I bought this side housing and I was told it is a new housing. But I got it today and the surface is not shiny or mirrored like I have seen in other rebuilds or even on my old side housings for that matter. The new housing looks like it has watermarks all over it. I tried cleaning it some of the gray came off but there is still I lot of gray spots and gray streaks all over its face. Anyone experience anything like this or have an idea what is wrong? or Am I just paranoid? Here are some pictures of it and sorry for the quality of the pictures.

thomasrickels' Photostream

 

Looks new to me. They are made of carbon steel, so they apply a rust inhibitor (usually some type of oil) before packaging. Try some brake clean on it.

 

i do not see any wear from the side seals on it but it is a little rusty. i would just try cleaning it like rxspeed said.

 

just wipe it off with a terry cloth and some carburetor/brake cleaner and install it.

new irons do not have a mirror finish until the engine is broken in.

 

Awesome glad to hear thanks everyone for the info and advice.

 

Looks great to me.

 

Believe it or not I got this side housing in this condition for a $100. So I can't complain to much I have it in the car now and it seems to be working fine.