Thread: Anyone ever polish their intakes?

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Was thinking of polishing my aluminum intake with the Eastwood kit.

Has anyone ever done it themselves?

Is it alot of work...? Say more then 8 hours?
How did it look?
Did the shine last?

Or should I just send it out?

Thanks, I would hate to open a big can of worms here....

Surprisingly easy actually. Mine is already polished, but I polished the rear houseing and a few other aluminum parts I made for the rear end. I split a 1/4" rod with a hack saw to hold a strip of emery cloth. Used it in a drill to get into the tight spots. Then used finer and finer sand paper. Then used rubbing compound and polishing compound to finish it off. I bought some of those inexpensive yellow gloves to do the final polishing. To me they work better than trying to hold onto a little piece of cloth while trying to get in tight spots. Worked for me.

Originally posted by Rugratman
Was thinking of polishing my aluminum intake with the Eastwood kit.

Has anyone ever done it themselves?

Is it alot of work...? Say more then 8 hours?
How did it look?
Did the shine last?

Or should I just send it out?

Thanks, I would hate to open a big can of worms here....

I did my heads, intake, alt. and water pump on my lt1, used the stuff from eastwood(I think I bought everything he had) spent about 400.00, took me 40 hrs. and it lasted about 6 mo. if I ever think about doing something like that again I hope someone, takes me outback and shoots me. I'm gonna get Pro 70 to do it.
you asked! just a intake want be to bad.

ahhhhh, I'd like to Mike but i've got this bad elbow. Reeealy been giving me problems lately.

Originally posted by pro70z28
ahhhhh, I'd like to Mike but i've got this bad elbow. Reeealy been giving me problems lately.

I hear you, it gave me a pain in the butt. everybody ought to try it one time.

It1S10 has it right.

I did my BB Chevy intake and water pump. Each, especially the intake, has lots of tiny, hard to get to corners and angles etc. It kicked my butt. A rear end housing would be relatively easy.

My polish job ain't exactly show quality either (see kitz in gallery). But it looks good from a few feet. In the end I got it as far as my patience would allow. At least 40 hrs in the both of them.

Then I clear coated it with clear engine paint. That dulled it ever so slightly but I think it will hold up for a longer time.

Next time I will buy my stuff already polished.

Good Luck! Kitz

i've found a good look with aluminum parts is cleaning it up a little bit, spraying it a couple layers of bumper chrome, make sure to not let it fully dry each time you spray, then spray 2 layers of clear coat while still just a lil wet, and if you do it right, it comes out with a brushed aluminum look.... looks great on engine parts.... maybe i'll put up a few pics later to give you an idea...

Or you can have it powdercoated (and Eastwood sells this stuff too). There are colors that match various shades of aluminum.

I want to run a fine line between shiney and a stock 'look'. I don't want to polish the engine every 6 months (or less) if I don't have to, and I still want the engine to look great. I think my solution is powdercoat and chrome.

i have did alot of aluminun stuff did a lot of the prep work on the gm concept showcar wheels. the flapper works good like PRO said i use this alot and it cheap i have use this way to polish the valleys in big blocks and head work to. look at enco sell alot of stuff to do it . mx wheels work great to

Originally posted by Swifster
Or you can have it powdercoated (and Eastwood sells this stuff too). There are colors that match various shades of aluminum.

I want to run a fine line between shiney and a stock 'look'. I don't want to polish the engine every 6 months (or less) if I don't have to, and I still want the engine to look great. I think my solution is powdercoat and chrome.

if i can't paint it , chrome it or powdercoat it, its not gonna get done.

It definitely depends on the look you want. I always like a 'mechanical', machine type of look to an engine. Some like the engine to look like a piece of jewelry, and if that's what they like, more power to them. To me, it's a machine, and I want the engine and the rest of the driveline to reflect that. It doesn't mean I don't want it to look good. But to me solid chrome is boring. Texture and color add a lot to the engine compartment.

Originally posted by pro70z28
ahhhhh, I'd like to Mike but i've got this bad elbow. Reeealy been giving me problems lately.

rugratman, take heed. Gary got the bad elbow from polishing!

I've polished a couple intakes and my TPI parts,LOTS of work!!
I'll powdercoat next time!

Originally posted by techinspector1
rugratman, take heed. Gary got the bad elbow from polishing!

He's trying to have it both ways, pro is telling rugratman, no big deal, but he can't do no more polishing on the count of a bad elbow. I think he wants someone else to have a bad elbow. when you get ready to do this rugratman, I have a lot of this stuff left over, you can have cheap. the reason I don't have a bad elbow is I let the drills do the work.

I never thought of powder coating the intake......Good idea.
I have a Offenhauser intake, that I just got. To say they have a very basic finish is a understatement....It will flow great, but looks like it was sitting on a shelf for 30 years, even though it's brand new.
I will look into the powder coating, I was going to spend a couple $$ on the eastwood kit anyway, I will put the money towards it.
Glad I asked. I thought 8 hours was to much.