new to the polished plenum clan

[Kris GTwhat?]

just posting some progress and finished pics up for everyone to enjoy.

a little info on the steps i took:
-to start off, i used 80 grit with a d/a to get through the casting bumps and flaws
-once the plenum was smooth, i started sanding by hand
-i started with 100 grit, and once all of the 80 grit sand scratches were removed, i went to 220, then 320, then 500, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, and wetsanded with a trizac pad with a d/a to remove the rest of the visible scratches.
-next, i went to my local discount tool store, and picked up an aluminum polishing kit. the kit i picked up for a drill was a waste, because it doesnt spin near fast enough to really polish the aluminum. so i went back and picked up a polishing bonnet that is used on a bench grinder. that worked very well!
-next, i slowly went around the plenum, using little compound and lightly running the intake across the machine.

results!!!







any further questions feel free to ask! i will be starting on the valve covers here soon, which i will add to the post

[beretta]

very shinny i like it..

[DTMAce]

Nice work. Lots of elbow grease was needed too I bet. LOL

[3400beretta]

Very nice. I'd cut those stupid ears off the front though..

[Kris GTwhat?]

well, 12 hours of sanding. so yes, a lot and a lot and a lot of elbow grease. haha


as for the ears, i would, but talking to dave (superdave) he regretted cutting them off. so i figure if i decide i dont need em, i can just grind and re-polish

[Slinky]

Im not into shiny stuff but thats sexy

[99GaGT3X00]

Very nice. I'd cut those stupid ears off the front though..

my thought exactly.

cut the ears off an re-polish the front and it would look so much cleaner up front.

nice work though. i tried it a few years back with a 3400 UIM but after awhile i gave up and went for the smooth painted look.

[3X00-Modified]

good god... the work involved in doing this is insaine... Hell I'm worred about having to polish my TB spacer and TB... and possibly my intake tubes... I cant even imagine having to do a plenum... YUCK! lol

Good job though.

[Barry]

Your a better man than I am. I only polished the top surface on mine and it was a PITA. After 2 years of salt and no upkeep it looks like crap again

[woody90gtz]

Engine enamel FTW! haha

[Money pit Beretta]

Wow!

[beretta]

wonder if my 3.1 plenum could look that shinny LOL, i sanded it a little to clean it up some but ran outta paper so stuck it back on for now and i needed to drive it, when i put my turbo engine in and the turbo plenum maybe ill see if i can polish it up like that.

Looks really good..

If you think 12 hours of sanding is alot.. try fiber-glassing your Dash LOL... mine was cracked, peeled it all off and tryed to glue material to it with proper glue, never stuck worth a dam. so i remember watching my cousin fiber-glass his door skins on his brand new car, so i thought why cant i do that to my dash... 4 or 5 layers of braided cloth 3 or 4 liters of resin, and a gallon of bondo, i probably sanded over half that gallon off, and i done it all by hand except a quick go over with a D-A at the end, its just primer, but it needs to come out and be touched up and painted, i had it out for the 2 years i had the car and when i was putting it on the road i had 3 days to finish it and get it in there cuz i wanted to drive it lol.
I probably have like 400 hours of sanding work into it over the 2 years i worked on it from time to time.

[Rodville]

That looks DAMN good.

[MY91GT(Z)]

looks great you wanna sell it??? j/p

[Robert 89gt]

Im not a big fan of the 3500 upper.But when they look like that i am.That reminds me i need to send money to barry.LOL