Polishing aluminum exhaust... questions.

[D0ughB0y]

Hey guys,

A good friend of mine just got new exhaust for his race car. It is all 3+ inch aluminum but looks like crap. I did a test section with some mothers alum & mag polish with a small dremel buffing pad and it came out looking pretty fantastic. The car is pretty nice and this would really make it pop when showing off in the pits and in some of the pictures in the various photoshoots that he does with it.

My question is what I use on my PC7424? I've currently got a 3" and 5" backing pad, but I was thinking about getting a 6" back and some of the 6 or 7.5" wool buffing pads.

I've done a bunch of searching, but can't find too much on polishing alum exhaust. Any suggestions of help would be great.

Thanks.

[Rsurfer]

Hey guys,

A good friend of mine just got new exhaust for his race car. It is all 3+ inch aluminum but looks like crap. I did a test section with some mothers alum & mag polish with a small dremel buffing pad and it came out looking pretty fantastic. The car is pretty nice and this would really make it pop when showing off in the pits and in some of the pictures in the various photoshoots that he does with it.

My question is what I use on my PC7424? I've currently got a 3" and 5" backing pad, but I was thinking about getting a 6" back and some of the 6 or 7.5" wool buffing pads.

I've done a bunch of searching, but can't find too much on polishing alum exhaust. Any suggestions of help would be great.

Thanks.
You need a rotary to spin a 7" wool pad. A PC doesn't have the power.

[POPPAJ]

Aluminum? Not stainless steel? What kind of car is this?

[Pureshine]

Can you post a pick I use metal polish and 0000 steel wool on exhaust tips.

[D0ughB0y]

After re-reading what I wrote, I could have been a bit more clear. During the off-season a new turbo went on the car which required new 4 inch plumbing. We're only talking about 4ish feet of it and only a little bit of it shows unless people are really looking at the car or a well timed picture catches the car when he's launching.

Since the car is all apart, he wanted to try and make everything look as nice as possible because once it all goes back together it will be impossible to get at.

I don't have any current pics at the moment, but this is all brand new 4 inch tubes on a 89 LX mustang, 1150hp turbo street car(drag strip) that runs mid 8's, 1/4 mile.

The car itself is a garage/trailer queen that rarely sees any real driving outside of events and an occasional cruise or trip to the convenience store as a gag.

[D0ughB0y]

Well, I did it. First thing was cleaning off tons of tape residue with a green scrub pad and some adhesive remover. Then I cleaned the whole thing with some green cleaner. Wiped it all down with some alcohol.

I used the stock pad that came with the buffer and put a microfiber bonnet on it. Liberally applied the mother's polish and worked it for a good amount of time.

The picture below shows the trasition from 95% complete on the far right side, to 75% done in the middle/right, to the original product on the left side. I think it turned out really well (for a part that is going to be barely visible).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/D0ughB0y/50-50Exhaust_zps7d56bfe2.jpeg

[NIS240SHU]

I see now. You're talking about the intercooler piping in the engine bay area.

Nice job!

[D0ughB0y]

I see now. You're talking about the intercooler piping in the engine bay area.

Nice job!

Thanks.

Well, the pipe pictured is the actual exhaust. Just to the left of the picture is the muffler and dump'd tip.

[Ray@Autogeek]

Looking good! I know how your friend feels, I recently polished my Aluminum Cold Air Intake while my engine is torn apart.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nbv1pcDwpe0/UFNzuiodJJI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/FyJn_oAQ02o/s512/beforeafter2.jpg

Just be sure to apply a metal sealant/protectant to keep it looking good. The first time I polished my intake it sat in my garage unprotected for a month and started to oxidize again. I repolished and applied Wolfgang Metal Sealant (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-metal-sealant.html) and it still looks like chrome :).

[D0ughB0y]

Looking good! I know how your friend feels, I recently polished my Aluminum Cold Air Intake while my engine is torn apart.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Nbv1pcDwpe0/UFNzuiodJJI/AAAAAAAAEOQ/FyJn_oAQ02o/s512/beforeafter2.jpg

Just be sure to apply a metal sealant/protectant to keep it looking good. The first time I polished my intake it sat in my garage unprotected for a month and started to oxidize again. I repolished and applied Wolfgang Metal Sealant (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-metal-sealant.html) and it still looks like chrome :).
Wow, yours looks perfect. Nicely done.

I think you started off with a little better product (this stuff was terrible & mandrel bent so it was almost impossible to get the bends to shine). I would have to sand it down to get perfect mirror.

