>Mike Wrote - do you or anyone else have any similar advice on buffing out
>aluminum (carb domes, valve cover, etc)?
Sure. Mostly, warnings.
Carb domes are fairly thin, fragile and sized to tolerances. Buff with care.
Sand thourghly through grades. You don't want to be tempted to attempt to buff
out the pits. In doing that big no-no, you'll overheat your domes and distort
them. Be very careful not to catch the work on the buffing wheel. It will rip
the dome out of your hands and fling it. A cracked shiny SU dome wont work very
good. I have one I keep next to my arbors to remind me.
Valve covers - U20 covers are poor castings, full of air holes. As you sand,
you'll open new holes. Very frustrating. Best advice? Take it to a pro and pay
him to be frustrated. R16 covers polish fantastically. Unfortunatly, the fins
and rivets make it a major project. I did one and wow it was nice. Sold it for
$60 and trade-in. If I had to charge for time... $300 would have been cheap.
I'll think twice about trying that again.
General - All the different compounds and buffs on the market will never do a
great job if your not willing to do the labor of graded sanding before you buff.
Aluminum polishing is rewarding enough to become a moderatly expensive hobby -
a very nasty hobby. Don't hesitate to take your work to a pro. It's too late
for him, he's already hooked. But, While your talking to him, take a good look
at his skin, clothes, hands and fingernails. Do YOU want to look like that?
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