To those with polished/coated intakes.....

[Fighting5thSVT]

I just removed my stock upper IC and upper intake. I am going to have them blasted and cleaned up. I cannot decide on which direction I should go. I am really leaning toward a shiny silver/gray powdercoat, but I still love the look of the chrome/polished.

I have done searches and found some good underhood pics (http://www.syty.net/forums/showthread.php?t=66752&highlight=engine+bay+pic), but I was wondering if those of you who have had something like this done would chime in? Maybe post a pic of what you had done and how much $$$ it cost so I have a ballpark figure and idea when I make my decision. Any excuse to post a pic of your truck is a good one:tup:

Thanks in advance!

I found this to be one of the best so far- but it started over 2 years ago.....
http://www.syty.net/forums/showthread.php?t=50258&highlight=powdercoat+intake

 

[Sean Krupa]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

Here is my polished engine. My dad got this done many years ago at Sound Performance in IL. Many people say that polishing takes a lot of work, which it does, but when you get done, you don't have to keep polishing it everyday in order for it to look good. I polish mine once a month, just because I love polishing. Like I said, my dad got this done many years ago and it still looks just as good as it was new.

 

[jpalmer]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

well you can cut the chase out and buy my shiny gray upper intake (only the upper) and intercooler. pm me if interested

 

[bezerk]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

Here is my polished engine. My dad got this done many years ago at Sound Performance in IL. Many people say that polishing takes a lot of work, which it does, but when you get done, you don't have to keep polishing it everyday in order for it to look good. I polish mine once a month, just because I love polishing. Like I said, my dad got this done many years ago and it still looks just as good as it was new.

dayum...i thought about doing it., but than again it ain't my thing to keep things that clean but it sure is rocking

 

[Fighting5thSVT]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

[/QUOTE]

I hate your engine bay....

...hate it because its in your truck and not mine:tup:

 

[nello]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

My intake and the alternator blades are powdercoated, the W2A cooler is duplicolor spraypaint. Like $100 total. I wanted to go chrome on my first truck cause the body and everything else on it was real nice, bling, bling.

My current truck I'm looking for the rat rod/sleeper look. The paint is a bit ruff but everything else is cherry. I don't plan on changing the paint...for now, so for my truck black powder was the way to go. :tup: If you put chrome in, my opinion anyway, ALLLL your truck has to be tight. And if your truck is almost perfect and you can afford it, fvckin-A, get the chrome!

 

[4C FED]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

I think I spent close to $300 for all of my powdercoating.
Upper & lower intakes, IC tubing, both front engine brackets & the tensioner pulley. The Super Chrome is a 2 step coating proceess so it costs a little more.

 

[gt67sy]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

4cfed

how does the super chrome powder coat compare to real chrome?

For the guys that say chrome won't do well with the heat. I see guys will chromed upper intakes and chrome a/w intercooler how much less heat do they see compared to the lower intake, or valve cover? Everyone say the chrome won't last on a lower intake does it get that much hotter the the upper or the ic?

 

[4C FED]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

4cfed

how does the super chrome powder coat compare to real chrome?

For the guys that say chrome won't do well with the heat. I see guys will chromed upper intakes and chrome a/w intercooler how much less heat do they see compared to the lower intake, or valve cover? Everyone say the chrome won't last on a lower intake does it get that much hotter the the upper or the ic?

I can't speak from a practical use standpoint since the Ty is waiting to get the block machined. From a visual comparison there is none. Chrome is superior in appearance. The Super Chrome does have a very hard surface, but the shine is nothing like chrome.

If you could find some place that does it, look at my Edelbrock waterpump. It has the Endurashine finish on it. It is much more like a polished aluminum yet doesn't require all of the maintenance.

 

[Spinall4]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

You will never get the look of real chrome from powder. I've tried all the "chrome" powders, and none of them are close to real chrome. I think the chrome powders are some of the biggest let downs beacuse they look nothing like real chrome.

Best way to get that look is to have the metal polished, then a clear powder coat over. Then you have the polished look with the care of powder. Can be pricy since you have to pay for polish and coating.

