Supra Forums banner

Polishing valve covers, turbos, i/c pipes etc.

1959 Views 22 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  IntenseSupra-CO
A friend of mine has a really highspeed polishing tool, I believe it is electric. I am thinking about attempting some polishing myself because I am on a tight budget. Has anyone ever polished anything themselves? What where the results? Are there any tips you can give me? I think there is some kind of polishing paste that I need to buy, right? How long do you think it will take to polish, lets say.....a valve cover.....I heard it is time consuming.
Thanks ahead of time.

Troy
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
Valve cover isn't bad with power tools.

Something like your intake manifold is more difficult due to tiny cracks and curves.

My advice is to buy a breather mask.

I've done a few things myself, the outcome is rewarding but it takes a lot of work.
Hua said:
Valve cover isn't bad with power tools.

Something like your intake manifold is more difficult due to tiny cracks and curves.

My advice is to buy a breather mask.

I've done a few things myself, the outcome is rewarding but it takes a lot of work.

Thanks for the advice. Any idea if the polishing paste is required?
boostedsupratt said:



Thanks for the advice. Any idea if the polishing paste is required?
Nope, not required.

I forgot what else I was going to tell you...
G
Skip the polish...

I did this once on a car...and while the finish looked near chrome-like, the maintenance was awful...SO save up a few bucks, and get the powder coated....they now have a chrome powder coating...looks great, is super-durable and heat resistant..and best of all..ZERO maintenace...
Re: Skip the polish...

R*Rocket said:
I did this once on a car...and while the finish looked near chrome-like, the maintenance was awful...SO save up a few bucks, and get the powder coated....they now have a chrome powder coating...looks great, is super-durable and heat resistant..and best of all..ZERO maintenace...

Is the chrome powder coating expensive? Does anyone know anyone who does this in Orlando? Thanks
I don't find polished parts high maintenance at all...

As for the "almost chrome" powder, it is $48 for 2 lbs. 1 lb covers approx. 100sq ft after baking at 1.2mils thickness.
why not just get valvle covers, intake manifold, power steering reservoir, TB...etc Heat coated from hpc. I sent mine out....should have them back next week sometime. they coat them in a high polished aluminim look. Very easy to maintain as well. And alot cheaper i belive then polishing. I paid 110 for intake man, 60 for valve covers, 35 for power steering res, like 40 for TB......etc. It came to about 250-300 for everything. Just an option for ya. They can do IC pipes anything and everything. Plus it resists heat..so all in all polished aluminim look plus transfers heat. Can't beat it IMHO.
their website..is www.hpccoatings.com
Hua said:
I don't find polished parts high maintenance at all...

As for the "almost chrome" powder, it is $48 for 2 lbs. 1 lb covers approx. 100sq ft after baking at 1.2mils thickness.
100 sq feet? Tell me that is an obvious typo. How do you think that will look in comparison to the polishing?

Adam
Silver Bullet said:
why not just get valvle covers, intake manifold, power steering reservoir, TB...etc Heat coated from hpc. I sent mine out....should have them back next week sometime. they coat them in a high polished aluminim look. Very easy to maintain as well. And alot cheaper i belive then polishing. I paid 110 for intake man, 60 for valve covers, 35 for power steering res, like 40 for TB......etc. It came to about 250-300 for everything. Just an option for ya. They can do IC pipes anything and everything. Plus it resists heat..so all in all polished aluminim look plus transfers heat. Can't beat it IMHO.
their website..is www.hpccoatings.com
Think you could throw up some pics when you get the pieces back? Will the HPC coatings really not flake off the TB, intake manifold and other pieces with heat and abuse? How will the matinence be? Thanks

