polishing cobra intake and accersory brackets
03-30-2007, 12:01 AM
#1
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polishing cobra intake and accersory brackets
ok i have a cobra... the stock upper intake is a satin finish... well i wanna make it a nice polish aluminum finish... any1 have ne ideas on how to do this??? Is the satin finish a spray type of finish?? or is it the actually aluminum?? also i wanna polish my asseceory brakets too... they shouldnt be as hard tho.. i dont think so newayz... they have a naturaly aluminum finish. Any ideas or suggestions???
03-30-2007, 12:21 AM
#2
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Location: Hamilton, NJ
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RE: polishing cobra intake and accersory brackets
There are a few tech articles online on how to do this. Check my cardomain (BigBlueGT) on the third page, I may have some tech articles on there. Anyway, I was talking to someone about polishing my brackets for me and he said that some of the brackets are not worth polishing because they just end up looking like **** in a few months... I forget which ones though [&:]Just thought I would throw that out there though.
03-30-2007, 05:39 PM
#5
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RE: polishing cobra intake and accersory brackets
This is a step by step guide I found a while back.
GUIDE TO POLISHING ALUMINUM
There are many items underneath your hood that can be polished to a chrome like appearance. The example I will use in this guide is the upper intake manifold on the 5.0 Mustang GT.
The first step for this job is the hardest part. You will need to get all of the cast off of the intake. Sandblasting will get most of it off but you will probably need a good air grinder with a wire brush attachment. Once this step is complete you will have a dull aluminum look instead of the grey look.
The next few steps are very time consuming so take your time and be patient. You will be glad you did when the job is finished.
It is time now to wet sand, wet sand, and then wet sand some more. Sanding by hand produces the best results. Start with 320 grit sand paper. Make sure it is the kind used for sanding aluminum. 3M makes it and it can be found at any Wal Mart. Throughout the whole process you will want to sand in the same direction, making sure the sandpaper is wet at all times. Sand until all the deep scratches are gone that were made from the step before.
After going through this process with 320 grit, go through the same process with 600 grit, 800 grit, and 1500 grit. Again, each time you move to a finer grit, all your trying to do is to get the scratches out that you made from the grit before.
By this time your intake should be looking pretty smooth. After using 1500 grit you probably could move on to the polishing process, but you have already put this much time into it why not go one last step and use 2000 grit. This will ensure that no scratches are left.
It is now time to polish your intake, but first clean it with rubbing alcohol. This will ensure that no sandpaper particles are left.
To polish the intake I highly recommend buying a Mothers Power ball. It attaches right into a hand drill and does an amazing job. Working on one small section at a time apply a small amount of Mothers aluminum polish and polish with the power ball. Once you have polished the whole thing you can go back at wipe it off with a soft cloth and the job is through.
GUIDE TO POLISHING ALUMINUM
There are many items underneath your hood that can be polished to a chrome like appearance. The example I will use in this guide is the upper intake manifold on the 5.0 Mustang GT.
The first step for this job is the hardest part. You will need to get all of the cast off of the intake. Sandblasting will get most of it off but you will probably need a good air grinder with a wire brush attachment. Once this step is complete you will have a dull aluminum look instead of the grey look.
The next few steps are very time consuming so take your time and be patient. You will be glad you did when the job is finished.
It is time now to wet sand, wet sand, and then wet sand some more. Sanding by hand produces the best results. Start with 320 grit sand paper. Make sure it is the kind used for sanding aluminum. 3M makes it and it can be found at any Wal Mart. Throughout the whole process you will want to sand in the same direction, making sure the sandpaper is wet at all times. Sand until all the deep scratches are gone that were made from the step before.
After going through this process with 320 grit, go through the same process with 600 grit, 800 grit, and 1500 grit. Again, each time you move to a finer grit, all your trying to do is to get the scratches out that you made from the grit before.
By this time your intake should be looking pretty smooth. After using 1500 grit you probably could move on to the polishing process, but you have already put this much time into it why not go one last step and use 2000 grit. This will ensure that no scratches are left.
It is now time to polish your intake, but first clean it with rubbing alcohol. This will ensure that no sandpaper particles are left.
To polish the intake I highly recommend buying a Mothers Power ball. It attaches right into a hand drill and does an amazing job. Working on one small section at a time apply a small amount of Mothers aluminum polish and polish with the power ball. Once you have polished the whole thing you can go back at wipe it off with a soft cloth and the job is through.
03-30-2007, 06:08 PM
#7
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RE: polishing cobra intake and accersory brackets
Using white rouge and a sewn buff would do a much better job of bringing out the shine than a powerball. I would estimate 12-16 hours to complete an intake and 2-3 hours for accessory brackets. Polishing alum is a hobby of mine...it takes alot of effort and time but the results are really worth while. As for sanding...I usually start at 80 work to 120 then 240 and finish with 320...anything else is just wasted effort and product...the white rouge will remove the fine scratches and provide the smooth flat surface that's required in order to achieve a mirror finish.
03-30-2007, 07:43 PM
#9
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RE: polishing cobra intake and accersory brackets
heres a pic from when i polished my MAF last summer, i did 80 grit, 120, 240, then 320 (i think those are the grits not sure), then with a buffer used tripoli then white rouge (dont mix the compounds you need to use separate wheels). i also did thethrottle body which was a pain, and the IAC. then i got lazy and didnt do anything else. you can also do the alt, ps, ac, and water pump
[IMG]local://upfiles/18146/00FA03AFC9F241C3A79FD7E523EB3CC6.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/18146/00FA03AFC9F241C3A79FD7E523EB3CC6.jpg[/IMG]
03-30-2007, 07:47 PM
#10
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: st clair shores MI
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RE: polishing cobra intake and accersory brackets
i would say that 2000 grit is overkill unless it's a show car.
1000 will be a mirror once it's polished
use power tools as much as possible !!!!!! the original finish is pianted, so it needs to be ground, stripped or sanded off. a belt sander does wonders to hog off the first layers
1000 will be a mirror once it's polished
use power tools as much as possible !!!!!! the original finish is pianted, so it needs to be ground, stripped or sanded off. a belt sander does wonders to hog off the first layers