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VE Valve cover vent tube polished

Old Apr 20, 2004 | 02:01 AM
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VE Valve cover vent tube polished

A while ago I had wetsanded my Valve cover vent tube and IAC tube, but after a few months they oxidized

Well today I picked up some Mothers Metal Polish because PezKing4 recommended it to me a while ago and used it on the vent tube and woah! I thought I was going to have to break out the 2000 grit again but this stuff removed all the oxidation and brought back the mirror finish (actually, a better finish then I ever had before).

I tried to take a picture to show, I only have half the tube done, but the part before you cant see any reflections in it, but the polished part is like a mirror. IMHO the picture doesn't do it justice since when I took it I had only started then the camera ran out of batteries so I cant take a better picture

Vent Tube
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 05:22 AM
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dang thats pretty shinny looks good
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 05:40 AM
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Looks good dude!

Brian
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 06:18 AM
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Good job Shawny

btw, I need to talk to you later on about some VE fun..

-Les on mike's name
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 08:03 AM
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I would do that, but the rest of my engine bay needs so much work that it wouldn't be worth it. Looks great though.
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 08:22 AM
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looks nice Shawn, good job.
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 12:17 PM
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Another thing I noticed is this stuff will 'polish' the tube, so you dont have to sand it down or anything. (tried it on a unsanded section and surely enough, after alittle work it turned mirror finish). If your going to do it just mess around with it

One thing I did notice though, there is quite a bunch of crap inside the tube that I dont think was there a few months ago (pretty sure I cleaned it out last time I had it off
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 12:56 PM
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Good job! That looks real nice, almost exactly like chrome!
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 02:06 PM
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I put it back on the car

http://s92599732.onlinehome.us/images/Mothers/done.JPG

I'll try to get some better pictures later on. Too bad that intake manifold is going to be a PITA to polish, lol.
Old Apr 20, 2004 | 04:20 PM
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Looks real good, I like it.
Old Sep 23, 2004 | 08:51 AM
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did you coat it with anything or you just left it as bare metal

i sanded mine awhile ago, and used metal polish and it eventually turned to crap.... but now i sanded/wire wheeled it down again and this time im not letting it get ruined
Old Sep 23, 2004 | 09:32 AM
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Originally Posted by MrGone
I put it back on the car

http://s92599732.onlinehome.us/images/Mothers/done.JPG

I'll try to get some better pictures later on. Too bad that intake manifold is going to be a PITA to polish, lol.

It looks great. Mine looks like crap
Old Sep 23, 2004 | 10:25 AM
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Looks bling you guys sure are giving me idea's on sutble mods like this.
Old Sep 23, 2004 | 10:30 AM
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looks pretty nice
Old Sep 23, 2004 | 11:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Maximan190
did you coat it with anything or you just left it as bare metal

i sanded mine awhile ago, and used metal polish and it eventually turned to crap.... but now i sanded/wire wheeled it down again and this time im not letting it get ruined
First time, I just sanded it down and used some 2000 grit IIRC, I dont remember really. After a month or two it had oxidized (I believe thats the right term lol).

So after a while I took it back off and hit it with some mothers polish. I dont have the camera right now so I cant take a picture but here... *me runs and looks ) ok, there is slight "oxidation" or what looks like watermarks, but it is still a mirror finish. If I'm bored enough I might run a towel with mothers on it over it, but it really doesn't matter. I'm extremely pleased, its been what? 5 months and it still looks good.

The other option is the clear coat it with paint, however the heat might yellow it, plus it might be hard to get a good finish and not have runs/highspots/etc.


Now if I can just find a victim err someone to polish my Intake Manifold and valve covers lol.

edit: oh, thanks for the replies
Old Sep 23, 2004 | 11:39 AM
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hot i like ur tube
Old Sep 24, 2004 | 11:48 AM
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Originally Posted by MrGone
First time, I just sanded it down and used some 2000 grit IIRC, I dont remember really. After a month or two it had oxidized (I believe thats the right term lol).

So after a while I took it back off and hit it with some mothers polish. I dont have the camera right now so I cant take a picture but here... *me runs and looks ) ok, there is slight "oxidation" or what looks like watermarks, but it is still a mirror finish. If I'm bored enough I might run a towel with mothers on it over it, but it really doesn't matter. I'm extremely pleased, its been what? 5 months and it still looks good.

The other option is the clear coat it with paint, however the heat might yellow it, plus it might be hard to get a good finish and not have runs/highspots/etc.


Now if I can just find a victim err someone to polish my Intake Manifold and valve covers lol.

edit: oh, thanks for the replies
check it out what do you think of this gloss, i might use this..
Old Sep 24, 2004 | 12:12 PM
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thats pretty cool, hmmmmm




hmmmmmm lol
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 01:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Maximan190
check it out what do you think of this gloss, i might use this..
Now THAT isn't a bad idea.... and thanks for the info on the polishing, Shawn. That'll come in really handy, as that tube will now match my valve cover...
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 01:34 AM
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Originally Posted by nubiannupe
Now THAT isn't a bad idea.... and thanks for the info on the polishing, Shawn. That'll come in really handy, as that tube will now match my valve cover...
wanna polish my valve cover(s) and intake manifold for me
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 01:42 AM
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Originally Posted by MrGone
wanna polish my valve cover(s) and intake manifold for me
.... ....
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 01:44 AM
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c'mon
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 01:49 AM
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Originally Posted by MrGone


c'mon
Lemme think about that one - Using some info that I believe either Jeffy or Matt put out about polishing, I spent all winter working on my valve cover. And that was with a cordless dremel, though - working 5-10 min/week because of other commitments at the time.
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 06:37 AM
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i did my manifold.. i wire wheeled/sanded/wire brushed it lightly, didnt get it as shiny as the pipe but its got a slight shine to it, kinda like gunmetal now
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 07:55 AM
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the manifold is goign to be a royal PITA.. valve cover isn't as bad, but I've got at least 8 hours in mine and it's still not done. (the tube took about 10 minutes to polish on my buffing wheel.)

I finally just said screw it and I'm going to powdercoat all of it.
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 10:04 AM
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I took mine off this morning and polished the crap out of it{pita}. looks better,not as good as mrgones.too many pits.
Old Sep 25, 2004 | 11:29 AM
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you have to sand it down, it'll smooth out and look like a mirror. Matt and Nupe (and Joe) know why I'm trying to pawn off the valve cover and intake manifold job onto someone else

plus nupe did an awesome job on his
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