SmoothSteve3 Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Hey everyone- I'm in the mood to do some engine dress-up today........I was thinking of polishing the top of it so i can get that "3.1 Multi-Port FI" looking nice and shiny. I was thinking about using a dremmel tool with a steel wool piece on it..........or maybe sand paper.........anyone got any suggesstions? Thanks. SmoothSteve3 1990 Chevy Lumina 3.1 Liter V-6 Ride on White Lightning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92turboLE Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 soft wire brush is the best way to go.... you wont get it shiny shiny in the polished wheel sense unless you plan on putting some serious time into it like i did mine... but a wire wheel brush for a drill works awesome to bring it back to the "freshly cast" look. i actually got another one that i took, painted black, then took a belt sander to the top of it to smooth out all the stuff on the little rectangles and the lettering, then went to town with a sanding block and sandpaper, going from 240 grit all the way to 2000 grit, then polished the shit out of it with a machine, then by hand with some shit called Semichrome, then clearcoated the whole thing, it looks trick as all hell.... or if your just lazy, tape it off and spray paint it silver again - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted August 14, 2003 Report Share Posted August 14, 2003 400 grit sand paper works good. Aluminum color Dupli-color spray paint works wonders too Robby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomeoZ34 Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 I started w. 100 grit, then worked my way down to 1000 grit, going down at 100 grit intrevals. Then I used aluminum polish for about an hour. Mirror finish now, I just have to keep it clean now! Its definately worth the time, however, I dunno how hard it would be on your 3.1. I know it kicked my ass and took forever on my DOHC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92turboLE Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 I started w. 100 grit, then worked my way down to 1000 grit, going down at 100 grit intrevals. Then I used aluminum polish for about an hour. Mirror finish now, I just have to keep it clean now! Its definately worth the time, however, I dunno how hard it would be on your 3.1. I know it kicked my ass and took forever on my DOHC. the pic in my sig is when i first started the plenum. I had a seperate one, and a belt sander that helps a lot too. as of now, it has been sanded with 3000 grit and then polished via machine with mothers aluminum polish, then by hand with Semichrome polish. then cleaned with acetone, the plenum was painted black with the boxes and lettering on top polished. then 7 layers of clear, then over the clear with 3000 grit then polished with Meguires Deep Crystal polish, then Meguires wax. This thing looks like something off of a show car. the top is mirror finish, and the rest is gloss black. all was done with high temp engine emanel. i also did my front valve cover the same way. my t-stat housing is polished, motor mounts are repainted white then cleared, anything cast was painted black and anything that looked good polished is polished. Im almost halfway tempted to get another intake and go to toown with a dremel and polish the WHOLE THING and see how it looks. i dont know if im up for that kinda work though. we'll see. now i just have to put my engine back together with my supercharger and do the swap. - Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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