87uk944t

Was bored today so took off stock intercooler pipes and gave them a buff up, i spent about 2 hrs on them, including removal and refitting and i think that they look not too bad what do you think

Sam Lin

I think you attached the wrong image, but I'm sure they look nice.

Sam

87uk944t

DOH!!!! posted wrong pic, should have been this one

schnellfahrer

Hmmm. Mine are black. How did you get them like that?

87uk944t

I used a sandpaper flapper wheel in a drill first which removed most of the black coating, then i used two grades of sandpaper, one quite rough, one quite smooth, then lastly i used a product called 'brasso' (not sure if that is just available in uk??) to put a polished finish on them and they came out pretty damn good, i reckon given a little bit more time they could look great!!

MichelleJD

They look great! I may do that to mine

Brasso is available over here. I love the look of a brass patina and have used Brasso to remove the laquer coating so the brass oxidizes. Works great!

87uk944t

Anyone know where i can buy just the 4 rubber boots from in blue ( 2 intercooler boots, the throttle body boot and the rubber hose to the turbo)????????

black944 turbo

What are the IC pipes made of? I thought the they where mild steel, so wouldn't they rust? I may be completely wrong and this may be a stupid post. Just curious, cuz I would love to do this to my car. BTW that looks awesome.

Mike Murcia

They are aluminum. The black "coating" is actually anodized aluminum. I originally tried sanding, and it will work, but it takes a lot of elbow grease. The easiest, laziest way to remove the black is to usa a little basic chemistry. Brush on a concentrated lye (NaOH) solution (can buy it in the cleaning aisle of the supermarket) and wait. After a few minutes, the surface will bubble up and you can use a scotch brite pad to scrub it down. Don't leave it on the pipes too long, as it will eventually dissolve the whole pipe. Also, use it in a well ventilated area, and do not get any of the lye solution on your skin. It's nasty stuff, but it works very well. Some have suggested oven cleaner (also NaOH based), but I found it to be too weak for my liking. Once the pipes are clean, rub them down with your favorite metal polish. I am all about making jobs easier, so I used a buffing wheel on the bench grinder to give a mirror finish. Good luck!

DDP

What exactly do you use to make it chrome like that? I thought you actually had to take it some place to get it chromed...no? What stuff do you guys use? Looks great!

Crazy Eddie

Hey Mike
What did you do to the intake ? That look really nice !!
Is that just sanded and polished as well ? if How ?
regards
Ed

KuHL 951

Nice job Mike! I didn't even know 1/2 those parts that you polished were aluminum. And I'm bitching about how long it's taking to polish a set of phone dials. If you'll share, after stripping, what's your sequence with compounds and buff wheel types? I have all the stuff from Tarheel but am still having problems with the final phase for that chrome-like look.
Steve

black944 turbo

Man, Mike that looks awesome. I don't know whether my car handle that much bling. Anyways, do you think its possible to get that kind of finish from just some elbow greese?

Mike Murcia

Thanks guys. I've had nothing chrome plated, just polished. It's surprising how easily most of the metal under the hood can be brought to a high shine. The intake manifold is the most difficult. Unfortunately, it has a pretty rough casting profile from the factory. The fastest way to smooth it out is to use a sanding pad on the rotary tool of your choice (drill, air grinder, etc.). Like stated before, start with a coarse grit and work your way to fine. I started with a 150 grit and only had the patience to go over it once more with 220. After that I went straight to the buffing wheel on the bench grinder using a coarse compound that is meant for stainless. This stuff can cut the soft aluminum fast and smooth out most of the remaining surface imperfections. It will actually cut the casting profile down if you really want to go that route. I just found that the rough surface was wearing through my cotton buffing pad too quickly.

The bench grinder can't get to all of the little crevices, so you have to improvise here. I used a high speed drill with a smaller felt tip cone to get into the tight spaces. By this time, the whole manifold should be smooth, but still somewhat dull. I then switched to the final polish to give that mirror shine. I like to use Mother's mag wheel polish for this. It gives a nice finish and is available just about anywhere.

All of this can be done without a bench grinder, but it will take much longer and more patience than I have. I have not personally used him, but I hear that Al Reed Polishing in California has done some 944 parts for some fellow listers if you can afford the downtime while he polishes for you. From what I hear, his prices are crazy cheap.

If you do choose to, or are polishing now, I will suggest ordering some good compounds from a polishing company. The ones I found at local stores were not worth messing with. I ordered some Fast Cut and Extra Fast Cut Stailess Steel Compound from Caswell plating. http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/compound4.html They have some other worthwhile accessories as well. No affiliation, just a shiny engine.

KuHL 951

Thanks-Just what I wanted to know. I never thought of using the SS compounds