaborate?

Oven cleaner: contains lye, along with other stuff. Had considered getting some in the morning to try before vatting in straight lye solution. 

Baking: oh hell no. My wife has threatened me for much less. She would pistol whip me into a coma with a nerf gun.

No fire. Got it.

Chlorinated brake kleen works, however it's problematic for welding afterwards. In fact, with most of these ideas, make sure you clean it really, really well with rubbing alcohol followed by soapy water or you're going to be inhaling all kinds of horrible things.

Last time I had to clean cast aluminum for welding (modified oil filter housing, so it had been in oil for 25 years and 250k miles) I got it beautifully clean with brake kleen and rubbing alcohol. However, as soon as welding started, it spat and popped like anything else. Getting the surface clean is good, but there will be enough oil impregnated in the metal that it may not matter much.

Craigslist grill for baking it off, not something you cook food on. That or a cheap used turkey fryer with degreaser and water and boil each end for a while.

methyl Ethel key tone. Available st paint stores or the big box stores.

Walnut shell blast cleans up carbon well, or bead blast.  Alumaprep before welding to clean out pores.

   Yep If you want it new looking do the Cabinet sand blaster  by the time you drive back twice for different Chemicals it will be done.

fasted58 said:

Walnut shell blast cleans up carbon well, or bead blast.

I'm amazed this option took so long to get recommended.

I soaked mine in kerosene for a day and used a stiff brush on it.  Worked pretty damn well.

Oven cleaner like "EasyOff" is not friendly to aluminum.  If you spray it on and leave it for a short time you may get some of the baked on crud off but it you leave in on to long it will start to break down the metal.  You can tell it that's happened if the metal is black or dark after you wash off the curd with the cleaner. Now on thick aluminum it won't be a problem but getting the aluminum looking like aluminum again will take some work which you were trying to avoid in the first place by using the caustic!

Backing the pan in an oven is the easiest method but you have to have an old oven for this, I wouldn't use the wife's oven ever!

I honestly don't care about cosmetics. It's getting a code of cast aluminum engine paint after welding anyway. I tried oven cleaner this morning and it did a pretty good job for the limited amount of cleaner I had on hand. Currently doing another round or two of wire brush and super clean well my wife is at the store. I think pressure washer may be involved in the next step.

As resolution: the oven cleaer softeed the crud enough to allow the stainless wire brush and superclean to get it pretty damn clean.

6 hours of scrubbing total.

Stafford1500 and i cut and weld Thursday morning.  Thursday night i should have the engine located and mounts made.

Just follow these guys instructions. . . What could go wrong?  

Dude could be my cousin.  Definitely resemble him sometimes....

Well if you were local i'd say come over and we'd toss it in the heated ultrasonic cleaner but your far away and its dam cold outside up here.