Re: Polishing a turd
Thanks for all the recognition everyone, it's nice to know that other folks can appreciate something that consumes so much time over three months

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mattw said:
Mike,
I just have to know.. Did I inspire this?
-Matt
I was on the fence but you pushed me over on the polished side :lol: . I guess that's pay back for getting you started back when we first met at Spencer's place huh

? You're no slouch either, I have a ways to go to catch you:
The original source of inspiration for me was Richard Le's typhoon:
Of course anyone who has a detailed engine bay is on the list too. Folks like Bob Galla, Denny Raab, John Gerber etc. Seeing pics of a polished intercooler/upper intake is one thing but when you see it in person, it's pretty awesome. Definately one of those things that pics don't do justice to... I have always had an affinity for a detailed engine bay. The outside appearance is so so for me because everyone is going to see it. It takes true grit (or a lot of time or money) to maintain something that only a handful of people will ever see. That is dedication in my book...
As far as maintaining the finsh goes, Zoop seal is at the top of the list. However, I am going to try
Eastwood's Diamond Clear aerosol first. I actually bought the Diamond clear to do my
rims a few years ago but, I never used it. The Diamond Clear is supposed to be good to 300 degrees but it may slightly dull the reflectivity of the part. At $11.99 a can I'll try if first since Zoop's is over $100.
If there is some
GENUINE INTEREST in how to polish, I will post a detailed "how to" with pics. It seems to be some sort of "black art" affiliated with polishing for some reason since no one ever wants to share how it is done. One member when so far as to say in a post "I spent a lot of money on equipment to do this, therefore I will NOT share with you guys how it was done. However, send me your part(s) that you want polished and I will do it for a nominal fee" :roll:.
The reason why I didn't do my usual "photo documentary" of everything been done is I felt that it wouldn't even be worth my time to do a write up... When approximately 95% of the people see what it takes won't even try it. About 4% will try it only to give up once they see how time consuming it is. That leaves 1% to actually see it from start to finish. You can see what was required for my rims above and it's pretty much the same process that I used for my intercooler and upper intake. I am a machinist and cut aluminum molds all day. Sometimes I have to help with the secondary finishing on some of the molds that I cut. I now have a better understanding what it takes when working with aluninum as a result.
I will say if you are one of those individuals who thinks that you can buy
JUST a can of polish from the parts store and get the same results in a few hours time, polishing is definately
NOT for you...