Cleaned up my valve cover. Check it. Here are some before pictures for you to laugh at.

Look closely, see the rat turds? Awesome right?

 

First I want to say Pop has good polishing info on his page. Check it.

First pic: After 5 minutes with 220. Used a palm sander where possible. Did one side at first to see the difference.

Second: 15 minutes, wiping it down with a wet rag.

Third: Hour or so (?) Wet with 400 this time.

Fourth: Starting on the other side. See the difference between 220 and 400 here?

I'll post again for the completed shots.

 

First: Done.

I'm not really into the mirror shine look, just wanted it to look a little better than a rat restroom.

Second: Back in place.

Third: Head-on.

This is where the question comes in. Look at how crappy the intake manifold looks. I'd clean it up the same except that I really don't want to pull it. What should I do?

-Tape off like crazy and paint?
-Sand it so it matches the valve cover?
-Do nothing and hope it goes away?

My engine bay has a lot of black, so that's the only option.

 

id say just clean up and sand the parts that you can see so you dont have to take it off. i have been debating for a while if i should go for a full polish or just satan looks like im on the boat with you, that looks awsome. what was your finishing meathod?

 

I finished like usual. I guess I don't know what you're asking. I didn't put any finishing on the cover, I just wet sanded with 400 grit, wiping away the residue with a wet rag. Do I need a finish of some kind?

Yeah, I don't really feel like creating more work for myself by pulling the manifold, but i'm not leaving it like that. A light sanding clean-up is probably the best option, although it would be less work and possibly better looking in my opinion to paint it flat black.

Oh, thanks for the compliment...

 

You might consider using safety wire instead of zip-ties when tie-wrapping your heat-shielding material. It's like ceramic-coating your exhaust manifold then using saran wrap to keep it lookin' nice

 

Duly noted. I figure some will melt and break from the heat, but really it's in effort to keep the "self-adhesive" material in place, so a couple wraps with wire should do the trick should they all melt.

I'll keep it in mind.

 

huge improvement, looks great. Still debating on what to do to mine, probably chrome it for low maintenence

 

by finishing i ment like what was the last thing you did to it. looks like 400 grit. thx dude sorry for being confusing... i was able to use some 220 on a random orbital then go to some 400 then some sos padding and then 1500 and then 2000 wet sand and then some clear coat buffing compound (because i had it lying around) came to a good sheen but nothing close to a high polish. noticed a big improvement when going to the sos pads though you might want to try a little and see how you like it