just ordered my bench buffer, wheels, tripoli, and compoud



will post pics soon



thanx for this thread



thanx

mike

 

heres some parts i did installed



[attachment=28403:attachment][

 

NICE

 

BLAH

 

For parts like the UIM and the crossover pipe.. alternator... etc.. couldn't you just clear coat them? cut down on the need to poish greatly i would think?

 

[quote name='blitzedrx7' date='Apr 20 2005, 11:21 AM']For parts like the UIM and the crossover pipe.. alternator... etc.. couldn't you just clear coat them? cut down on the need to poish greatly i would think?


[/quote]





The clear coat does not hold it's shine for very long. It also yellows some if oil gets on it. I did my lower intake and i would not do it again. It is better to not clear them. At least then when they get kinda dull you can repolishe them with a rag some. When they are cleared and they dull off ( and they do) your kinda stuck with it unless you want to take the part completely off the car again and strip the clear then re-buff.

 

[quote name='amp' date='May 13 2004, 05:32 AM']cant get into the nook and crannies..

example bein the area below the uim where the nipples are..

dont see how it can be accessed without havin to blast it...

abrasive cones wont do.. too tight

so the question is.. do yall bypass certain areas when polishin..


[/quote]

bump... I have this same question too.



1) I started my first polishing project today using 5" sanding disk with a drill which is working pretty well. I also bought a dremel and it came with some small sandpaper drums. These seem to work for a little bit but then they start falling apart(tearing/all the grit comes off). I saw some grinding/emory cones for the Dremel that look like they would help a lot, but are these to harsh on the aluminum?



2) Anyone ever use a wire wheel to sand down the pits? How about the Nylon wheels?



3) I guess a good example would be the coolant filler neck/thermostat housing... what tools/bits would be best for polishing this?



Any help is greatly appreciated.



-Mike

 

Damn that looks like a PITA.

 

Update:



Well I went ahead and bought wire wheels to use with the dremel. Picked up two types, 'Carbon Steel Brushes' which didn't seem to do a whole lot for smoothing it down, and 'Stainless Steel Brushes' which I thought were going to be too rough on the aluminum but they actually worked great. I was able to get into the small areas I missed yesterday.



I also bought a nylon wheel for the drill. I only got the 'fine' nylon wheel but they also had 'medium', did not see a 'course' one at Home Depot. This nylon wheel worked awesome for smoothing after the initial sanding. I will definitly be using these from now on.



Here are some pics I took along the way... let me know how I can improve anywhere. Thanks again.



Original part(rear turbo inlet pipe)...





Sanded with 40-grit...





Sanded with 80-grit...





Sanded with 'fine' nylon wheel, 400-grit, then 600-grit...





It started to get dark and I think needed to do a little bit more sanding but I wanted to see what kind of results the buffing would give. This was about 40min of buffing with tripolli and rouge. It still needed a little more but it got too dark out and I really couldn't see what I was doing.

 

lookin good wrex...

go up to 1200 grit to get that mirror finish..

check here