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Making things shiny?!?

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phil944s

New member
Hello,
I'm looking to clean up my engine bay and make it look a bit smarter.
Is it possible to polish the rocker cover and the inlet manifold, and can it be done DIY... If anyone has some pics for inspiration that would be great!
 
Anything can be done if youre prepared to apply yourself to it and work hard enough! Id suggest buying a good used cam cover and working on that. The inlet manifold isnt a good prospect for polishing though, in my opiniob.
 
This is my rocker cover but you'd need to remove it from the car to do this, same goes for polishing the inlet manifold.

carrockercover-1.jpg


The cover was painted (powder coated would be better but VHT paint is very good) and then the Porsche logo was machined and polished to a smooth shiny finish. using a Mill with fly-cutter. You could probably get the letters reasonably flat by hand but doubt you'd achieve the machined look, not saying it's not possible, just that it will be an awful lot of hard word.

Pete
 
There's been a recent post about getting them "vacuum blasted" or something similar, with excellent results at not much cost. Not sure if it's Jakerade's posts here/968uk about his games with his 968CS. Maybe someone's got a better memory than me!
 
I like the look of black on shiny! So do you think it would be possible to smooth and polish the inlet at home? I know it would be a lot of work but really think it would be worth it.
 
ORIGINAL: phil944s

I like the look of black on shiny! So do you think it would be possible to smooth and polish the inlet at home? I know it would be a lot of work but really think it would be worth it.
Click to expand...


Yes it is possible but it is a lot of work, I half polished my inlet manifold some years ago but never got it finished, however since the car is in bits now I'll probably try to finish what I started, I will certainly be grinding the inners for better flow so may as well finish the outside while I'm at it. You need an electric drill and grinding/sanding tips, A head polishing kit would be a good buy as it's components cater for difficult places to reach with it's various kit of sanding tips. That's for taking off the rough metal, to finish you need a buffing set including the cutting paste blocks from coarse to fine and of course the buffing wheels. A dremel drill is useful for small gaps, better still the larger wall mounted dremel which is far stronger with a lot more torque, there may be other similar makes which are just as good.

This is my half finished inlet manifold.

engine1.jpg


Pete
 
Thanks Pete, that's a really nice looking engine bay, once polished do you think it will takeuchi to keep it shiny, will it tarnish over time or with heat do you think?
Cheers

Phil
 

ORIGINAL: phil944s

Thanks Pete, that's a really nice looking engine bay, once polished do you think it will takeuchi to keep it shiny, will it tarnish over time or with heat do you think?
Cheers

Phil
Click to expand...

I guess it's like anything in life Phil, as long as you keep on top of things you can keep them looking fairly clean and shiny. I've had my car for 14 years now and the engine bay has never been what you would call dirty and doesn't take much to spruce up for an event. Of course they do loose some of their shine over time but I doubt anyone would notice except the owner.

Pete
 
Aqua blasting is my preferred route. It gives an OEM look and achieves a 'shiny' finish over the matt surface you get from other more abrasive media blasting. However I did give the cam cover a coat of VHT wrinkle finish and I do like it.

A group of fresh parts
6775328552_66b55e5de6_b.jpg


And to compare to the reasonably clean TB and alternator to gauge the difference. Oily finger prints were easy to clean off. Also had many of the nuts, bolts and fittings CAD plated as well
7061777689_5ccab0610a_b.jpg


Another engine is in mid build and will be cleaner and more refreshed than this one when finished, with added engine bay repaint as this was a temporary finish.
 
My inlet manifold from the 88 turbo is being Aqua Blasted this week, got myself some shiny engine tinware also, anyone know if the passivating kits from Frost are any good ?
 
Diy metal polishing is a time consuming and messy job, trust me I have done plenty of it. Have a look at Pete's cam tower, mine looks the same and it is possible to do it on the car but you will only manage to paint 90% of it though (you have to look hard to see the bits that are not painted on mine)
 
Hi - don't mean to hijack this thread although I am prepared to look a little thick....

Is the cam cover on an S2 alloy or resin? Factory finish is a pretty thick coat of silver grey paint and I haven't had it off yet so I thought I'd ask the experts...
 
As far as I know the cam cover is alloy so it can be polished up and finished how you want I think from memory it is a bit more difficult to re-seal so best get new gaskets and be careful not to overtighten the hex head allen bolts in the top, thee are companies who supply them already treated as an exchange so if you use your car all the time this may be an easier route or get a second one to do so the car is not off the road too long.

There is this one on eBay very shiny £128 +PP bit too bling for me but depends what you want.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-944S-944S2-Cam-cover-Polished-High-Luster-Valve-cover-/261034770255?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cc6e27f4f
 
There was a 944 Turbo with a very shiny engine at the TIPEC Porsche Show this year. Link to photo

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z204/eeydubore/tipecmay12/IMG_2805_1283x855.jpg

since it isn't mine (the photo that is). Shows what can be done but not really my taste.
 
If you lie awake at night worrying that your engine bay isnt shiney.....................................................[8|]


 
Iv got a spear 16v cam cover for sale, did attemp mine by hand, lot off work and wasted hours. Then painted it and was never happy with the finsh. Looks fine in pic and that, but not up 2 the glass like finsh the rest off the car was from its respray. So I got a spear and had the shop paint it. Never fitted it.

Anyway I got a turbo now. Got bolts and that with it, they can snap when removed. And are like £7/12 each new.

The cam cover finished ok, not perfect ( but I'm very picky ) Seem theres some texture from below the paint. Shop sort off forgot all about it, then rushed it I think or gave it 2 an apprentice.
 
for £400 odd quid I would go for this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-944-Turbo-Polished-Cam-Tower-Intake-Manifold-Intercooler-Pipes-/261074151779?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cc93b6963&vxp=mtr

edited to say I LIED

I would buy this


http://www.ebay.com/itm/PORSCHE-parts-951-944-Turbo-3-0-Liter-Race-Engine-for-Racing-or-Performance-/251123620625?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a78225b11&vxp=mtr

 

Now that's impressive! Do you think that car ever gets driven? I would be too scared to start the engine in fear of Making something dirty!

ORIGINAL: GlennS

There was a 944 Turbo with a very shiny engine at the TIPEC Porsche Show this year. Link to photo

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z204/eeydubore/tipecmay12/IMG_2805_1283x855.jpg

since it isn't mine (the photo that is). Shows what can be done but not really my taste.
Click to expand...
 
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