Right now i am at the 80 grit stage (still removing all the cast) and have some questions.

First: After I do the 400 wet can i skip the tripoli compound step and move strait to the mother alum polish or do I need the tripoli? I have not been able to find it at stores.

Second:How are you supposed to sand some of those spots on the runners. I have only looked at it but it looks like they are going to be a big PITA.

Right now the tools I have is a dremel w/flex shaft and polishing kit and sanding kit and an electric sander.

 

Well I just got the top polished and this id how it came out (pic) But I only polished with a rag and polishing compound and it gave my a real good shine but I was wondering if I need to polish more or is this the best I will be able to get.

the picture quality isn't that great but it basicly shows how good it is.

 

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You definitely need to do the Tripoli step. That is the best way to get it mirror smooth and shiny. Go to www.eastwood.com and you'll find everything you need there. As for sanding the runners, I found that by cutting the sandpaper into 1" thick strips around a foot long, you can wrap it around the whole runner and use a push-pull method to really get it good.

 

Hey it looks like your getting there. I've seen the plenums look almost like chrome from some of these guys. How smooth and cool do you want it to be is the question. You'll know either way. Keep it up and be sure to post a final picture of the job. Stages is neat to watch also.

 

yes you can get a better shinme out of it. i use the tripoli and white rouge for the final buff on mine and it come out real nice. for the runners i clamped it to a work bench and did the push pull meathod with the sand paper worked real good for all side and came out good. i didn't use any power tool for the runner.

when you check out eastwood get their buffing wheels for you beanch grinder or dremel to use with the tripoli and white rough and you will have a great finish.

here is mine a few weeks later

 

Here are some pics as it sits now. I just finished painting it about 3 hrs ago and now its sitting in my bedroom drying. It looks dull b/c I had to sand it a little when my dremel jumped off the side and srcatched it. I also got some Greased Lightning on the top of it. but oh well in the morning I will sand it with 400 dry then 400 wet and see what it looks like.

I also looked at eastwood and do you think 2 tubes of that tripoli compound shoud do the trick and what other buffing wheels should i get for a 12v cordless drill I am not looking for a perfect mirror finish but I do want it to stand out pretty good at shows.

 

the mothers alum polish is really just a care and up keep thing... its the tripoli and white rouge that does the work to make it a mirror shine to start with.....

 

OK I see now, so should I just order the 4 step kit and will it be enough to do plenum and runners?

 

All you really need is a spiral buff for the Tripoli. A loose buff for the white rouge. I prefer the 6", but get whatever size you prefer. Get a buff rake to keep the buff clean so it works how it should. And don't forget to get the correct size arbor for the buffs you get. If I were you I would sand the top of the plenum by the ribs and leave inside the ribs black. Buff the top of the ribs, though. That would look good.

 

thats what i am doing in the morning but was just to lazy to tape up all of those ribs

 

What do you guys think about this kit?

And what do I need to mount it to a cordless drill?

Should I order more compound if I get this kit?

 

Gimme a part # for the kit and I'll tell you. They have to many kits to know which one you're talking about.

 

Another hint. An electric hand held palm sander works great for the sanding parts. You can get sheets of paper in all grits that will fit on these. For the plenum that is.

 

Well I went to Ace hardware to day and got just about every thing I think I need except for one thing, I got 2 4" loose buffs 1 6" spiral buff and a 4" spiral buff 2 tubes of Tripoli abd then since they did not white rogue i something called jewlers rogue is this the same stuff or at similar enough to work? The guy there had no clue

 

That jewelers rouge should work. As long as it doesn't go on real thick on the loose buff. It should actually be almost like a powder when you start buffing with it. the tripoli on the other hand will go on thicker an almost get like clay when you're buffing with it. The plenum might get a blackish sheen to it when you first start hitting it with the Tripoli, just keep going and you'll see it start to disappear and turn like chrome. It will take a little bit until you get your method down pat.

 

It will do that if the buffing wheel isnt going fats enough and/or too much compound on the wheel. Its ok if it does just takes longer to buff the crap off the aluminum.

My method is 80 grit, 220 dry, 320 dry, 500 wet twice, then hit it with a 4 inch spiral sewn wheel with tripoli and then loose cotton with white rouge. make sure you clean the part with light dishwashing soap between the buffing wheel steps to remove any extra residue from the part being buffed.

This is a plenum I finished today. Quick job could have gotten it better but i ran out of time. Its on ebay right now.

 

500 Wet? I've heard to never go over 400 or it will glaze the finish.

But thanks for the washing between buffs tip though.

 

Hey Junkie, do you do the sides of your plenums? I do the sides when I am doing one for ebay and it seems to drive the bidding higher. I also usually sand the notches on top by the TB all the way smooth. Just have to be sure not to go too far and into the TB bolt passages.

 

I've gone up to 1200 already with good results. But I also use a cutting oil instead of water and it polishes pretty good so I don't have to do much buffing.

 

Yeah, its funny you say that cause it had been awhile since i went into my garage to look at mine and of course when i saw it mine was all sanded down and with all the cast ridges removed and fully polished. Benn awhile since i did one so i kinda forgot about those little extras.

B500 wet shouldn't make it glaze over much. Another good tip to use is on relatively flat surfaces use an X motion of sanding to cut down ridges better.

