hey all! well tonight i started polishing a spare plenum that i have.....i got about 20 mins into it and thought "what the F**k have i gotten myself into!?"

just wondering if anyone else has done this to there car. and i mean done it yourself not paid a pro to do it.

anyways i spent around 2hours on it tonight and got this result (see pics) with a bit of elbow grease.

the first 2 intakes have been done with a flap wheel, then 120 grit paper, then wet n dry, then steel wool and the brasso.

the middle has been done with just the wheel, 120, wet n dry, and brasso.

and the last 2 have been done with the wheel, 120 and wet n dry.

for all the crooks and nannies, i plan to use a dremel..... and a sh!t load of time.

anyways, tell me what u think....and any suggestions!

cheers!

looks good
but you might want to seal it with clear coat or somthing
as when you want to degrease you engine the degreaser will dull the aluminium
but keep it up

Brass wire wheel maybe? Not steel, needs to be soft.

chuck one on an angle grinder and off you go.

I'd also suggest looking at hitting it with a buff wheel after the brasso. They can be fitted to big angle grinders, they are basically just a heap of cloth (calico, cotton or something) layers that looks like a grind wheel for a bench grinder.

Heaps good for plastics (remember using it in D&T/Metalwork in Yr 8 which is 14 years ago now :redface: ), I reckon it would make that shine nice.

Nice job. This is hard work.
I got all inspired after big bro (Mike Z on this forum) tricked up the engine bay of his 300zx
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4436&d=1099609711

I started buffing my back. After 1 hour, seemingly no return, apart from the dull aluminium becoming brighter, and a face full of alluminium grit, I relinquished, and just did a bit of cursing insted.

You've done a good job.

hey all! well tonight i started polishing a spare plenum that i have.....i got about 20 mins into it and thought "what the F**k have i gotten myself into!?"

just wondering if anyone else has done this to there car. and i mean done it yourself not paid a pro to do it.

anyways i spent around 2hours on it tonight and got this result (see pics) with a bit of elbow grease.

the first 2 intakes have been done with a flap wheel, then 120 grit paper, then wet n dry, then steel wool and the brasso.

the middle has been done with just the wheel, 120, wet n dry, and brasso.

and the last 2 have been done with the wheel, 120 and wet n dry.

for all the crooks and nannies, i plan to use a dremel..... and a sh!t load of time.

anyways, tell me what u think....and any suggestions!

cheers!

I feel your pain. I tried to do it myself with my DOHC plenum.

Got the ****s and painted the **** black lol

You did well however!

Should Hit It With Some Cleaning Acid First Makes The Job A Lot Easier

It's starting to look good. I've seen people use the "Scotch Brite" type polishing wheels with good results. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes for fitment to drills and die grinders. The wheels can be used for large open surfaces and disks can be used getting into crevices.

You may need to remove any large casting marks with a die grinder, or similar, before getting into the really fine polishing.

You're on the way, Keep it up.

il have another go at it tonght....

i was thinking to only polish the 6 main inlets, and the writing on the top of it, and then do everything else in a black or a grey....

check out the pic, and take note of my great use of MS Paint lol at self!

*red is what il polish, green will be painted*

please give me your suggestions..... :)

looking good mate.

I took the paint off my intercooler on Saturday, used Septone Automotive Paint Stripper, waited about 30 mins for it to take affect and then used my high pressure hose to remove the paint.

Dried it off and then went to work with a mildly abrasive polishing compound. I didnt get all the nicks out (from rocks) as the drill gave up the ghost.

I used my cheap and crappy Ozito rechargable drill to do a mild polish using the polishing compound.

It came up like the below.

I will take the IC off again when i buy a dremel and finish the job. - I put a clear coat on the IC aswell just incase of corrosion and the like..

Whoever said to acid dip aluminium either a) hasnt a clue or b) is stupid..

Ill post up a few pics of the polishing compounds and wheels to use. You can get the angle grinder attachments for 20 each (2 types, 1 for polishing, 1 for cutting back)

The compounds are $8 each and will last forever.

Need a bigger IC bain...lol

If you could post up what wheels to use that'd be awesome, i really am clueless in this feild

']Need a bigger IC bain...lol

If you could post up what wheels to use that'd be awesome, i really am clueless in this feild

That IC is good for 280 - 300rwkw's.. It will be probably the last thing i do..

That IC is good for 280 - 300rwkw's.. It will be probably the last thing i do..

You're a ford boy you might know... do other owners of XR6T's get annoyed that the cooler isn't symmetrical or even centered? Some mightn't have a problem with it but it ****s me to tears :rant:

You're a ford boy you might know... do other owners of XR6T's get annoyed that the cooler isn't symmetrical or even centered? Some mightn't have a problem with it but it ****s me to tears :rant:

Probably (i dont know) to reduce the amount of bends in the pipework leading to the throttle body?

++++
Greetings All.


That IC is good for 280 - 300rwkw's.. It will be probably the last thing i do..

Pfft...come on bain...that intercooler is good for a coffee rest...you know it isnt that flash...:doubt:

I seriously doubt it would be good for 280rwkw-300rwkw...

Anyways...

The plennum polishing job looks the treat...thats conviced me to get off my bum and do it myself...:D

Cheers,
--Tonba
++++

++++
Greetings All.
Pfft...come on bain...that intercooler is good for a coffee rest...you know it isnt that flash...:doubt:

I seriously doubt it would be good for 280rwkw-300rwkw...

Anyways...

The plennum polishing job looks the treat...thats conviced me to get off my bum and do it myself...:D

Cheers,
--Tonba
++++ Well Tonba, youre seriously wrong :)

I will bet my entire years salary the stock intercooler is good up to 300rwkw's (and more) care to match my bet?

*edit: Thought id add in here... head on over to www.fordxr6turbo.com and then tell what youve said here :) *


As to it being off centre, nah not many people care..

Oh I'm sure that it can handle the kW's Bain but a bigger one would have a higher cooling effect and would probably flow better. So that 300rwkW car would suddenly jump up a bit with a real intercooler:)


il have another go at it tonght....

i was thinking to only polish the 6 main inlets, and the writing on the top of it, and then do everything else in a black or a grey....

check out the pic, and take note of my great use of MS Paint lol at self!

*red is what il polish, green will be painted*

please give me your suggestions..... :)
Oh go black go black :bouncin:! Or a gunmetal style grey. That'll look pretty damn nice once it's done.

hmm gun metal grey.......thatl look good!

im going to get some polishing stuff now so ill get stuck into it asap!

nice job i might do it on my intake plenum one day on my day off:think:

Has anyone done this to their brake Calipers?!

Before people get too enthused about stripping paint off aluminium alloy components, many components have a coating on them, even if it's only clear, to reduce the maintenance required.

Whilst it's true that aluminium forms oxides that act to protect the surface from further oxidisation, if you add road grit and water, the oxide layer will be abraded.

So, polished surfaces look good, but will probably require a clear coat, polish, or more work to keep looking that way, and more so on external components.


PS. Bain, if you mod that VRX any more it'll end up a dead ringer for a BA XR6.

Has anyone done this to their brake Calipers?!


nice idea.........

Quote:
Originally Posted by onkytonk
Has anyone done this to their brake Calipers?!


nice idea.........

Yeah, the guy who owned the car before me painted the calipers yellow, and i'm not too taken by them...

So yeah, shiny A$$ calipers would look hot. but a little bit more awkward than the plenum.

does anyone know how much $ you would be looking at to get a used (or new) plenum from a wreckers? for a 2.6L 4cyl TR.