I just got the first step of polishing my plenum finished today. I bought the aluminum extension and polished it using Mike's tips (the polishing/buffing expert). I think I did alright for my first buffing/polishing job. I am dreading the long process of the porting and polishing of the plenum. All-in-all, the extension took be about 5-6 hours over the course of 3 nights. How do you think it looks?

 

another...

 

and the last one...

 

Good job.

Polishing things is fun.

 

looks great!

 

nice job!!

 

Looks good.... Looks like this one I polished a while back.

 

..

 

How long did it take you for both pieces, start to finish?

 

Plenum/ runners/ throttle body and the exten. I spent about 2 hours total. It is fast cash polishing!

 

Looks good.. did you use compounds or just sandpaper?

 

1. 180 dry
2. 320 wet
3. 400 wet
4. Tripoli compound
5. White rouge compound

so to answer your question.....both

 

Man... I go 60 grit, then 220 , then to the buffer...

 

yeah, some of the scratches in the extension were kind of deep so i busted out the emery cloth. it put some good scratches in it, but it got rid of the deep ones.

How did you get it done so quickly?

BTW, good job, post *****, you just broke 1000 posts

 

Two hours to polish all that? How? Not that I'm doubting you, I'm just really curious how you did it so quickly.

 

I have experiance, I know all the short cuts that I am able to take. In all, I have done near 100 TPI intakes.... It just takes practice.

 

not even MikeInAz can do it that fast, and i think hes the best one at polishing and buffing, whats yur trick?

 

I can't give away all my secrets now... This took less than an hour...

 

more of my work...

 

again...

 

oh c'mon man...dont give me that this is a help board...not...i have a secret board

 

I hope to get my polishing bussiness going, so giving up my knowledge would take away from that,sorry,but I am sure you can understand. Hopefully I will be offering my services here in the near future.

 

ru-quick is that vette valve covers polished or did you do something else to them, you can reply as polished or other, if you intend on keeping your secrets

 

They are polished.... I am not trying to keep any secrets, it is just the fact of, if I tell everyone how to do it, then when it comes time to try and make a few bucks..... why would you pay me when I told you how to do it for free... see what I am saying? It is not hard, and many people know how to do it, but I like to think I can go one step further than most to get the extra shine.. Nothing more.

 

Good point, good luck with the business, and it definitely looks good.

 

Only 2 compounds? He told me to use 3.

 

good stuff
I don't have the time.....

 

there are 2 different ways:

1.) 2 step method with tripoli and white rouge.

2.) 4 step method with tripoli, emery, and white rouge (2 different buffing wheels with emery compound)

I used the 2 step method because I didn't have any emery.

 

Ahh, I used the 4 step one. I tried it today on my LT1 fuel rail. The battery to my dads drill was dead, so I used the buffing wheels by hand. Even using them by hand, it looked SO much more reflective than the other rail, which I did the old fashioned way using all kinds of grits. I also noticed fine lines in it though, so I'm gonna try it again and really take a long time with 400 wet.

 

yeah, thats the key step is the 400 cuz you can do too much of it. thats what makes it look the best. the longer you do the 400, the better it will turn out after buffing. it should look like a smooth satin after you are done with the 400.

 

where do you get that aluminum extension at?

 

joshp14 can you attach a link to the polishing tips that mike gave you??

 

The aluminum extension is available through any GM dealer parts department. The part number is 10108425 and runs about $20. You also have to get the 3 screws that go with it because the screws for the plastic extension wont work. The part number for the screws is 14082425, and remember you will need 3, and they run about $3 each. I get my parts through www.auto-parts-for-less.com cuz they are cheap and speedy delivery.

And yes, here is a link for the tips. Scroll down until you see the buffing and polishing section and i suggest reading every article, they are very informational. http://www.gmtips.com/3rd-degree/dox/tips/tips.htm

If you have any questions you can either ask me, or Mike, im prolly a little easier to get ahold of and most likely know the answer.

 

Ive been watching this thread and i want to port and polish my TPI But I dont know where to start. I called a HP car shop and they dont do it because its hard to get in there i guess. I think it looks real cool all ported and polished but i dont know how to do it and cant you screw it up easy. Any tips are appreciated thanks

 

I was wondering how much you would charge if i took it off and sent it to you to get ported and polished,
Port the plenum
polish the plenum
port & polish SLP runners
thanks

 

You have a PM...

 

I think you should start your polishing business. I’ve seen many of your polishing jobs and they are excellent. I highly recommend RU-QWIK…He did my rims…