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Polishing How to's
So you have seen the shops selling the "Bling Bling" polished compressor housing, and think to yourself, "Man, I wish I had paid the extra $75 for that? Well, good thing you didnt. Polishing is not some some ancient art form that only shops are able to do. Its actually very easy. Almost anything can be polished. This is a how to for a compressor cover, but applies to any metal.
Materials and tools needed:
1) 1 pack of 220 grit automotive "wet" sandpaper
2) 1 pack of 300-320 grit "wet" sandpaper
3) 1 pack of 400 grit "wet" sandpaper
4) 1 pack of 600 grit "wet" sandpaper
5) 1 pack of 1000 grit "wet" sandpaper
6) 1 pack of 1500-2000 grit "wet" sandpaper
7) 1 small can of Mothers Mag & Alluminum polish
Note(you wont need much of any of the paper. Buy the smallest & cheapest packs avaiable)
If you have access to a die grinder, USE IT! It will cut a few hours off the time. Use it with a rolok disk. Either the purple(alluminum) or brown(steel) Be carefull with the brown
disk. It will cut through alluminum very quickly. If you are not confident using a die grinder, I suggest doing the job totally by hand.
Using either the die grinder or 220 paper smooth out the casting marks. Sand out any numbers or letters on the housing. This is the worst part of the job if you dont have a die grinder.
Next, use the 300 grit. Get a bucket of water and a chair. Start wet sanding all the scratches out. Clean the housing and the paper often in the bucket of water.
Continue with the 400 and 600 grit in the same way. The housing will get smoother and smoother with each grit. And the bucket of water will be about black at this point.
Now the 1000 grit. Same way, with the water. At the end of this step, the compressor housing will be pretty shiny, and as smooth as glass. Your fingers, on the other hand, will be sore, black, and pruny.
Final sanding is 1500-2000 grit. This will take out any surface sratches. and leave the housing perfectly smooth. When your done, clean the housing with soap and water.
The housing will look great at this point. Super shiny. Time for it to look like a mirror! Crack open the Mothers mag and alluminum polish. Mothers also has a new polish called BILLET Polish, which I think does a better job. Grab some rags and go to town. The end result will amaize you.
Total time for this project will vary. I am able to polish a housing in about 2 hours, using a die grinder in the first step. My friend did his without a die grinder in 12 hours. But, like I said. If you dont trust yourself with the die grinder, dont use it. The alluminum is very soft, and can be easily damaged if you are not carefull. Happy polishing.
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Dave
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