Ok so, I got aem dual intakes from a member here. and got a great price.
But, the pipes are colored black with high temp paint.
I was thinking i would remove the paint so its the polished state.

How should i go about doing this? i dont wanna use thinner if it will discolor the original polish?

(im not good with paint subjects, so sorry if this is a stupid Q )

thanks

 

Any solvent strong enough to remove paint will potentially damage metal surface. Sorry.

 

Should i wet sand it then? would that be better than using a solvent?

 

Just strip the paint off, then take the pipe to get chromed/polished. It's not gonna look good with just stripping the paint.

 

alright. thanks for the help. do you know about how much would getting both the pipes chromed/polished cost?

 

YOu need some airplane paint stripper in a aerosol can from your local parts store. Just spray the pipes down well and then after about 30 minutes spray them off with water. This should remove all the paint down to bare metal. Then wet sand the **** outta them with some 1500 grut paper and then rub them to a shine with mothers metal polish. Shouldnt take to long to do and will look great. Good luck.

 

try brake fluid on a sponge,wait 5 minutes and it will wipe right off.

 

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thanks for the help. i did get stripper and i did apply it just now, im waiting and ill post how it turns out. im going to wet sand and polish it afterwards.

 

yeah everything came off nicely with the stripper. now all i have to do is wet sand it and polish...im assuming all the scratched look will go away?

 

you should start with 2000 or 2500 grit unless the pipe is really bad,it will save you alot of time.a buffing kit is a must if you want to still feel your fingers when you are done.check eastwood tools. brake fluid is suprisingly gentle compared to commercial strippers,i have used it even on painted plastics to clean overspray with great results.(rinse right away!)

 

yeah i dont have a buffing kit
looks like i wont have hands for a while.
all i have is 1500 grit right now. i might start with that (there are a few large scratches) then i will move to 2000/2500. To polish it should i just use mothers aluminum polish? i have some of that laying around.

 

mothers works really good,if you take the sandpaper and cut it into 11x2 inch strips you can kind of saw your way down the pipe.it makes the job go much faster,just keep pressure light or you will be chasing deep scratches forever.thats why i recommend waiting for some 2000.

 

Alright, ill go out and get 2000/2500 after i get off of work today. i just need to find a buffer from someone so i dont have to do it all by hand. my cars at the service getting the recall work done today anyway. right now with just the paint off, the pipe looks heavily scratched so its gonna take some fine sanding to get it to normal.

and thanks for all your help btw.

 

good luck