Plenum Polishing

[OwnerCS]

Here's a few pictures of some plenum polishing work I've been doing while waiting for parts to arrive.

[Infinitiguy19]

I couldn't decide what color to go with on my spare 1991 Q45 plenum, I was thinking black but this looks phenomenal what you've got here. Great work because its not to flashy but looks great!!!

Whats the inside look like?

[OwnerCS]

The inside just looks like a regular plenum finish -- just cleaned up. Last week I sent the plenum to a machine shop to be bead blasted. When it came back it had instead been "vatted" -- as they called it. It looked better in the inside -- but the outside looked darker and it had some streaks on the finish. I rubbed some carburettor cleaner on it and the gray film started to come off. I think they dipped it in some paint like covering. So then I started cleaning the inside and removed all of the gray film. My cleaning method, from what I could see at that point, looked better than the machine shop.

Recently, I purchased some wire buffing brushes for the bench grinder and hand drill. So I went to work on brushing it to smooth out the rough finish. Later I learned 80 grit sandpaper worked the best on the Porter Cable 7424 and an old 1,800 RPM rotary buffer for removing most of the rough finish. From that I went to finer grits and foam sanding blocks.

A green scotch bright pot-scrubbing pad also worked well. So I kept trying different abrasive finishing pads. Also, a 1" ribbon style-sanding belt could be cut and used to buff it "shoe shine style“ around tight corners. Once I got it to look like a brushed aluminium finish that you see on some new appliances, then I alternated single-0 and triple-0 steel wool for the final finish. I think I will give it more steel wool over the next few days to add to the final shine.

During my high-school days, I worked after school at an Italian and Swedish car dealership. One day we had a German car in the shop to be worked on by one of the Swedish car mechanics named Hans. I remember being fascinated with the polished aluminium finish on the intake -- like it represented some level of quality workmanship from a bygone era.

A picture of that engine and intake is posted below.

[goody90q45]

Looks great! Now that it's polished what's it take to keep it that way?

[OwnerCS]

Meguiars makes a metal wheel polish that I really like. After polishing with Meguiars, I will try the new Armor All Wheel Protectant. Recently I used the wheel protectant to repel brake dust and road grime on a 2,400 mile road trip with good results. Wheel Protectant appears to hold up with the high temperatures on lug nuts and areas where the wheel is in contact with the disc brake rotor. Somehow, I think a smooth plenum surface will be easier to maintain over the long haul.

My first approach was to spray the plenum with a clear ceramic heat resistant paint. The clear coat seemed to dull the finish and made it look like it had been sprayed with ordinary gray metallic paint. I removed the clear coat and re-polished with steel wool to bring back the sparkling finish. I believe the polished aluminum finished produced by steel wool allows light rays to bounce and produce a glistening look that reminds me of the way glitter works. It seems to reflect light rays in low light settings like an aluminum reflective street sign.

Here's a link to the Armor All Wheel Protectant page with a demo video. It seems to work as advertised on the chrome looking alloy Ridgeline wheels.

http://www.armorall.com/products/view_p ... =SEM-Brand

[Infinitiguy19]

That stuff is amazing (Armor All Wheel Protectant) I just wish they made a Automobile wax that was just as good. But I haven't had much luck with anything but their Armor All Wheel Protectant. I put a thick layer of Wheel Wax on my 1992-1993 Infiniti Q45T wheels and for some reason its stuck on there for two years. I clayed the wheels and it won't come off. Its not a bad thing but it is a testament to its durability.

Can the polished effect be done to the inside of the plenum to make it smoother so dirt has a harder time sticking to it?

You should polish the Throttle Body and Auxiliary Air Control valve (AAC)/Idle Air Control Valve (IACV) to match and if your up for it the runners as well. But thats a lot of work.

[qship96]

If you are going to all the trouble to polish the exterior of the plenum, might as well cut out the portion of the hood above it and put in a plexiglass window to show it off like the factory installed one on the new corvette zr1.

[Infinitiguy19]

Holy crap I had the same idea!

I went as far as asking the inspection station guy. He said if the crumple points remain intact its legal!!!

Some day I will re-paint my crappy re-painted hood and cut it to show the plenum.

[OwnerCS]

Olds had glass hoods made to show off the newly released V8 for the 1949 Rocket 88. While GM may not have realized what they started at the time, this was their first muscle car.

In Memphis, Sam Phillips (Sun studios) Jackie Brenston (w/Delta Kings) and Ike Turner recorded a song in 1951 about the Rocket 88. The song quickly went to #1 on the charts. General Motors gave Jackie Brenston a new Rocket 88 in appreciation for recording the song.

In 1991, after a great deal of debate, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized Rocket 88 as the first Rock and Roll song ever recorded.

The early V8 Olds automatic transmissions were 4 speed with a lockup in 4th gear.

There is something about the Q45 being a sleeper looking sedan with a high performance V8 that reminds me of my first car. ;-)

Here's a YouTube video about the car below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=Gbfnh1oVTk0&feature=fvw

[elwesso]

I like it... I like the brushed look like whats in the pictures rather than the mirror finish..

Time to take off the valve covers and front covers to make everything else shiny too...

[OwnerCS]

I like it... I like the brushed look like whats in the pictures rather than the mirror finish..

Time to take off the valve covers and front covers to make everything else shiny too...

The valve covers are next. I've got the covers stripped down to bare aluminium in prepearation for polishing.

[oldmako]

PURTY. REAL PURTY.

[OwnerCS]

Somebody polished up this VH45DE.

[lino]

You're almost there .