Need serious help with 'Intercooler polishing'

R

resek

New member
Hi guys,



I need some SERIOUS help here about : intercooler polishing.



Let's start.

Last year, beginning of summer, i 'tried' to polish my intercooler (go on SRT4) to a MIRROR finish.

My process looked like something :

wash with Simple green

wetsand 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200

wash with simple green

Red "small" mothers polishing ball with Mother mag/aluminium polish



polish

php8XwCCp.jpg


small ball

PowerBallMini_PowerMetal_330px.jpg




Results = nothing interesting ... i was angry!





I found a place(body shop) and they polished it for me. I was happy ... bot not 100%.

Results from the body shop :

DSC_0848.jpg


DSC_0851.jpg


Can you tell what you see in the "right tank" ? no ... that's my main problem. It sure shines, but it's definitely NOT a mirror finish like i want it to be.

DSC_0856.jpg


DSC_0857.jpg






Now, let's talk about serious results i'm looking for.

Here is some pictures that show EXACTLY what I want !



100_0775.jpg


100_1052.jpg


100_0863.jpg




Those guys claimed to use wetsanding + the same mother's polish i've used.



Anyone would know how i need to process to achieve this ?

process? products ? etc ?



Thanks a lot!

:ca
 
Maybe try finishing off with a finner sand paper (2500-3000) and a better polishing tip than the power ball.







kitcontents2.jpg
 
RaskyR1 said:
Maybe try finishing off with a finner sand paper (2500-3000) and a better polishing tip than the power ball.







kitcontents2.jpg
Click to expand...





Thanks a lot Rasky!

I have M105, i'll have PFW pads, orange pads.

Do you think i could try these ?
 
It is nice to see another SRT-4 owner on here...I think I have seen you on srtforums as well!



I have spent A LOT of time polishing aluminum bicycle parts and also an unpainted frame, and have found Simichrome to work really well. It is very hard to get a mirror finish but this has come the closest. Polish it progressively lighter with a MF cloth until you've put almost no pressure on it.



I have never found a good way to keep it looking good once I have done all that work, which is why I decided to not polish my BFMC...the bikes are a full time job, and the intercooler (and removing the bumper and crash bar) are just more than I can deal with right now!
 
I used M105 on stainless steel Borla exhaust and then used the Billt polish with a Powerball and it was like a mirror
 
if you hadnt even started with any sanding, i would say try meguiars hot rims mag and aluminum polish. i've had eccelent luck with it on aluminum (intakes, radiators, intercooler pipint, and an intercooler) and stainless.. but since you did start wetsanding, i agree with raskyr1 that you need to use a finer grit sand paper to finnish with. ive never wetsanded metal to get a mirror finnish though, but it makes sense.. but the hot rims is deffinatley a step above mothers when it comes to making metal like a mirror, in my opinion
 
IMHO, the powerball sucks A**!!! But the polish is great if used with a rotary. Even a DA would be considerably better than the powerball on a drill. A good pad, even a 4" for a drill or something, is exponentially better than that foam crap mothers sells. It's sad too, given that many of their products are top notch!
 
First off if you have sanded the part you will want to finish off with a grey scotchbrite pad, next using a cotton or wool pad and some Optimum Metal polsih you will obtain the results you are after.
 
I polished the Cti intercooler on my srt and thought it came out great.



On the first Cti intercooler i started with 200,400,600,800,1000 and then 1500.

I then hit it up with some eagle one wadding polish then finished up with a few coats of mothers polish

On my second intercooler i started with 600grit and so on



Some before

wintersrt08027.jpg
[/IMG]



DSC07599.jpg




DSC07609.jpg




50/50

DSC07612.jpg




DSC07621.jpg




DSC07624.jpg




and a few finished

DSC07645.jpg




DSC07640.jpg




DSC07642.jpg




Spring08052.jpg
[/IMG]
 
@ superchargedg = Good! Let me know my friend! Don't forget to take picture! =)



@ harold97 = What is your screen.name on srtforums ? Mine is resek, like here.



@ zaxjax = i think i'll give m105 a try with a 4" PFW.



@ jdizzle = well ... i sanded, but i brought the intercooler to a bodyshop, i don't know which step they've used to achieve this result.



@ reparebrise = Thanks a lot! Since we live in the same country, the "grey scotchbrite pad" can be found where ? canadian tire? wal-mart? I just added Optimum Metal Polish to my eshine order. I'll make sure to try this!



Thank you everyone for your help.

If any other know anything that could help me, feel free to post your ideas!

I'll keep everyone updated!

:ca
 
harold97 said:
It is nice to see another SRT-4 owner on here...I think I have seen you on srtforums as well!



I have spent A LOT of time polishing aluminum bicycle parts and also an unpainted frame, and have found Simichrome to work really well. It is very hard to get a mirror finish but this has come the closest. Polish it progressively lighter with a MF cloth until you've put almost no pressure on it.



I have never found a good way to keep it looking good once I have done all that work, which is why I decided to not polish my BFMC...the bikes are a full time job, and the intercooler (and removing the bumper and crash bar) are just more than I can deal with right now!
Click to expand...



I've heard of a product called ZoopSeal that a local guy uses when polishing motorcycle frames. Supposedly lasts a really long time, and protects that polished metal. Supposedly.
 
resek said:
@ harold97 = What is your screen.name on srtforums ? Mine is resek, like here.
Click to expand...



I am also Harold97 there.



The link to the how-to by efnfast looks really helpful. The parts that I have polished are too small or complicated to to use a machine that big, but the point that it is a multi-step process is very accurate! Aluminum shows EVERYTHING, and it is possible to undo much of the work you have done just putting a protective coat on it once you have made it perfect!



A lot of aluminum parts have been coated, and once you polish through that, it becomes much harder to keep them looking good without constant maintenance.



There is no way I can maintain a perfect finish through the sand and salt that we have in New England, so I have decided to just live with the dull finish. It also contrasts with the gloss on the paint! I have thought about sanding it and leaving it at that.
 
I don't want to be the jerk here but you do know that polished metal is exponentially less effective at dispersing heat than flat black, right?



Google "Leslie's Cube"



With that out of the way I've polished aluminum with a wool pad, rotary and Mothers Mag polish with good results after a good wetsand to 2000.
 
I can't add anything to the excellent advice you've already gotten, I just had to say...



BEAUTIFUL CAR, MAN!! I loooove SRT-4's, and your skittle looks awesome. I've been tracking the market value of SRT-4's, and they are going up! I wanted a skittle really bad, but the wife said it wasn't big enough, so I got the Charger instead. There's so many go-fast mods for them. And the cool thing is that Mopar didn't neglect the SRT4 when it came to after market mods; their Stage 3 kits *rock*. They *still* haven't done anything like this for the Charger.



My Charger has been absolutely roasted by several SRT4's. It wasn't even close. I might as well have been going in reverse.



I hear that you need to feed your SRT4 a WRX STI every week to keep it healthy. Might wanna keep that in mind. ;)



I'd love to see a bunch of pictures of your car.... inside and out.
 
SuperBee364 said:
I hear that you need to feed your SRT4 a WRX STI every week to keep it healthy. Might wanna keep that in mind. ;)
Click to expand...



That's why us STi owners only come out when the roads are wet LOL.



I'm wondering, what's upkeep like for a polished front mount? Seems like it would be hard to keep it looking uber clean like it will when first finished. Not polished but I HATE cleaning my top mount. You wouldn't think that much crap gets in there and stuck in between the fins.
 
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