XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

I am not an expert or a pro, I am not telling you this is the way it is done or has to be done.

This is what I did and used to polish my plenum, I made this thread to help others.

If you know a better or faster way to do this by all means post how, we are all here just to help each other.

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This job took me 25 hours over 4-5 days. If I had done it over 2 days and had a larger compressor I think I could have done it in much less time, around 16 hours possibly.

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Before:


after:


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before:


after:


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before:


after:

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

I have seen a few zeds online here with a polished oem upper plenum and liked it so I decided to do mine. Some have done them themselves others have paid around $300 to get them done professionally.

Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project
-Safety glasses
-respirator
-ear protection
-gloves


I bought an extra plenum to polish that way my car would still be drivable. What it looked like when I stared, rough and dirty.








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After 4 hours of using an air grinder with a 40 grit flap disk and a Rotary tool with a grinding stone. (should have took less time but even with 2 compressors I still had to wait for them to keep up)

Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project
-Air grinder
-40 grit flap disk
-Rotary tool with and assortment of grinding stones






On a small part of the plenum you can see I did a few more steps to see some shine, (I wanted some motivation lol)







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XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

After another 4 hours of using an air grinder with a 80 grit flap disk and a Rotary tool with a grinding stone and 80 grit flap wheel. (should have took less time but even with 2 compressors I still had to wait for them to keep up)

Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project
-Air grinder
-80 grit flap disk
-Rotary tool with and assortment of grinding stones, sanding wheels and flap wheels.






On a small part of the plenum you can see I did a few more steps to see some shine, (I wanted some motivation lol)

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

After another 6 hours of using an electric orbital sander with 80 grit sand paper, 120 grit sand paper and 220 grit sand paper. A Rotary tool with a 80 grit flap wheel and wire wheel. (should have took less time but even with 2 compressors I still had to wait for them to keep up)

Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project
-5 inch electric orbital sander
-80 grit sand paper
-120 grit sand paper
-220 grit sand paper
-Rotary tool with and assortment sanding wheels, flap wheels and wire wheels.









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XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

After another 3 hours of wet sanding by hand with 400 grit and 800 grit. A Rotary tool with a 80 grit flap wheel, wire wheel and sanding wheel.

Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project
-400 grit wet sand paper
-800 grit wet sand paper
-Rotary tool with and assortment sanding wheels, flap wheels and wire wheels.

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

After another 2 hours of using an air die grinder with a felt/cloth wheel and a black compound/bar.

Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project
-Air grinder
-an assortment of felt/cloth wheels
-black compound/bar

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

After another 2 hours of using an air die grinder with a felt/cloth wheel and a White compound/bar.

After another 2 hours of using an air die grinder with a felt/cloth wheel and a Red compound/bar.

After another 2 hours of using an air die grinder with a felt/cloth wheel and Metal polish

--- another 6 Hours total---

Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project
-Air grinder
-an assortment of felt/cloth wheels
-White compound/bar
-Red compound/bar
-Metal polish



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--HERE ARE THE PICS AFTER 25 HOURS OF WORK---

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

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I hope that helps
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jv350z

iTrader: (6)

Looks great. I wish I had the motivation to do all that work.

beezee

iTrader: (19)

Nice job. Good idea you bought an extra. That way one can take it easy and see it as some fun job that can be done over a period of time.

adamciya350

Dam...that looks amazing

Sylvan Lake V35

iTrader: (23)

Looks good ! I just did one for a buddy but I dont have air tools so i did it mostly by hand took me all winter!! I do more sanding with finer grits and less buffing (due to the lack of tools) I finish mine off with a big electric buffer they are a ton of work but the finished product makes it well worth it IMO.

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

hand sanding, oh god. This was enough work with air tool. By hand would have been a killer, no wonder why you spread it out over the winter. Its worth it n the end though

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

I also polished my strut bar. The bar is made of steel not aluminum so it can rust. The bar is not on the bar and was finished 4 weeks ago. It has been stored in the garage since then and shows no signs of rust. I am thinking/hoping that if I keep a protective coating of polish on the car it will not rust. If it does rust I will sand it again and clear coat it, or just reinstall my other oem bar.


Here is some of the equipment I needed to complete this project

-5 inch electric orbital sander
-Rotary tool with and assortment sanding wheels, flap wheels and wire wheels.
-Air grinder
-an assortment of felt/cloth wheels

-220 grit sand paper
-400 grit wet sand paper
-800 grit wet sand paper
-1000 grit wet sand paper
-black compound/bar
-Red compound/bar
-Metal polish

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i am not sure how long this took me, maybe 2-4 hours total.

before and after pics

XERMAN2001

iTrader: (1)

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spot saved for pics once installed
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davidv

iTrader: (2)

Oh sugar that is very pretty.

ImWeeZzel

iTrader: (27)

my hat off to you for having lots of patience and providing such a well detailed thread with superior results

albaugh81

Good work man.

cdoxp800

iTrader: (12)

that's just impressive. Great job. It looks outstanding.

duro78

iTrader: (6)

looks awesome just too much work