Polishing Questions

[Havok316]

As some people are interested in blinging up their engine bay i would like to ask the following. Which tools are required i.e

- Power sander? which grade of paper?
- Buffing pads?
- Which type of polish

or anything needed to know and any guides on removing TIP and Manifold would be a bonus

 

[pdcupra]

there is quite a few decent kits on ebay now, for 4 1/2 angle grinders (persoanlly i think angle grinders are too powerfull and too quick) ideally a car polisher - its what we use at work, and then get the little ebay polishing kit, it includes polishing attatchment, pads and a bar of compund, found that it works really well on flatish surfaces and gives a near mirror finish if you carry on for long enough. the only problem you will have is when you do intricate areas, but you can also but a die grinder/drill kit with little polishing wheels on, alternatively if you dont want the hassle of buying a car polisher you can also but bigger drill attatchments, will take a bit longer but well worth it. As i said, we use these every day, and get a brilliant finish, a bit of autoglym usually finishes it off. if the surface is rough we generally use a low grit paper to flatten it, followed by a bit of wet and dry to prep it for polishing. hope this helps.

 

[Havok316]

thanks, so all i do is flat it and slap on polish and use the polisher and pads to buff it up to a mirror finish?

 

[beezaturbo]

just done my intake manifold took about an hour start to finish,
80 grit to get it flat
then 120
240
400
600
800
1200 wet and dry by hand.
then 10-15minutes with the mop with some compound paste G3.
then a couple of passes with some alu magic polish that i use on my polished wheels.
looms good for little effort.

 

[gavthelad]

im wanting to do this on mine........cant find anywhere that polishes metal round by me!! Did you use the likes of a black and decker to start with?

 

[chrisbond69]

where did you get the 80-800 grit sander parts from or is it normal paper

 

[beezaturbo]

no. all the sanding was by hand, then the big 9" polished afterwards

 

[beezaturbo]

normal sand paper. 80 grit is really rough to get the cast marks out, then the reat is wet and dry, use warm soapy water to help lubriate the surface. ts only about 12p a sheet from my local autobodyshop suppliers

 

[chrisbond69]

mental trying to get a friend who makes them artificial hip joint to polish it as used to for my motocross stuff, but if he cant its the elbow grease for me.

 

[Havok316]

just done my intake manifold took about an hour start to finish,
80 grit to get it flat
then 120
240
400
600
800
1200 wet and dry by hand.
then 10-15minutes with the mop with some compound paste G3.
then a couple of passes with some alu magic polish that i use on my polished wheels.
looms good for little effort.

Have you got any photos? sounds good il have to get some and try it

 

[beezaturbo]

no sorry the cars in the bodyshop now.

 

[gavthelad]

id like to see the photos too when you get the chance