polished intake manifold cover

[The DON]

Help!

I had a hard time polishing the oem intake manifold cover. After many hours of hard work, I eventually managed to polish the darn thing to mirror like finish but within a week, the shine is gone and replaced by a tarnished dull surface! Argh!! How do I keep the shinny polished look??

Did you guys know that the intake manifold cover is made of magnesium? No wonder it's so light!

 

[greatimes]

I had the same problem with polished aluminum. Couple of weeks after breaking my fingers getting everything nice and shiny the oxidization would start showing. So, I found a product called Zoop Seal http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp Works like a charm. From what I have heard it prevents oxidization on all metals. Good luck. A little expensive but if you have enough polished pieces it will save you a lot of work, time and grief.

 

[The DON]

Stephen, thanks for the info. Unfortunately, Zoopseal cannot be used on Magnesium yet.

So I am still open for suggestion.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

Clear powdercoating may be the way to go.

Cheers,
-- Chris

 

[LJSB]

Polish it up and spray it with clear.
You can buy it in the spray can. You could use a high heat one but I doubt that you will really need it.
The clear will seal it off form the atmosphere(oxygen) and it will stay that way. Make sure you have no wax on it when you paint.

 

[I Grok NSX]

Pictures! Pictures!

 

[The DON]

pbassjo:
sorry for sounding dumb, but could you elaborate a little on 'spray it with clear' please? Do you mean I can buy a can of clear coat spray? Could you please specify which high heat clear coat spray to buy?

thnx

 

[ajnsx]

get it painted with 2pac, my last car i had it done no problems for four years!
ps i sold the car after that, im sure that its still fine!

 

[LJSB]

They sell engine paint, which has a higher temperature rating, in spray cans, red, black, blue, etc., and clear too.
Get it at any car parts store like NAPA or Autozone.
You could use that or, as I said, any decent clear (ex. Krylon) that come in a spray can, just make sure it is enamel and NOT laquer.
The high heat is not crucial because this part doesn't get that hot anyway but it's not bad stuff to have around the shop.
Follow the directions on the can and do it when it's not too humid out. It's so easy and it will work out great.

 

[Kinan]

They sell engine paint, which has a higher temperature rating, in spray cans, red, black, blue, etc., and clear too.
Get it at any car parts store like NAPA or Autozone.
You could use that or, as I said, any decent clear (ex. Krylon) that come in a spray can, just make sure it is enamel and NOT laquer.
The high heat is not crucial because this part doesn't get that hot anyway but it's not bad stuff to have around the shop.
Follow the directions on the can and do it when it's not too humid out. It's so easy and it will work out great.

Why not laquer???
Just curious....

 

[The DON]

yeah, why enamel and not laquer?

Since we're talking about keeping the shine on polished metals, I just had a machine shop polished the outer lip of a set of Volks RAcing TE-37 wheels and they tarnished in a few days just like my polished intake manifold, can I use the same enamel clear coat that you suggested to spray the wheel? Will it last?

Thanks

 

[poet_x]

Why not laquer???
Just curious....

because it's flammable (I believe is the reason)...

 

[ajnsx]

you can on wheels too as long as its done correctly (prep etc), but one kerb mishap means you would have to do it again as it will flake off.

 

[LJSB]

Laquer dries faster than enamel but tends to dry out and crack over time. In a hot engine compartment it will likely happen even sooner.
Enamel likes heat and will cure nice and hard but not check.
Laquer is just crappy paint when it comes to stability and durability IMO.

As for the wheels on your car I would have a body shop clear them for you instead of using spray can paint.
With or without clear coat hitting your wheels on a curb is going to "leave a mark".(Tommy Boy-"Ow, that's gonna leave a mark" )

 

[GlowNSX]

Oxidation v. Magnesium

I bought a set of Technomags form Mark at Dali. I am having them polished. Mark told me about the oxidation problems and gave me this link.

Anyhow.....Zoop may work on Magnesium. I spoke with the guys at Zoop. They told me that they have never tested it on Magnesium so they are not sure what it will do. I hope it protects it! They did not think it would damage it at all.

Ill post again in a month or so once the wheels are polished, zoop is applied and I have them on the car for a few weeks.

 

[Zishan]

????????????

I just ordered some custom polished wheels. They do not include any kind of protectant, so should I take them to a paint/body shop and have them clearcoated? Is clearcoating the best way to go??? The person I spoke to said I could purchase some kindof wax from TireRack and this would hold the polish for a year, so I would have to reapply it once a year.
Thanks
Z

 

[Kinan]

What are your wheels made of?
I have polished aluminum 7 spokes that are no problem at all to keep clean/shiny.
I just wipe them down with spray detailer after every wash and do a quick polish about every 3 months with some blue cream polish whose name escapes me at the moment.

 

[Zishan]

forged cast aluminum

 

[ajnsx]

polished momo's autosol did the trick

edit: monthly polishing needed but looks better in the sun.

 

[ajnsx]

fixed the pic............autosol!