Polishing air-intake/filter covers... by brokenarrow

8 minute read

Polishing air-intake/filter covers...

Compliments of brokenarrow @ ferrarichat.com

12-23-2008

You know, I looked under the hood and felt the intakes would look much better polished, and so would the equalizer tank. So I took off one of the intake filter covers which already had a couple of dings, scratches and just looked aged. I tried to polish the paint with some compound and it had no affect at all.  

I have since coated one of them with paint stripper, but the paint is not coming off very easily. They must have baked it on or powder coated it as it's very stubborn. I'll come back shortly and report my progress. Anything metal can be stripped, sanded and polished. I'll be back later....

12-24-2008

Okay, well like anything, it took longer than I thought.  

On the first one, I used some paint stripper that had been in my shed for around four years and it did okay, but left me a lot of sanding. I had my wife stop and get me some paintstripper (the paint on jelly type) when she was running errands. The old paint fell off like an oversized sweatshirt--it was awesome. I hardly had to do anything. Lesson learned; use the new stuff.

I started with 400, 600 then 1200 sandpaper and went to my buffer, you'll see it pictured here. I bought it a few years ago and once used it to polish my shoes--bad idea. It stripped the shiny finish right off my Allen Edmunds. Well, it worked like a champ on these covers. I then moved to hand polishing for about 20 minutes for each cover with excellent results. I used Oxide sandpaper that should be used under wet conditions so I just sanded them in the sink. Man did they turn out fantastic. I am really, really happy with the results. I may clearcoat them tomorrow or the next day.

I was planning to do the equalization tank but now like the contrast of the black and polished aluminum. Hmmm? Any thoughts; should I finish it and do it? Let me know...

Oh, you can easily polish these to chrome if you like as the aluminum is very soft and can polish out quickly. I just like the harder colder finish of that old polished look over the chrome.

If any of you have the manual for the breakdown of the equalization tank, I'd love to see it. Feel free to post here for all to see. My 360 repair manual disc when on the fritz a few months ago and I'm bummed without it.

Also, it's really cool peeking in the rearview mirror and seeing the polished covers. I love it.

Have a looksy...

I wanted to stress how caustic the paint-stripper is; it will burn a hole in your skin so fast you may not make it to the faucet. A couple of times it splattered onto my pants or shirt, and within 10 seconds it felt like a match was being held to my skin. I ran inside and packed it with baking soda and washed it off with soap. DO NOT MESS AROUND with this stuff. Wear gloves, eye protection and be extremely cautious with it. Throw the gloves away every time you take them off. All it takes is one drop and you're in hell. I know the container has a warning, I just want you to know this stuff is LAVA--take no chances.

I'm sure it added a few horsepower too now that I've removed that heavy paint.

12-25-2008

I used Jasco Premium Paint Remover purchased from Lowes. It comes in a turpentine looking metal can. I would like to also suggest when using this that you keep a box of baking soda and water right next to you. While applying it to the cover, the bristles of the brush kicked up pin-head sized droppletes onto my shirt and pant leg. By the time I was aware of it the damage was already done to my skin. I have some burn marks the size of a pencil eraser on my arm and leg. As soon as I felt it, I ran to the kitchen and cleaned it. Well, this morning it was obvious I did not move fast enough. I hate to be a pest on this, but this stuff is down right dangerous, but boy does it work like magic. I plan to buy some elbow sized chemical gloves and use only with a full face mask in the future. I'd also suggest a foam brush rather than a bristle due to the spitting a brush does.

As far as how long it took; the first one took much longer as I used the old paint remover and it was not effective so I had to do a lot of sanding. On the second one, it took 1/4 the time due to the fact the Jasco stuff basically stripped the paint for me. All I did was hit the small detail pieces which took maybe fifteen minutes. So I'd tell you the whole process including polishing was about four hours.

I am extremely satisfied with the results and am confident that you would like it too. In person, it's significantly better looking than the pictures. I tried my best to get good shots but it just doesn't come across on film (chip) as well as it does in person. I'll try my Nikon later today. This is a really nice addition and am surprised Ferrari didn't do it themselves.

Thanks for the input on the equalize tank. I will go ahead and do it but would not even consider doing it in the car. I swear if that stuff got on anything, it would be toast---too risky for captain retard. I'll pull it out.

Stay tuned for more action...

Diagram....

Hmmm, the bottom piece looks like it's metal too.

Too late. I'm already on it and only need to sand and polish.  

As for heat, it's just paint no form of insulation I can assure you. Needless to say, even a small increase in temperature would have no affect on the fuel mixture or detonation. If anything the car will move faster due to the reduction in weight and added aerodynamics. I plan to strip the car next.

More pics to come...

12-3-2009

Ain't happening...

When you open the hood, "POW!". Otherwise, it just gently, but persistently demands you see more.