Adam
Yes i will throw up some pics when i get them back....last i talked to them , they are sending my stuff out Monday....so i should receive them hopefully friday. No there will be no flaking off at all.....the Coating is good up to 1200 degress i believe. The Valve covers, TB, Intake man.....dont get that hot. The TB they polished it..since they said they did not want to ruin of take off the acclerator cables and TPS etc etc. But they smoothed out my intake manifold first, then coated it. The power steering res. and valve covers were straight forward. As for maintenence....they sell a spray and wipe type solution where you basically just spray it down with the solution and clean it up and wipe off....that is with their polished aluminum caoting. That simple!! I talked to the guy and he said they look absolutely beautiful. So i am anxious to get them back myself. And for about 300 You cant't beat it as well. plus there has to be some added perfemance gain by the heat transfer.
Tony
See less See more
Silver Bullet said:
Yes i will throw up some pics when i get them back....last i talked to them , they are sending my stuff out Monday....so i should receive them hopefully friday. No there will be no flaking off at all.....the Coating is good up to 1200 degress i believe. The Valve covers, TB, Intake man.....dont get that hot. The TB they polished it..since they said they did not want to ruin of take off the acclerator cables and TPS etc etc. But they smoothed out my intake manifold first, then coated it. The power steering res. and valve covers were straight forward. As for maintenence....they sell a spray and wipe type solution where you basically just spray it down with the solution and clean it up and wipe off....that is with their polished aluminum caoting. That simple!! I talked to the guy and he said they look absolutely beautiful. So i am anxious to get them back myself. And for about 300 You cant't beat it as well. plus there has to be some added perfemance gain by the heat transfer.
Tony
This sure sounds like a good option to me. After you get the pics up, I may be sending mine out as well. Take care and thanks for the tips. Any additional help is appreciated.

Adam
Silver Bullet said:
why not just get valvle covers, intake manifold, power steering reservoir, TB...etc Heat coated from hpc. I sent mine out....should have them back next week sometime. they coat them in a high polished aluminim look. Very easy to maintain as well. And alot cheaper i belive then polishing. I paid 110 for intake man, 60 for valve covers, 35 for power steering res, like 40 for TB......etc. It came to about 250-300 for everything. Just an option for ya. They can do IC pipes anything and everything. Plus it resists heat..so all in all polished aluminim look plus transfers heat. Can't beat it IMHO.
their website..is www.hpccoatings.com
That sounds like a good way to go, but my Supra is my daily driver and I can't go even 1 week without it. I'll have to find someone in Orlando, so I can drop the parts off in the morning and have them done the same day. Nice et by the way. DId you do that on BFG 275/17s Drag radials?? or the Nittos
I ran consistent mid-high 11s all last year with ET Streets.
Just for and update...i will have all my parts back this thursday or Friday. For the Valvle covers, power steering res, TB ( lightly polished), and intake manifold ( sent out to be smoothed out first by them...then coated...Came to 310.00 With shipping both ways......COD, insured and 3 day selected..total came to 374.00 I will hopefully get some pics ups this weekend. i am anxious to see how it all turned out myself.
Silver Bullet said:
I ran consistent mid-high 11s all last year with ET Streets.
Just for and update...i will have all my parts back this thursday or Friday. For the Valvle covers, power steering res, TB ( lightly polished), and intake manifold ( sent out to be smoothed out first by them...then coated...Came to 310.00 With shipping both ways......COD, insured and 3 day selected..total came to 374.00 I will hopefully get some pics ups this weekend. i am anxious to see how it all turned out myself.
Perfect, thanks for the update. Souns like this will look great! I'll have my eyes peeled here.

Adam
G
Hs anyone tried the jet-hot sterling coating? It is temp. resisitant up to 2000 degrees and is supposed to look just like highly polished aluminum. Plus they offer a 3 year warranty. It would be great if someone had pics before I decide to send my parts off.
G
my mistake....the jet hot sterling is only heat resistant up to 1300 degrees...which should be plenty for the intake manifold and valve cover
Hey guys..got my stuff back from HPC.....and it looks awesome!!! Definitely looks just like polished aluminum...but actually has the heat transfer. I have no pics up yet..but i would highly highly recomend them. BrianTT and M Miller....here on Supraforums.have seen the pieces up close and personal..and they can give you a response if you like as well. And lucky..HPC coatings are very similar...but a little better process from what i understand. I am very meticulous with my car..and i 100% recommend this to anyone.

Tony
No that was not a typo.

100sq ft at 1.2 mils thick after baking.

That is for 2 lbs of powder. You have to buy a solution to mix the powder with as well.
G
Here's a picture of my header after jet hot coating.
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top