I have a pretty good amount of rust inside my intake manifold that I have off the motor. Is there a good way to remove it? I bought CLR but want to know how to make the best use of it.

Brad
Sierra Vista Arizona
1954 Lincoln Capri

No chemistry or abrasives necessary.  Here is a cheap way to easily remove rust on any iron or steel surface.  Buy a cheap plastic pail at a dollar store large enough to contain the manifold.  Buy two gallons of pool acid (available at any Home Depot) and pour them over the manifold so that it is fully submerged. Let it soak for a few hours and it will come out with fresh metal just like new.  Make sure that you neutralize any acid remaining on the metal by flushing the inside and outside with a garden hose.   Paint it ASAP before the metal can begin to rust.  Using a funnel, pour the used acid back in the gallon containers and you can reuse it on the next rusty project.

If you do use acid, don't use it on aluminum, and definitely neutralize it asap.  If you leave iron in the acid, it will eat it away over time, and aluminum will turn into mush after a couple of days.  It is a common method to use Muriatic acid to acid port iron heads and intake manifolds by brushing the acid into the ports, let it form rust scales, sand blast, repeat the acid, and sand blast, etc.  Some folks get really aggressive and pour the ports full of acid and let them set for a week, and many have ruined the heads and manifolds that way.  I am not a fan of using acid except as a last resort.  Joe-JDC

JDC

Whatever you choose to do, make damn sure your manifold is 120% clean before you bolt it on.  If you sand blast it and any of the sand remains in the intake, it will wipe out your rings and cylinder walls in a NY minute.