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Eastwood carries many supplies needed to refurbish your car. They can be contacted at 1-800-345-1178 or at Eastwood , here are a few pages with polishing supplies from a recent  catalog.

Here is a sample of  some supplies that I use  

1. Buffer (1hp)   2. Die Grinder   3.  Air Compressor    4. Dremel   5. Buffing compounds

6. Sandpaper (80-600 grit)   7.  Sandpaper rolls (tapers and straights)   8. Buffing pads

9. Mandrels (for sandpaper rolls)    10. Carbide steel bits    11. Gloves, coveralls, respirator, faceshield, hood

                                   Click on hotspots for more detail (5)

The patient, a stock intake.  I  will polish one runner of this intake for illustration purposes.

The trick to polishing any object is  prep work. The smoother you get the part the better it will shine. Stock intakes are powdercoated and this coating needs to be removed, I removed the powdercoating and casting flash  with a hand held belt sander and a die grinder with sandpaper rolls. this process will remove the imperfections and powdercoating but will leave scratches in the piece 

  (Die grinder w/ sandpaper roll for tight spots, you may need to use carbide bits or a dremel)

Once all powdercoating is removed the you need to clean up the scratches,  I do this by hand sanding. I start with a 320 grit and then work up to a 600 grit.  You can also use an abrasive compound with the buffer, I have not had as good of luck with this method but it is the textbook way of  polishing.

    (Hand sanding scratches out)            (ready for buffing)

The next step once the surface has been rid of all imperfections and scratches is to start _borders with the buffing wheel. I start with a Tripoli compound on a spiral sewn buff, this step cleans up all of the small 600 grit scratches. Always use a small amount of compound and dont press the piece into the buffing wheel, let the compound do the work.

          (Applying buffing compound to the wheel)

The next step in the process is to use a White rouge compound with a loose section buff wheel, this will bring out the luster of the aluminum  bringing it to a brilliant mirror like shine. 

   (Working the compound into the piece)     (always wear                                                                                                                                safety equipment)

(The finished product)                        

This took about 30-45 mnutes of work. If you are just starting out I would strongly recommend working on a small piece to get the process down before starting on a high dollar visible piece. Take your time and remember that the better you prep the piece and the smoother you get it the better it will come out

                              .

Just a little more work and it will look like this!!!!!!

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