Thread: Re-polishing alumininum intake question....

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Guys I have a tripower intake that has ben polished at some point in it's life. It now needs to be repolished. What tools or attachments are needed. I've polished small parts and aluminum sheets with my wheel but this is a new game for me. I't over $400 to have it done sending it out and would like to tackle this myself. Can someone please enlighten me on this process? I've tried useing a dremel and polishing kit but think a little bigger buffer would work best . Thanks for your help and suggestions. Glenn.

Originally posted by FFR428
Guys I have a tripower intake that has ben polished at some point in it's life. It now needs to be repolished. What tools or attachments are needed. I've polished small parts and aluminum sheets with my wheel but this is a new game for me. I't over $400 to have it done sending it out and would like to tackle this myself. Can someone please enlighten me on this process? I've tried useing a dremel and polishing kit but think a little bigger buffer would work best . Thanks for your help and suggestions. Glenn.

I've been building a lot of CNC aluminum parts for mine. I just sand starting with the finest nessesary to clean it up. Then sand finer & finer till I get to about 1000 or maybe 1500 grit. Sounds slow I know but.... in the tight spots I sand by hand. And I know, most of your intake is tight spots. If you have a relatively smooth surface it's surprising how fast it shines up tho.
Well back to the process.... Once I get it sanded I polish it with rubbing compound then polishing compound then mirror glaze. ALSO, when polishing I go to the hardware store and buy a pack of cheap gloves and use them as a polishing cloth.
That way you don't nick you knuckes and don't have to hold on to a little folded up piece of cloth.
I haven't gotten to the preservation stage yet, but I'm loooking for a clear coat to keep it shinny. A clear powder coat would be good if the process would work on aluminum. Or maybe clear pro-15 if it is real clear. But I'm not sure that would work on a slick surface. haven't really looked into that yet.
However, when we painted my son's factory aluminum wheels, we changed the gold inset to the same bluse as his hood stripes. After prep we sprayed the wheels with a clear adhesion promoter. Then painted the blue insert and cleared the entire rim polished aluminum and paint with Del clear. That was a year ago, and still not a chip, still shinny. Daily , year round driver. Maybe that's the way I'll go with the aluminum "Z" parts. Sorry, jus' started thinkin' out lound with my fingers. I'm done ramblin' now........no really.....I am..............

Thanks for the very quick and excellent reply. So most of the sanding and polishing is done by hand. Looks like I'll have a little work to do on this one but sounds like the end result will be great. Thanks again. Glenn.

Originally posted by FFR428
Thanks for the very quick and excellent reply. So most of the sanding and polishing is done by hand. Looks like I'll have a little work to do on this one but sounds like the end result will be great. Thanks again. Glenn.

Hand polishing sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't all that bad. I can polish a part in a matter of minutes, and the "Glove" idea makes it go faster too. Just scoop up some compound and rub the part like it was a bar of soap. I actually came up with that idea when I was lookin' for a rag and couldn't find one. HE HE HE

Thanks!

When you get done polishing......... http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp

It will keep your aluminum shiny MUCH longer.

Abe

Originally posted by The F.N.G.
When you get done polishing......... http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp

It will keep your aluminum shiny MUCH longer.

Abe

Hey, Thanks The F.N.G.. I put that one in my favorites file. 'Nuther problem solved.