Ive given in and joined the polishing gang.....

[makavelli]

still gutted from the badger incident so started some polishing of the insides seeing as the outside is battered lol
got the main bits done but will have to concentrate on the finer scratches when ive done the plenham as well

btw i know what guys and carbon were on about with the sore fingers! mine are aching like a mofo :clown:

 

[fUbAr]

Grade B - could do better

 

[RichMcc]

keep going you'll get there

 

[Jay]

looks mint!

 

[GarethM]

yeah!!! another who has joined the club!!! get used to the sore fingers after a while!!! lol
looks good dude still a lot of work still to do to get it mirror like!!!
but keep going

 

[makavelli]

any tips on getting the mirror finish? used the grades of wet and dry and then autosol followed by super resin but aint anywhere near mirror yet!!!

quite happy tho, took just 3 hours for this finish and already looks way better than standard

 

[howie p]

how do you do this?

looks great mate, going to to the manifold?

 

[GarethM]

you want to use the wet and dry, wet (if not already), use the 400 grade for ages to get the little scratches out, then as you have been doing going down the grades and use 1200 or 1500 for ages too.
when using the autosol keep rubbing the polish in until it is rubbed in and then using a clean or different part of the cloth RUB HARD putting alot of pressure on the metal and it should come up mirror like!!
it should look like this

 

[makavelli]

with a hell of a lot of rubbing lol
yeah the manifold (plenham) is next on the list once ive mastered my technique on this fuel rail cover

 

[makavelli]

you want to use the wet and dry, wet (if not already), use the 400 grade for ages to get the little scratches out, then as you have been doing going down the grades and use 1200 or 1500 for ages too.
when using the autosol keep rubbing the polish in until it is rubbed in and then using a clean or different part of the cloth RUB HARD putting alot of pressure on the metal and it should come up mirror like!!
it should look like this

i will have to get some 1500 cos have worked me way to the 1200 but then only lightly rubbed on the autosol!! will have to rub harder lol

 

[GarethM]

as well as your fingers hurting your arm will ache too!!! lol
im currently in the middle of doing the fuel rail guard/cover!

yeah 1500 grade is better i went to get some at halfords but they'd sold out!!

 

[RichMcc]

I am the zenn master..... I have no fingers left :S

 

[fUbAr]

the autosol is the key to success....

you have to rub bloody hard, thats what fucked my fingers up the most! lol

 

[howie p]

isnt there a drill attachment someone said...

 

[GarethM]

you started the manifold yet fubar?

 

[RichMcc]

isnt there a drill attachment someone said...

For the novice use flap wheels and dremels and stuff at your own risk...
IMO they remove too much material your much better off spending the time with sandpaper / wet and dry than trying to take short cuts with power tools. You'll gouge the metal and spend hours trying to put it right.
The only thing I would reccomend is a buffing wheel.

 

[howie p]

whats the difference between sand paper and wet/dry paper?

 

[RichMcc]

wet & dry is fine, sandpaper/ aluminium oxide paper is corse

 

[GarethM]

have to agree about using tools it takes too much off and goes very uneven!!! better to do it all by hand!!

 

[Guy]

hats off to you rich.. that looks mint. must have took hours and been very painful

was bad enough for me just doing the 4 tubes..

 

[Serg]

the biggest question i think is how are you guys working around and in the letters as that looks the hard bit and the bit that is putting me off

 

[LegoHead]

So shiny. well done guys. I'll be having a go after I finish uni.

How do you get in the awkward bits?

 

[Guy]

the biggest question i think is how are you guys working around and in the letters as that looks the hard bit and the bit that is putting me off

i left that bit.. looked VERY difficult..

 

[Rich]

They look great when done.

 

[Ali]

I don't have enought patience for that!!!! Well done tho!

 

[Tyson-182]

Looks mint guys! I think i may try it someday.......

Tyson.

 

[jon1]

Can someone please put up some sort of guide on how to do the polishing, i.e what to use and when?

 

[Adam]

will all these inlets coming off.....im getting the urgue to do mine soon.

 

[makavelli]

will all these inlets coming off.....im getting the urgue to do mine soon.

go on! you know u want to :rasp:

 

[Adam]

^^^.or mite just wait for carbon copy to finish his then swap em round when he is not looking...lol

a full step y step would be gould also...i.e how much of each product is needed etc.

 

[DH_GTI]

i cant wait to do one, at work we got all sorts of wet and dry/sandblaster then prob use some diamond paste, then i got some very fine abrassive rubbers, then autosol, it will be gleaming lol

 

[makavelli]

a tip: dont use power tools!!!

just need lots of wet and dry lol, just work your way through the grades! when you think you have got rid of all the scratches you can with one grade, move on to the next finer grade and so on untill you have used the 1200/1500! after that get rubbing with the autosol!

and prepare for rsi and sore fingers he he

 

[Serg]

how do you remove the fuel rail gaurd?

 

[makavelli]

how do you remove the fuel rail gaurd?

just replied to your other thread asking this

 

[Serg]

spotted thanx

 

[Christopher]

coming on son...

i feel a polished engine bay section at FCS is in order.

 

[caymanr26]

i feel a polished engine bay section at FCS is in order.

Im up for it!

 

[Guy]

lol.. i may be tempted by fcs afterall.. he he


just took my fuel rail protector off again and repolished it up as had a few little scratches in it.
happy with it again now

cant wait to get my colourcoded cover back
think i need to go buy some engine bolts n send them off to be chromed.

 

[dalla]

IMO, it is best to use sandpaper for smoothing out the subject, use no powertools here, as they do remove quite a lot material!!!!

But for the polisihing part, you can benefit from using a fixed electric motor/grinder, and a cloth pad like pictured!!! Also you will need a bar of hard wax, this will give you an ultra mirro finish!!! Afterwards you can remove the rest of the wax with autosol!!! You could get an extra cloth pad for this!!!

Motor with clothpad

Different types of wax!!

Check out:
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/index.html

 

[Guy]

IMO, it is best to use sandpaper for smoothing out the subject, use no powertools here, as they do remove quite a lot material!!!!

But for the polisihing part, you can benefit from using a fixed electric motor/grinder, and a cloth pad like pictured!!! Also you will need a bar of hard wax, this will give you an ultra mirro finish!!! Afterwards you can remove the rest of the wax with autosol!!! You could get an extra cloth pad for this!!!

Motor with clothpad

Different types of wax!!

Check out:
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/index.html

ive got one in my garage..

its too harsh on the soft alloy IMO..

did more damage than good.. put in loads of scratches. had to go back to 240 grit and start again to get them all out.

i used a flap wheel on a drill to remove the majority of the 'grain' on the inlet tubes though, but have to be very careful with these..