Hi All

Need a bit of guidance on what's best to clean oxidisation off a magnesium casting.
(lot's of differing opinions on the web, mostly from the USA and hence the products mentioned are either not available here or, in one or two cases, just not allowed..)

So anybody got any good tips - methods and products?

Thanks all!

Can't offer any advice myself on how or how not to clean.

I'd probably look for a company making magnesium castings, give them a call and ask if they have any particular recommendations (they may of course try and sell you a product or service).

Depending on the value/rareness of your part is it something you'd consider having cleaned for you?

There must be UK firms out there offering these services, particularly for car parts.

A quick google.co.uk threw this company up:

h ttps://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/rust-and-scale-removal/?_vsrefdom=p.16968&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItMWivK-29wIVV-vtCh3FCwL7EAMYASAAEgIwjvD_BwE

Having had experience of the manufacture and maintenance of magnesium casings in the past, I expect you need to be looking at some form of blast cleaning to get rid of existing oxidation. I assume you are then going to coat/paint the magnesium to protect it afterwards?

Sand Cast Magnesium (and aluminium) castings are routinely shot blasted during manufacture and the normal superficial coating applied to magnesium (in motorsport applications at least) is a black chromate surface treatment which looks nice when the casting is new, but this is not a very good protection against the environment when in use in a vehicle but can be a good surface preparation for other coatings.