Polishing 102 (my version) for the Noobies

[dvbrien]

I just had to post these pictures of the polishing job I did on the 20g, I think I did pretty dern good! "I feel pretty, oh so pretty..."

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Then I got real carried away and pulled my valve cover shaved and polished that too... If you look real close you can still see the ghosting letters coming through at a slightly differently color. I think it is because where the metal was thicker it changed the chemical makeup of the aluminum when heat was added over a long period of time.

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If you'd like to know what I did to polish everything... I used a 100 grit in a palm sander, (20 min) 4 pads, then repeated with 160 grit (20 min) 4 pads, Change your pads frequently, the aluminum is absorbed quickly into the paper. I then used a corded drill to power buff fine scratches with a pad that resembles a rough scotchbrite pad (45 min), Creates millions of tiny surface scratches that eventually blend the contour of the housing. I'd suggest using an abrasive polishing wax during this process every 5 min. Then get yourself a Buffing wheel (not the cushion, 2 seem stitching style) get the one that spirals from the center all the way out to .5 inch of the edge. Home Depot $6 dollars (where you get the wax too). Put on a Good quality grinder, use a finer wax for polishing metals and then... buff away! No elaborate long process necessary. When I got to the Buffing grinder wheel, I had an hour and a half invested; it took me 15 min. to complete the job.

With the Valve cover, Repeat the process after you grind and file the letters flush. 3 hours! But well worth it... Be prepared with Drinks within arms reach! Don't Be Scurd, Just do it! Do it!

 

[-DSM2NR-]

This is a very good tread. It should be put into the Tech Guide section for sure

 

[dsmgrimreaper]

looks awsome

 

[dvbrien]

I am working on a how to Video if anyone is interested. I will cover Porting / Polishing and maybe a couple of other things... If you have any ideas you'd like to see you can PM me or email [email protected] .
Thx again Guys!
dvb

 

[dvbrien]

Here is a sample video of the dvd I have put together... this is part 1 and I am planning a 4 part series. It covers the Big 16g polishing and if you are interested in buying a copy send me a PM or email me at [email protected]

http://webpages.charter.net/dvpros/PICTURES/Cars/muvee2.wmv

Enjoy, I made the Music / Vocals too if you know anyone looking to sign a good new artist. ( Yes I am White, You'll understand when you watch the video ).

 

[exile]

First off that is the funniest video editing I've ever seen for a tutorial. It's good.. just HILARIOUS. Good job on that

Can I use that technique on any metal and have it come out looking like that or only certain metals?

 

[Spidey]

Gave you some rep points, not sure if it made a difference, but thanks for the write-up

exile - aluminum and stainless steel are definitely polishable, not sure about any other metals.

 

[dvbrien]

The Video is clips from the dvd I put together, it's not like this during the "tutorial" as you state it. You can use the same techniques for almost any metal, Cast Iron will rust shortly after.
Glad you found it amusing.
dvb

 

[exile]

How many times can you do it? I'm sure it gets cloudy, once you polish it do you have to grind it down a lot or can you just wax it again? Does it hurt the intergrity of the metal?

 

[dvbrien]

Really just repolish... doesn't get cloudy at all, maybe I'm not sure what you mean.
can you clairify what you are asking if this hasn't answered your question...
dvb

 

[Black94DSM]

Here is a sample video of the dvd I have put together... this is part 1 and I am planning a 4 part series. It covers the Big 16g polishing and if you are interested in buying a copy send me a PM or email me at [email protected]

Ah quit holding back and just donate the vid to the DSM world. J/K man. I enjoyed the vid of showing somewhat how to do it. Looks good.

 

[dvbrien]

Ah quit holding back and just donate the vid to the DSM world. J/K man. I enjoyed the vid of showing somewhat how to do it. Looks good.

You know I may have done that, untill I read the Link that said submit 3 quality how to's for 1 T-shirt... It just got me thinking that, you know we are the ones that make up the forum, and make them what they are... When we submit something that we've spent a LOT of time on, only from the members (the real people) are we shown real appreciation. Then I read something like #4 on Luda's page here http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1752945&postcount=1 and I feel real irritated for some reason. I can't just submit the article, I have to make it a certain way to be accaptable and then do 3 different articles 3 times to get a freeking silk screen 10 dollar t-shirt. I just feel this is greedy and they get way more out of us than we do them. I'm saving people a shit ton of money. Not to mention my labor hours doing this stuff for everyone here is worth way more than 10 dollars. Don't mean to rant Just bothered... this just bothers me. If I sold a couple of videos I'd feel justified for doing all this work.
dvb

 

[solo92s10]

That turned out sweet. Great job and thanks for the post. Ive been thinking about trying this but now i am surely going to be doing it.

