Today I've been doing some cleaning. I used a couple cycles of Gunk and a Hose to get most of the built up oily residue off. Then I used some Never-Dull metal polish to try and clean and polish the engine. It worked OK. The Never-Dull got most of the tarnish off the aluminum and I was able to give it a decent shin with a buffer, but the engine still isn't completely clean. There is still some tarnish/oxidation on the engine that I can't seem to get off.

What have you guys done or used to take a super dirty engine and make it new again? I'll take any good hints or tips. Thanks.

I like castrol super clean. It works really good, and I by it by the gallon jugs.

For all the various aluminum covers you can use some 800 grit wet-dry sandpaper and get all the nicks and blemishes out. Then take a 4 or 6 inch buffing wheel and some Tripoli (both available at Home Depot) and it will polish up like chrome. Takes some time and patience, but it is worth it in the end.

A lot of the tin is coated with lacquer. I've found that this coating discolors with age, and most surface scratches are in it, not the metal underneath. Rather than sand, I've had good results using paint stripper to remove the clear coat first. Brush it on, let it soak, wipe it off, then polish things up. I like Mothers mag and aluminum polish.

The laccquer can be stubborn to remove, but it does strip off. Cheapo lacquer, like on older furniture, can usually be washed right off with acetone. But the stuff used as clearcoat is usually a little more stout.