What was the process you used?

Thanks for the feedback. I used some autoglym on it to finish it, but didn't have any true sealant. The car comes apart easy enough that if I need to, I can touch up

[57BORNTORUN]

Ray that looks like stainless or chrome.Good job.Why Wolfgangs and not Blackfire (Or is it the same product, just with a different label)?

[Ray@Autogeek]

Wow, yours looks perfect. Nicely done.

I think you started off with a little better product (this stuff was terrible & mandrel bent so it was almost impossible to get the bends to shine). I would have to sand it down to get perfect mirror.

What was the process you used?

Thanks for the feedback. I used some autoglym on it to finish it, but didn't have any true sealant. The car comes apart easy enough that if I need to, I can touch up

I planned on writing a review on a few different metal polishes and got side tracked with other projects, but I still have all the pictures saved. This thread reminded me of the review so I'll write it asap.

For that section of aluminum I used Optimum Metal Polish (http://www.autogeek.net/auto-metal-polish.html) with an Orange CCS Pad on a Megs G110V2 and a Yellow CCS Eurofoam Pad by hand for the tight spots. Then I followed with a White CCS Eurofoam Pad with BlackFire Wet Diamond Aluminum Show Polish (http://www.autogeek.net/blackfire-aluminum-show-polish.html).

Here are some pics. I'll write the review one of these days. I actually ended up testing these products with a few different tools:


Original Formula Wenol (red)
Optimum Metal Polish
BLACKFIRE Heavy Cut Aluminum Compound
BLACKFIRE Fine Cut Aluminum Polish
BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Aluminum Show Polish
Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Aluminum Compound
Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Fine Aluminum Polish
Wolfgang MetallWerk™ Concours Metal Sealant 8 oz.
Flitz Metal Polish, Fiberglass & Paint Restorer


Here's a relevant link of me using Wolfgang Metal Polishes on my exhaust: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/57148-lake-country-wool-ball-s100-corrosion-protectant-review.html

Original condition
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-iTT71BxVNUE/UFKrYotF2_I/AAAAAAAAG50/89dr-mLzKYM/s640/IMG_0349.JPG

Test spot with Optimum Metal Polish by hand with a Eurofoam CCS Pad
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_LFfVY1nl5A/UFKrY-XggII/AAAAAAAAG50/c8L0ceFIdJ8/s640/IMG_0351.JPG

Via DA Polisher
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-EPXCwWfCmm0/UFKqikVP7PI/AAAAAAAAG50/WzXvp8sDGnE/s640/IMG_0356.JPG

By Hand
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_BVFtib0iGk/UFKqih_t65I/AAAAAAAAG50/dXSGGy3iO3I/s640/IMG_0357.JPG

(Before) Here's a section I used with Wolfgang Compound + Polish
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VR_-ZmqAiLw/UFKqupl2z5I/AAAAAAAAG50/cE2DEdwcx0g/s640/IMG_0363.JPG

(After)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zVdSy8vGYY0/UFKrLdMVlfI/AAAAAAAAG50/dcZtzwa7mm0/s640/IMG_0376.JPG


Ray that looks like stainless or chrome.Good job.Why Wolfgangs and not Blackfire (Or is it the same product, just with a different label)?

Thanks! I just use what falls off the truck ;) There are clear differences between all of the metal polishes I listed above. I've got a notebook at home with all of my personal feedback on all the products. I'll write the review asap. :buffing:

I'm also contemplating doing a full polish on my intake manifold. Hmmmmmmmm...........stay tuned.....

[57BORNTORUN]

Hey Ray, Should you need any help in any further testing of products on stainless or aluminum I would love to be in attendance as you know I`m an old school HOT ROD GUY.On another note my friend that designed and patented the multi-color headlights that are on my car has an updated version soon to come to market.It`s a multi- colored LED headlight that has separate LED`S for your turn signal and another that has an APP from Android or I-phone to control each and every 42+LEDS in a 7 in. or 5 in. headlight.Pretty COOL.

[D0ughB0y]

Awesome. Thanks for that, Ray. I think if I would have done a multi-step process, it would have come up to a very nice finish but in reality the only part that is going to be seen by the vast majority of people is the little 12" section that pokes out from the intercooler return and up to the intake.

The project was a nice first try into doing something like this. I'd almost consider doing something like this for many of the people that race in the same circles who are looking for these types of results, but it isn't my day-job, just a hobby.