Im trying to polish my heat shield. I first took a coarse wire wheel brush, then a fine wire wheel brush, followed by wet sanding with 120 grit, then 220 grit.

Now my heat shield looks blotchy. Most of the area on it looks smooth and shiny like it should, then other areas look dull, like i didn't even sand it at all. I tried searching but couldn't find much info on it. So any tips you may have for me or ideas would be great to know. Ill post pics here in a bit of what I mean.

As I go along, i'm taking pictures so i can make a DIY on it.

Thanks for any help

 

you need to sand it with a higher grit, 1500 to 2000 will make a mirror finish

 

im only at 220 right now. I plan on going in these steps: 120,220,400,600,1000, then use some super fine steel wool on top of that

Would that work? or should i use 1500 to 2000?

 

Yeah I went steel wire brush, 220, 400, 1000 and the turbo housing came out great

 

go 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and then 2000 and once you are there you will see it be shiny, than get ur self a power ball and do some polishing compound on it. and then by hand and once you are there you will have the cleanest shine. check out my thread on my profile I have pics of my manifold.
also only sand in one direction it comes out way better.

 

Don't forget to keep WET sanding it with the higher grit paper...

and btw, are you aware that pics and graphics in your sig are against site rules? you might wanna take it out of your sig... jus a heads up...

 

here are some pictures that I took to show what it looks like after the wire wheel brushes and wet sanding with 120 grit and 220 grit.

As you can see, It looks blotchy in places. I sanded the whole thing quite well too.

 

keep going with the higher grits you'll be good

one thing i noticed when it comes to polishing the heat shilds there seems to always be a little bit of cloudyness to it when you finish. idk if it's just be or because it is always exposed to high heat.

 

Alright, sounds good. I did it in these steps: 120,220,600,1000,1500,2000

Will those steps work? or would you recommend something different?

 

400 600 800 1000 1500 2000. each step makes smaller and smaller stratches sanding away the ones from before. this gets rid of all the oxidation and makes the scrartches small enough to be polished out.

i use mother mag/aluminium polish with a polishing ball

 

yeah i have mothers mag/aluminum polish also. i just have a buffing pad for the drill that i'm using for the polishing stuff.

So all them blotchy areas will come out your saying and make it like a mirror chrome like finish?

 

Well I finished up all the sanding up to to 2000, then I started to polish it. Still have lots of polishing to do but figured I would show you what it looks as of now.

Any ideas on how i can improve it? make it more glossy and mirror like?

You can still see some scratches and small blemishes




Pretty good shine, if i say so myself. Can still see the scratch in the center and some small blemishes. Any ideas?



Giving off the reflection



More of the almost finished product, sorry for the bluriness



Showing more of the imperfections. Haven't started polishing bottom half yet

 

yep just keep working it with higher and higher grit,from the looks of it you need to go back with 400 and sand further,then hit it with 800 then 1000 then 2000 then polish,it is about a 3 hours job to sand it all correctly then another 2 hours of polishing.

 

so go back to 400 and sand the whole thing all over again? I was using my hands with no sanding block. Should I use a block or just keep using my hands like I have been.

then after the 400, go to 800, then 1000, then 2000. then to polish. after 2000 grit i also used 000 super fine steel wool.

According to you, what needs improvement on it? not mirror like enough, blotchy spots, deep scratches?

 

you still have a lot of deep scratches form what looks like the 220,spending a long time using the 400 will blend them down enough that the higher grits can cut the rest of the surface,keep using hand,no block,block is for flat areas.

 

you went through all the grits too fast. go back down to 600 and stay on that for a while till everything looks the same. what you can do is throw some polish on it after the 400 and make sure that everything looks uniformed and looks the same. Than you can continue with 800. with the 800 it will look more shinier. Spend a lot a lot of time wet sanding this. Also make sure to throw in a few drops of soap to lubricate in your water. Spend the most time on 800 though till everything looks exactly the same. Than throw in some polish and make sure there is no deep scratches as this point. If there is than your going to have to go back down a grit to take them out. Only sand in one direction the whole thing dont cross or else you get more scratches and harder to come out. continue to 1000 than 1500 and then 2000. It is going to take some time so dont rush through it and it will come out really nice. Im not done yet on my manifold I still have a lot to do. That and I have my downpipe chillin waiting to get polished too.

 

alright, thanks for the info. Also scikotic when your all finished and have everything all polished up nice, slap a coat of wax onto it. The wax will help prevent it from dulling out or getting oxidation on it. As long as you keep it normally waxed, you shouldn't have to do very much maintenance on it and it will keep it looking great!!

 

OP, please remove the image from your sig and review the site rules.

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15164

if you do not advise someone will remove it for you and likely issue a warning.

Thanks

 

I warned him...

 

sorry sciontistical one, i totally didnt even see you warn me about it.

yellowxhoodie, didnt realize it was against the rules and thanks for the heads up. It is now removed