Is there anything I should NOT do? i.e. it will screw up the turbo. Thanks for any help!

 

I would say that you should not try to rebuild it you're self
It's worth the money to have someone that works on turbos all day
to clean it up. however you can check the shaft run out or side play with a
dial indicator. with a mechanics touch try to move the turbine up and down and side to side. a good turbo will have a small amount of play, a bad one will have more than a small amount. the correct way would be to measure the play
in one thousandths of a inch and compare it to O.E.M specs. like .012" ? also you can look for cracks on the turbine housing, and evidence of oil in the compressor housing. also the compressor blade, the edges will be chiped depending on how used it is or if someone took the air filter out. yeah thats what i'm talking about
spool it up and use it to chip up twigs and branches, or a high pitched garbage disposal... AH AH AR COOL.
later main

 

I won't be doing anything to in depth. I just want to clean, paint, and clock it. It seems to be in fairly good condition. Anything else?

 

Kerosene - just don't blow yourself up.
Degreaser - "WIDE OPEN" area's only...
Wire wheel - if yout take the housing off first.
You can polish it while you have the housing off, if you take it off.

 

could you take off the housing and put it together w/o too much difficulty and messing anything up?