Polished OEM Exhaust Manifold with pics.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 620
From: Santa Barbara, CA
Polished OEM Exhaust Manifold with pics.
Not Sure if this is in the right place. MODs go ahead and move if needed.
Had some time so I polished my stock exhaust manifold. Took some time by I think the finished product doesn't look too bad. Also cut off the tabs for the OEM heat shield and ground down the welds.
let me know what you think.
Had some time so I polished my stock exhaust manifold. Took some time by I think the finished product doesn't look too bad. Also cut off the tabs for the OEM heat shield and ground down the welds.
let me know what you think.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 620
From: Santa Barbara, CA
I mostly used a grinder with a steel brush to do most of the work. I sanded it down some with fine sandpaper. Then polished with stainless steel polish. Been working on it for a while, on and off
looks really good. i might have to do this now. 
excellent job
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 218
From: Round Lake Beach, IL
Good Job Looks Great ---- Makes me re think about getting a aftermarket header. Seeing it w/o the heatshield....Looks just like all the others....Matter of fact, what is the difference...**scratches head**
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 620
From: Santa Barbara, CA
Took about a good 3-4 hours. I have a aftermarket header so I was able to work on it for a week on and off.
The pipes were easy to polish up with the wire brush. The thing that took the longest was the metal flange that attaches to the motor. Getting in around the pipes was hard. Mostly had to do by hand. There are still some places around there that I have to work on.
There are still some places between the pipes that I was unable to reach with a tool or my hands. Its not perfect but it definitely looks better than the rust color they were before.
Definitely saved some time by using a grinder with a wire brush.
Here's the steps I took to get the exhaust manifold looking like this:
1) Used grinder with cone shaped wire brush to remove rust over entire surface.
2) Wet sanded pipes/ flange using increasing grits of sandpaper.
3) Hand polished with Mothers Metal Polish Mag and Aluminum.
The pipes were easy to polish up with the wire brush. The thing that took the longest was the metal flange that attaches to the motor. Getting in around the pipes was hard. Mostly had to do by hand. There are still some places around there that I have to work on.
There are still some places between the pipes that I was unable to reach with a tool or my hands. Its not perfect but it definitely looks better than the rust color they were before.
Definitely saved some time by using a grinder with a wire brush.
Here's the steps I took to get the exhaust manifold looking like this:
1) Used grinder with cone shaped wire brush to remove rust over entire surface.
2) Wet sanded pipes/ flange using increasing grits of sandpaper.
3) Hand polished with Mothers Metal Polish Mag and Aluminum.