Care for powder is nice and simple. You can wax if you want, clean up with soap and water. Some people use windex. No brake clean, no acetone, nothing you wouldn't use to clean paint with.

If done right, the powder coated parts will probably out last the truck. Life on most powders is 10-15 years or more. Seems like all the chrome I see these days is peeling. cost for cost top quality powder coating is still much cheaper than chrome. No worries about the parts being ruined if the finish does start coming of at some point as powder can be chemically stripped.

They have some crazy powder colors out these days. Florescent, candy colors, flat anodized colors, veins, wrinkles, sparkles, I shot one powder that is a gloss black base with a clear top coat. The clear top coat has sparkles in it that color change from green to blue to purple (reminds me of a mystic cobra).

 

[UK-Ty]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

dayum...i thought about doing it., but than again it ain't my thing to keep things that clean but it sure is rocking

Rene i thought you liked polishing, remember how much fun you had polishing my wheels:lol:

 

[Quickstop [UK]]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

Rene polishes some things daily.

 

[SY2932]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

If I had to guess, I would say that I have about $20 worth of sandpaper, cartridge rolls, buffing compounds, and metal polish to do mine:

Of course that doesn't include the cost of the equipment to use some of that stuff... The real killer is the time. I have over 100 hours of labor in my upper and intercooler.

Expect to pay several hundred to have someone do it. I would NOT recommend trying to clean up the welds on the intercooler. It is too easy to sand through. Others have had the same experience as me and I took my time trying to be careful. The cost will be even more if you have it chromed. Getting anything chromed is a crap shoot in my book since the aluminum used (at least on my truck ) is pretty crappy. Lots of voids and questionable purity. I know one member on here who has a chromed upper had it done several times before it came out satisfactorily due to bubbles from out gassing. Even then, he said it started to peel off after several months...

 

[gt67sy]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

Mike,

do u still have ur how to, up for people to see the process of polishing the intake? I have a Pontiac/Brodix Hi-rise intake I want to do. What are I using to get in the cracks and hard to reach place? Cartridge rolls up to what grit?

 

[dutchty]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

If I had to guess, I would say that I have about $20 worth of sandpaper, cartridge rolls, buffing compounds, and metal polish to do mine:

...

Jeeez, thats one good looking buffed piece of aluminium:lol:

After polishing, do you threat it with some kind of protector or sealer against the elements???

 

[SY2932]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

Mike,

do u still have ur how to, up for people to see the process of polishing the intake? I have a Pontiac/Brodix Hi-rise intake I want to do. What are I using to get in the cracks and hard to reach place? Cartridge rolls up to what grit?

Yes I do. It's in the Member's Projects & Photos section here. Yes, you will need *small* cartridge rolls to get into the tight spots. All the info that you need is in my write up. To date no one has completed anything. They all give up after they realize how time consuming it is :lol:. At least my bud who donated his intake for my write up, got his done for free .

 

[cloneman315]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

powder coat,polish is way to much for a daily driver.

 

[SY2932]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

Jeeez, thats one good looking buffed piece of aluminium:lol:

After polishing, do you threat it with some kind of protector or sealer against the elements???

Thanks. Nope I don't use any kind of clear coat on anything since everything that I have seen and tried dulled the reflectivity. The only product that I haven't tried is Zoop seal but it's kinda pricey and has to be stripped and reapplied eventually. Everything gets hand polished with Auto Wenol every other week or so.

 

[SY2932]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

powder coat,polish is way to much for a daily driver.

I agree 100%. The ugly side of a "clean" engine bay is it looks really sharp when it's clean. But it really looks like hell when it's dirty since you can see *every* speck of dirt. I drive my truck less than 3,000 miles a year. At times it can be very easy to go overboard. You just have to remember that it will be driven at some point. Not parked in your living room :lol:...

 

[Fighting5thSVT]

Re: To those with polished/coated intakes.....

I think I will be leaning toward the powdercoated. Probably a shiny gray or silver. Looking toward more of a silver right now. Thanks for the input. Anyone else with a nice gray or silver, feel free to chime in with a pic!

:tup: