Post by bowtie87 on Feb 18, 2010 11:17:53 GMT -5
How to polish your intake manifold
I will show you how you can polish your intake manifold at home. It’s a fairly easy job, but it will take a while. I polished up my Edelbrock EPS off my K-5 over the weekend, and it was worth it. I could tell the difference as soon as I got it out on the road. This wont add 100 HP or anything, but if you want to maximize the potential of your intake, I would recommend this job.
Things you will need:
A rotary tool
Sanding/grinding kit for tool
Polishing kit for tool
Polishing compound
Sandpaper
Screw drivers
Once you have removed the intake form your engine, set it on a table. Make sure you have good light for the job; I used a desk lamp with a flexible head.
I used a coarse sand paper attachment and ran it in all the places reachable for the tool. I scuffed off all the bumps, until you see a uniformly smooth appearance. For the spots the tool wouldn’t reach, I used sandpaper sheets, and screwdrivers to reach all the areas inside I couldn’t reach with the rotary tool.
Once it is all scuffed up, I went back over all areas with fine sand paper. This is where you can take the lead. I sanded it 4 or 5 times with different grits to get a mirror finish when done. Its your call on this one, its a lot of work for something you cant see, but I had the time and a case of beer, so I went all the way.
After the sanding I ran a mini wire wheel over all the areas sanded to get rid of all debris. I tried it without the wire wheel, but your end result wont shine like it would with the wire wheel.
Now its polish time, I got the polishing disc attachment for the rotary tool, placed polish on the sanded surfaces, and went to polishing. I started polishing at low RPM’s, went to high RPM’s, then gradually dropped back down. Let the polish set for 30 min or so, then go back with a new pad and buff it out.
I’m not a writer by any means, so I’m sorry if I just confused you or lost you. I have done 3 of my intakes this way, and I would never put one on without doing it now, knowing the benefits. I have a lot more pictures of the process if you’re interested, let me know, I can send them to you. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope this will help if you decide to try it.
I will show you how you can polish your intake manifold at home. It’s a fairly easy job, but it will take a while. I polished up my Edelbrock EPS off my K-5 over the weekend, and it was worth it. I could tell the difference as soon as I got it out on the road. This wont add 100 HP or anything, but if you want to maximize the potential of your intake, I would recommend this job.
Things you will need:
A rotary tool
Sanding/grinding kit for tool
Polishing kit for tool
Polishing compound
Sandpaper
Screw drivers
Once you have removed the intake form your engine, set it on a table. Make sure you have good light for the job; I used a desk lamp with a flexible head.
I used a coarse sand paper attachment and ran it in all the places reachable for the tool. I scuffed off all the bumps, until you see a uniformly smooth appearance. For the spots the tool wouldn’t reach, I used sandpaper sheets, and screwdrivers to reach all the areas inside I couldn’t reach with the rotary tool.
Once it is all scuffed up, I went back over all areas with fine sand paper. This is where you can take the lead. I sanded it 4 or 5 times with different grits to get a mirror finish when done. Its your call on this one, its a lot of work for something you cant see, but I had the time and a case of beer, so I went all the way.
After the sanding I ran a mini wire wheel over all the areas sanded to get rid of all debris. I tried it without the wire wheel, but your end result wont shine like it would with the wire wheel.
Now its polish time, I got the polishing disc attachment for the rotary tool, placed polish on the sanded surfaces, and went to polishing. I started polishing at low RPM’s, went to high RPM’s, then gradually dropped back down. Let the polish set for 30 min or so, then go back with a new pad and buff it out.
I’m not a writer by any means, so I’m sorry if I just confused you or lost you. I have done 3 of my intakes this way, and I would never put one on without doing it now, knowing the benefits. I have a lot more pictures of the process if you’re interested, let me know, I can send them to you. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope this will help if you decide to try it.