Most most parts had to be reworked two or three times before I got the brushed aluminum finish that I wanted.
Preparing the bolts for rust prevention and to have a consistent look seemed to take about 20 hours. The bolts were first cleaned in carb cleaner, then soaked in naval jelly to loosen any corrosion or rust, then polished or brushed one-by-one, soaked in carb cleaner again before a final acetone bath to remove any oils. After surface preparation, the bolts were sprayed with a high temp ceramic primer, then two coats of with a high temp gold engine finish, final ceramic clear coat, then after an hour, the bolts were baked in an oven starting at 170 degrees, moving up to 200, then a final bake at 300 to cure the ceramic paint.
The auminum components went through a similar process without the painting step. Actually baking ceramic paint seems to make it smooth out and produce a more glass looking finish. I will need to break in the car using 15 minute run then followed by an hour cool down to let the ceramic coating completely cure. The water pump was only baked at 150 for about 30 minutes -- I could still handle it because I didn't want it to heat up any bearings over the temperature that it could experience in a transport truck somewhere in southern AZ,
Here's a video of the process below with estimates. I think it takes longer for the final polishing step than the video shows. The part may have been placed in a vibratory polishing machine with some crunched up pecan or walnut hulls along with some corn meal.
My experience with polishing a part to have a mirror finish is wasted after a protective high temperature clear coat has been applied. After spraying a mirror polished part, its appearance would change and morph into a finish that looked like it had been sprayed with regular ordinary silver paint. I didn't want to use laquer as I know how it breaks down with petroleum solvents and after many heat/cold run cycles.
http://rinconrolla98.blogspot.com/2010/ ... ts-to.html
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