Best way to polish?

[Hallett of a Dream]

What is the best way to polish the intake and such? What machine (Dremel), type of wheel and polish should I use? I should add that this was a previously polished intake, but after several years of neglect from the previous owner, it may as well have never been done.
[This message has been edited by Hallett of a Dream (edited September 10, 2001).]

[riodog]

Hallet, since this was one of the business' that I've owned I guess I can tell you BUT you ain't gonna like it.
First of all, you should know that you can get a manifold polished for $100. to $300, depending on type of manifold. Second a dremel won't get it, not enough power. My guys used die grinders rated a 1hp for the initial grinding(smoothing), For one this powerful, you'll pay at least $400.(air). For a compressor, try 5 to 6 hp and atleast 60 to 80 gal cap. Use 1/4in mandrals and sanding rolls of 100 grit to start and then go to 180, then 240,then320 or 400. When manifold is smooth enough to suite you then go to polishing rolls,( I like yellow but some guys use the white ones), 3/8 thick by 1 1/2 in long. You can polish everything, aluminum and stainless steel with the Green compound.
Remember, the more you grind and smooth the manifold, the less you'll have to polish which results in a lot less time spent and alot less mess. YOU ARE GOING TO GET DIRTY. If it sounds like I'm trying to dissuede you from doing this, I AM. If you have any questions you can E-mail me.
Michael
the dog

[fryzll]

Hey Hallet, DONT DO IT, STEP AWAY FROM THE DREMEL TOOL!!!!! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif riodog is absolutely correct. I tried it once, spent a whole bunch of time on it and I didnt get even a 1/4 of it done http://free.***boat.net/ubb/mad.gif So after all that effort i ended up sending it to the perfesionals anyway and they had it back to me a week and 125 bucks later, and it turned out much nicer than I could have done http://free.***boat.net/ubb/rolleyes.gif . By the way, mine was a single plane manifold so im sure tunnel rams are a little more.
Chris
[This message has been edited by fryzll (edited September 10, 2001).]

[Hallett of a Dream]

I was hoping you guys were going to tell me it was easy and this is how you do it. Guess not, lol

[Jungle Boy]

Powder coat it for 60 dollars. It shines, washes and cleans real easy. I tried the same thing once with a intake manifold for my car and was real sad about it. It was a mess after my attempt.

[Squirtcha?]

I did jethot on mine. Awesome stuff. It's a little more expensive than the power coating ($130.00) but the water spots wipe right off with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water and talk about shine. It'll blind ya, almost looks like chrome. I didn't even have mine polished (rough casting under it) and it still looks great. Highly recommend it. The coating fills in some of the porosity and makes it relatively smooth but not completely. Also helps it to run cooler and that's a good thing. Wish I had a picture of it to attach. Oh yeah you wouldn't have to do anything but box it. They bead blast it prior to coating. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Racing Ray]

I just spent over 12 hours polishing this set of "S" pipes for my boat. These are 4" stainless. Aluminum is much softer and easier to polish however they are right not only is a good 5" die grinder gonna cost you. Add to this each grit of polish must be followed by a finer grit so you will need quite an investment in wheels and rouge. The good news is somethingthat has been polished already and is just faded over time can be done easy with just a retouch of a cotton buff.
http://www.highperformancecars.com/h...ting/pipes.jpg
You might be very pleasantly suprized what a product like Blue Magic Metal polish can do to a previously polished surface!
[This message has been edited by Racing Ray (edited September 11, 2001).]

[FoMoCo]

With lotion