preping and polishing an aluminum trans case?

[roj2323]

Hey all,
Ok well I’m certifiably insane but I would like to clean all of the oil and dirt off of my 700r4 Trans case and polish the snot out of it.

How should I start?

I’m going to have the case striped to make it lighter and to keep from damaging the internals but what's next? Should I sand blast it at low pressure, spay it with oven cleaner, wire brush it until it's clean or do something else?
After I get it clean what about polishing it? Should I go with a brushed finish that's shiny but ruff [1]or should I sand it until smooth and use polishing compound[2]. I’m really excited about this and I can't wait to start. Any and I do mean any info you may wish to give to me would really be appreciated.
Thanks guys and gals,
OnDrew
[1]. this would take 10-20hrs
[2]. this would take around 100hrs but would look like chrome

p.s. if this isn’t the best board for this post please feel free to move it. I thought of paint& body, engine and drive train, but I thought here would be best.

[Harold Shepard]

I did a TH350 for an earlier project I had and I started with a wire brush on drill motor and then worked my way down to the small detailing wire brush for the areas I could not get to with the drill. I used 180 after that then course rouge and finally polishing rouge. It turned out well, but the case had blemishes that would not come out - so it did not all look like chrome but the case was 30 years old as well. Very do-able especially if you are like me and have more time than money Harold

[roj2323]

well like i allways say building hot rods is going to cost you lots of time or lots of money. My personal preferance is lots of time.
thanks for the info harold.

anyone else tackle this project?

[roj2323]

ttt