Polished air intake manifold???? - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

StarkEA · 12-04-2002, 22:33

I was just wondering if it possilbe to have a hi-polished air intake manifold???? if so what can I use to polish it??

and what else can I polish or paint under the hood to make it look better??

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 12-04-2002, 23:41

Wouldnt bother with a polished intaske for the same reason you dont polish your intake ports in the head...a slightly "rough" surface help mix the air and fuel ratio better which makes it burn more effectively...i think they call it atomisation
paint your rocker cover and perhaps ex. manifold heat shield....brake booster, silicone spray radiator/heater/rubber hoses add brand spaking new hose clapms throughout etc etc
All this can add to an attractive looking engine bay...of course if you have any oil leaks fix them first!

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 12-04-2002, 23:43

just re-read your post....if you want to polish the outside of your intake for appearance then go ahead...there should be something on the market you can use...brasso, aluminium/alloy polishes etc

jamesk · 12-05-2002, 02:57

use autosol. and wait untill something good is on tv as you have to sit for hours and scrub at it. eventually you will get a nice mirror finish.

old_mate · 12-05-2002, 03:00

I tried it once, and it was a utter bastard to do. I seem to have some really yuck coating on mine which only goes black when u polish it.

I polished my exhaust manifold heat shield with a buffing wheel on a drill and autosol. Looks pretty awesome for a 10 minute job

EDXR8 · 12-05-2002, 03:11

The intake manifold has a ceramic or paint base over it. I have just finished my V8 one which took around 60-80hours to complete. If you want to do it, use paint stripper to remove the top coat, then sand the metal back from 320 grit slowly to 600-1200 grit, and then use a cutting compound like tripoli to take the sanding marks out of it. Finally polish it up with aluminium mag polish and it should look like a mirror. A lot of work though.

JC-XR8 · 12-05-2002, 03:40

60-80 hours? Blisters?

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 12-05-2002, 13:24

VHT make a pretty good alloy paint which would look nice, its not shiney or anything though so you may not like it...just makes it look like it is brand new etc

StarkEA · 12-05-2002, 14:48

thanx guys I'll give some of them a go..

SiKEDXR8 · 12-05-2002, 15:40

i did my v8 manifold as well, it takes aaaages, but the end result is pretty damn good