My wife and I polished our alpines valve cover last night and it came out
real nice. Here's how we did it. We took a trip to the hardware store and
bought some wet and dry sand paper in 100 grit 200 grit and 400 grit. We
also purchased a small wheel arbor that chucked into my drill. And 3 or 4
small cotton buffs about 4 inch or smaller. Any bigger and they won't fit
into tight places such as corners or around the edges. I also purchased
DICO BUFFING TRIPOLI , It comes in a little paper tube.
First I removed the oil filler neck and cap. Then I cleaned the cover
inside and out with mineral spirits.
There was a few rough spots in the casting that I took down with a fine
file. Do this very carefully, the aluminum is very soft. Next I wet
sanded the entire surface with the course grit paper to remove the grey
painted coating, don't rub to hard or the sratches will be hard to buff out
later. Then clean and wet sand again and work up the grits until you get
to the 400 grit. I suppose you could go to 600 grit if you wanted to, but
that's up to you, I stopped at 400. Okay, now is the fun part. Chuck the
wheel arbor into your drill(don't use a battery drill they don't turn fast
enough) with the buffs installed. Apply a little tripoli while the arbor
is turning, and start polishing. You may want to have some one hold the
cover while you are polishing. I think using the arbor on the drill works
so much better than a stationary buffer, because you can get into the nooks
and crannys so much better with the small buffs. Also wear a respirator or
you will have a metalic taste in your mouth for days like I did oops. Good
luck you will be very happy with the results, I was.
ARMAND RITCHIE
B395014212
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