 

OK I finally got some white rouge at home depot and after buffing with tripoli with the spiral buff I buffed it with the white rouge with the loose buff but that did not not bring it to a mirror finish, Am I doing something wrong? My dad thinks that the drill does not spin fast enough. I did polish it with mothers alum polish after white rouge and that did give me a mirror finish but I have read the the white rouge is supposed to polish it.

 

Yeah i dont think your drill is going fast enough to polish aluminum. I would get a cheap die-grinder and some 4 inch wheels to buff.

 

Well right now I am pretty much out of money for this project so how can I make the drill work? My dad has one of those 6" grinders that you mount to your work bench, Could that be of any help? Or can I just use the drill and just buff for a long time? Also I am actually happy with the finish of just polishing with mothers but is there anything wrong with just leaving it there or would it just wear off quickly.

 

Ok well last night I found out that my grand father has an Air die grinder I can borrow will that be good enough?

 

ttt

 

You can try the die grinder, but I think the main problem was you didn't work the Tripoli long enough. The Tripoli should do most of the work and get you the great shine. The rouge is basically a finisher to just give it a little extra sheen. Keep at it with the Tripoli.

 

Thanks guys, as soon as it warms up a bit I will get outside and sand some scratches out that I got on it and then really work awhile with the tripoli. About how long is a spiral buff supposed to last?

 

lol, should last more then long enough to do that plenum....

you need to keep going with one grit until it has no effect anymore, THEN step up to the next one... it comes out great, and its faster that way...

athough i must admit, im no expert on the subject, i only polished 2 things in my life..... im more of a brushed alum and paint kind of person....

 

I've done about 8 plenums so far with my spiral buff, it is a 6" though. And like Dude and I said, just keep hitting it with the Tripoli. If you do have scratches, maybe take the sandpaper up a grit or 2 first.

 

The reason I had scratches was b/c I had laid it on some metal shavinging and then when I went to move it I slid it for about 2 in.

 

i use a bench grinder for my polishing wheels, you just have to strip all the guards and all off it first so you can get at the buff better. and it has planty of speed to do the job without be crazy fast like a die grinder would be. and the tripoli should do all the work. if your seeing alot of scratches still you may ned to sand some more or keep using the tripoli. you should have a dark shine when done eith the tripoli and the white rough will take the dark look to a bright shine. once you see it you will know what we mean.

Good luck it will be worth it when your done.

Jeff

 

I sanded mine down with a DA sander then went over it with buffing wheels and various compounds.






Then I powdercoated the bottom gloss black... and sold it

 

Well its finally finished Thanks 87GTA Runner and SpeedJunkie you were both a huge help in this project and also thanks to anyone else who posted here.:hail:

Now its time to do the runners

I will post some pics in a new thread when I get it installed so be watching out for it.

Sorry for the quality

Look I found a use for those AOL cd's


The sides shine just as well but just did not get a good pic of them.
:

 

Dude thats an awesome job much better than the first pics you had. Keep up the good work!!

Now youll get the bug and start polishing everything!

 

Heres another good pic, but it was taken b4 I was completely finished

 

I'm glad you got it to look so good. I bet you're happy you didn't stop at where you had it. I am just happy to be able to help. Like Junkie said, you'll probably be polishing everything you can get your buffs on. Oh, btw, it does look great.:hail:

 

Man, I just polished up my old runners this weekend to put up on Ebay. It was easy work to get it as far as I did, but man, oh man did I look like I worked in a coal mine when I was done! Covered from brow to hairline and from nose to the collar on my shirt with dark black "soot" looking stuff. I looked like a reverse racoon! Next time, I'm using a full face shield instead of safety goggles only!



Here's a pic. I could have gone much more shiney, but I get bored easily and thought this looked good enough for my "junk" going up on Ebay...

 

Your polishing vastly improved since I saw those first pics. Good job.
Have fun on the runners, haha these things will make the veins in your forhead pop up when you try to polish the back side.
They are by far the hardest thing to polish, even harder than some rims!!

 

I want to find out how you polish the flanges. Do you have AIM or something? Lets talk

 

Thanks guys, right now I am working on a throttle body to put on with this plenum but hopefully I will pull one of my runners off and throw on an older one that I have and start sanding it. I will prob start a new thread for them though b/c I know I will run into probs.

 

Most likely a vibration or tumbler type of polisher. I've been thinking of building one of those for a looooooooong time...

 

I don't believe so. Also, I've played with those with little luck. Felt bobs and small buffing wheels are the best way for the flanges. Tapered rolls to sand them.

I could be wrong, that's my guess. Mikes the daddy at polishing, so I guess he'll correct me if wrong.

 

Thats pretty much what I do. I've never tried one of the vibrating polishing tumblers. From what i've heard they dont do that great of a job. Anyways I perfer the hands on sanding, wouldnt want the tumbler messing up the tubes afterall.

 

Well i finally got it installed

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...32#post1722632

 

I polished my rims and only sanded and wet sanded then used AutoSol a aluminium polish and this is the result I got.

 

Some vavle covers I'm doing right now. All sandpaper. I used a DA Sander on the flat parts. 180, 220, 400, 600, 1200, then 2000 by hand. and this pic is with one quick rub of polish.

I haven't gotten to use tripoli or any other buffing compounds because I haven't been able to find any so I can't compare results between the two other methods