[RCastle]

Guys,I found a new past time. I had been wanting to swing at this for awhile,so I ordered up a polishing kit for Aluminum. THere is a lot more work in it than I thought.Especially in the prep. I started sanding these with 120,then worked down to 260 grit.All by hand,so that you can feel all the imperfections. There were plenty of casting knots on this piece. It came from an Explorer,it is going onto my brother 5.0 Mustang. I do not have any shots of what it looked like before,but I am still not done with it . The intake was rough with a lot of aluminum pimples on the runners. What you think? Not too bad so far huh?

[RCastle]

More Polishing pics.

[RCastle]

Of course I can not forget my Vette wheels.

[crazy larry]

that underside of the manifold shot is a perfect before/after shot. It's looking great. is this a paste or a rouge that you use after sanding? more details!

[RCastle]

It is a rouge. Black Emery to cut,then a brown tripoli,then the final glaze is a white . I need to get me some Zoop Seal to finish it all off with. I was not real happy with the pics I have up,as some scratches showed up on the top of the runners. I have since gone and wet sanded again,plus spent more time in doing so. It is really looking good now.The lower intake I have not touched yet.Need to get a few more sanding drums for the Dremel,it goes through them quickly.I use the Dremel to knock down the edges and then hand sand it. There are some real big casting marks on the sides of the intake I am working with,I used a 3M Sctch-Brite pad on my die grinder for knocking it down,it took a lot of work. I probably have accumulated 14 or 15 hours into the top intake so far.Not including the porting on the throat and runners. I need to get the flexible shaft for the rest of it,as the Dremel has maxed out on depth. I also need to get an apron for when I polish,it makes quite a mess and does not come out of your clothes or off your skin too easily. I have a buddy who said he can clear coat the pieces for me also. I believe that would be a lot cheaper than the Zoops Seal kit,which is around $129.00 for the entire kit.Plus if it is a good clear,it should last. I just warned my brother to keep it polished when we get done. That is the biggest problem with anything like that.So many people believe they are maintenance free,drive in salt,use harsh cleaners on them and so forth. I am going to start going to salvage yards I believe and picking Popular Items to polish and sell.Maybe I can make some half way decent "Ron Money" off ot it to put back into my ride.

[TurboS10]

That looks great.

I did some polishing on a turbo compressor once and found it to be a heck of alot of work. I started with 120 paper rolls and worked down to 220 before using the wheel. I did not get all the 120 scratches out before I gave up. Most of them were gone, but there were a few places that did not get finished before I sold it. I can say that all the ebay guys loved that polished compressor. The turbo sold for $720 and I only paid $180. Cleaned up, installed new bearings, polished compressor and sold it.

Chris

[Weimer]

Looks great Ron. As far as getting them polished perfectly, you are going to have a very difficult time, because they are Cast Aluminum parts(read that...very porous). If you start with something made of billet aluminum, they would look like chrome when finished.Can't wait to see what the final product will look like...worthy of being displayed I am sure.
Later,
WEIMER

[WakBordr7387]

Lookin good ron! I got a set of vette rims about like that I could send your way that need some polishing up. What kit did you buy?


Brad

[malc]

It´s what your right arms for

[MI2600]

Looks good!

I bought a set of the early Corvette aluminum valve covers over the parts counter and found them to be rough castings. Seems like it took forever to sand and buff and buff and buff.

I also agree that these items attract every fingerprint and dirt particle around. Whenever I hear guys that want to "chrome their engines", I just cringe.

[4 Jaw Chuck]

OMG that is a lot of work, reminds me of polishing blow mold dies. You couldn't pay me to sit hunched over a work bench with a die grinder now.

[RCastle]

Been at it for a little while again since I posted this earlier. I concentrated on the visible side that does not have all the components attached to it. The Mustang it is going into is a 92 LX. My brother has got a larger Throttle Body to go on it,larger rails and injectors. He is just waiting some other parts. He was going to get it powder coated,but said I could practice on it. Now,he said he will forget the whole idea of powdercoating it. You can tell the difference between the first post and this one here.

[RCastle]

Oh yeah,Thanx guys. I was hoping I was not the only one who thought it was turning out good. My wife just tells me Uh huh when I ask her anything,unless it is about shoes.

[RCastle]

This is the recipeant of the work.

[Ghetto Jet]

wow that really looks good Ron. I bet you could make a few $$ selling polished parts, people love shinny stuff.