 

[Black94DSM]

You know I may have done that, untill I read the Link that said submit 3 quality how to's for 1 T-shirt... It just got me thinking that, you know we are the ones that make up the forum, and make them what they are... When we submit something that we've spent a LOT of time on, only from the members (the real people) are we shown real appreciation. Then I read something like #4 on Luda's page here http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1752945&postcount=1 and I feel real irritated for some reason. I can't just submit the article, I have to make it a certain way to be accaptable and then do 3 different articles 3 times to get a freeking silk screen 10 dollar t-shirt. I just feel this is greedy and they get way more out of us than we do them. I'm saving people a shit ton of money. Not to mention my labor hours doing this stuff for everyone here is worth way more than 10 dollars. Don't mean to rant Just bothered... this just bothers me. If I sold a couple of videos I'd feel justified for doing all this work.
dvb

I feel ya man. I can see where your comming from. Good job on the how to though

 

[Ludachris]

This is a great thread. dvbrien, make sure you add all the info you can to your tech article, including links to your video, etc. You can always Add to your article instead of editing it everytime. Also, if you could, please Attach your images to the article instead of linking off to an external site. This way, if that site ever goes down, we'll still have the photos.

Nice job.

 

[Gst18]

i was wondering how u polished the holes where the valve cover bolts go.?

 

[dvbrien]

There is a small polishing wheel that ROotozip makes it about 3 inches in diameter and fits in there pretty nicely... but, it will take a bit longer to do those.
dvbrien

 

[gammey4]

Dont forget to clearcoat those when you are done, to stop them from oxidizing over time. Nice job on those, I polish turbo's, valve covers, etc myself. Its always nice to make something ugly shiny and doing it yourself just makes it that much better.

 

[marcman804]

damn man you make wanna pull my 16g off of my car and try it. i sure wish i had time to do it.

 

[amaank]

Awesome write-up!

Well done!

 

[csgsx23]

Hey, Thanks for the write up. I was actually thinking of polishing my valve cover while my motor is out and thanks to you i have the inspiration to actually attempt it. Thanks for all the effort and keep it up.

 

[fwdturbobov1996]

not bad, not bad at all. Heres a local buddy of mines polishing job on a 4g63 valve cover. His supra engine bay is nothing but polished.

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[dvbrien]

Great to see this write up still pulling intrest... I spent a lot of time doing this stuff, It nice to know it's appreciated.

I'd like a picture of your friends engine bay...

 

[Gst18]

Great work..
I started mine and never finished...
I will post pics when mine is finished

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

That looks amazing.

 

[toojung2die]

Great information about polishing. I'll try this method if I want to polish any large parts. I use a polishing method that uses no power tools. It's probably best for smaller parts because of the labor required but it's easy to do. I attached a picture of a catch can I bought on eBay. It came with a bad blue paint job that chipped easy so I thought it would look better polished. I went to the auto parts store and bought an assortment pack of wet sandpaper (the black stuff) 220-1000 grits. I removed the paint with a wire brush being careful not to let the brush score the surface (10 min). Then I put the catch can in the kitchen sink and started wet sanding with the 220 grit. Wet sanding keeps the sandpaper from loading up with the aluminum dust. Take your time with the sanding and if you see any imperfections that are hard to sand out go back to the rougher grit and sand some more. When you get done with the 1000 grit the surface will look pretty nice, sort of a satin polish finish (1 hr total sanding time). You can stop there if you like it but I went for the mirror finish. I used good old Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish. It only took minutes to go from satin to shine (10 min). This polish is amazing. I can't believe I've lived this long and only discovered this wonderful stuff recently. It goes on like car wax and buffs off with a terry cloth towel. It even removed the discoloration from my polished stainless steel exhaust manifold cover and brought back the like new shine. I used this same progressive sanding and polishing method on my turbo when I ported it. It worked just as well on cast steel and resulted in a black mirror finish.