- Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:43 pm
#511
The best way to polish/ cleanup that ugly Valve cover
and
This being my first polishing project, I set my self back a couple of steps by sand blasting it first and creating more texture for me to have to wet sand down. Just use a degreaser to remove all the grime and your sanding will be less. Here's what you need:
-A variety of wet sanding paper, I had
240 grit
320 grit
400 grit
600 grit
1000 grit
1200 grit
1500 grit
2000 grit
- Mother's Wheel polish
- Blue Magic Wheel Polish - optional
- any automotive carnuba type paste wax in a can
- clear angine enamel - optional
I statred to sand with 240 grit because I sandblasted. You can prob start with 400.
Sand until the surface is smooth, then move up to the next highest grit. The important thing is not to rush. Be sure you sand long enough to remove the scratches left from the previous grit sand paper. If you rush you will find that you will be sanding more with a higher grit (which has a finer & less powerful cutting power) to remove some of the left over deeper scratches from the earlier more coarse sand paper. For small areas you can wrap a piece of paper around a pencil on the eraser end, or folding and using the edge will work.
You will see the aluminum starting to get a slight luster after 600 grit, and more from there on.
I couldn't find 800 grit in any store where I live, so I had to sand probably twice as long with the 1000 grit.
1500 grit
as you move up in the grits, it will start to get shinier... 2000 grit
mothers wheel polish will make it look almost like chrome. Use a rag you don't need and put some Mother's on and rub it in. The surface will start to shine and the towel will turn black. then wipe the haze off with a clean part of the rag.
After you have polished the whole thing with Mother's, I found a product called Blue Magic which will actually make the surface a little brighter. It is not abrasive like Mother's but it does remove any of the black residue that your rag did not pick up.
Next you need to clean it off with dish soap and be sure all oil, grease and dirt is off. Then you can paint it with clear engine enamel if you wish, or put a coat or 2 of automotive wax on as if you were waxing your car's paint. This will help protect the surface. If you drive in winter, do the clear coat. I didn't and I needed to polish mine again after 1 winter.
here it is compared to the stock valve cover. the D15b7 one was painted. A good way to remove the paint is Aircraft Remover paint stripper. Just use it in a vented area and don't get any on yourself!
a couple more pics before i installed it on the car for the first time:
Last edited by teal_dx on Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
