scrmnws6

iTrader: (7)

You guys are hilarious sometimes. I would NOT touch the inside of the intake at all. Porting and polishing for performance is different thatn polishing the exterior for looks.

Product that I would sell would look like this...
Before...



After...






This one is not completely buffed out, so there is alot more room left in polishing it. Whatcha guys think?

scrmnws6

iTrader: (7)

scrmnws6

iTrader: (7)

I just think people see polishing and $350 they do not want to read the rest of the post but decide to bash.

Oh well.

I am only polishing the outside of the intake to get a mirror finish on the outside of the intake.

roughneck427

iTrader: (12)

scrmnws6 hey i think it looks great but for $125 you can get a intake Cerma -Chromed that never needs any polishing and is a porcelin thermal barrier.Not trying to knock your efforts but letting you know whats out there heres a couple of carbed manifolds they do the same with fuel injected im getting mine done next week after the port work is done.These were done by a place local where i live at Cap's powder coating

scrmnws6

iTrader: (7)

Are you aware that it will not let ANY of the heat from inside the intake to escape? It is a great heat barrier that will keep the heat inside. Just like powdercoating.

Thats something to think about as well.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

Nice polish job! (the outside, that is )

ZL1SS

iTrader: (4)

Who cares about heat? I think it's over rated to say the least

scrmnws6

iTrader: (7)

That ceram chrome stuff will act the same way that ceramic coated headers and high temp coated headers work. The headers purpose is justified, but the intake?

A friend has had his intake powdercoated. He regrets it now. It is so hot, that you do not even want to think about touching it after a short drive. W/o the coating, the stock intake dissapates heat much much better.

But heat is overrated, so do as you will.

PunishedU

iTrader: (1)

I'm bringing this back from the dead, did you ever get that intake put on a car. Just curious what it looked like with the whole thing polished.

scrmnws6

iTrader: (7)

I never polished it up as we were rushing to get the car finished. I only clean up the intake... still looks pretty good.




I have a spare one that I have been working on. Will post those results when its finished.

Pampered-Z

( Ok, see if I did this right,= attaching photo )

When I polished mine i also removed the ribs from the top, gave the intake a completely different look.

It was alot of work and I wouldn't even think about doing one for less then $300.

Camaroholic

iTrader: (1)

Polishing is a bitch. Way too much work. I couldn't imagine someone doing it for under $300 either (and if they did, I probably wouldn't want it ). I had mine ceramic chrome coated 6 years ago. Still looks great. I don't regret it for one second.

thesoundandthefury

iTrader: (3)

LS1 Owners: "I'm already fast, may as well make it look good."

LT1 Owners: "How much RWHP is it gonna get me? None? F*ck that I gotta catch up to the LS1's."

That's why there's no demand.

Armyman2445

iTrader: (17)

That looks damn good with no ribs on top. Ive been pondering a cover for that from alum. Added to the a smoothed out vette fuel rail cover. Looks awsome by the way. I had not thought about shaving off the ribs. How much of a PITA was it?

93 blackformy

iTrader: (1)

Pamperd-Z..that looks pretty cool...It being different is what makes it look better..nice job

Scrmnws6..nice job also

zlover129

iTrader: (10)

Yea, i like polishing but i would look into doing it for things like the water pump, timing chain cover and other things like that, the intake i did ceramic coated (my coater has done over a dozen LT1 intakes and they all look great and he had no trouble with them) Ceramic just works better on an intake to me, easier to keep clean, better for heat, and they both look great. Not trying to knock your efforts but you definitely arent the first to get a polishing kit an think about offering polished intakes, few stick with it. But good luck man, they do look great

thesoundandthefury

iTrader: (3)

Already been there, and it was a total waste. I sold this water pump on Ebay:



It was a brand new 0 miles pump. With my cost for the pump, the stainless allen bolts I included, new gaskets, new coolant temp sensor, and the cost of the supplies to polish it, I made $60 on the sale. This was for 20 hours of labor...

I did a poll here and on cz28.com asking for feedback on how many people would be interested in having a polished water pump. Number #1 complaint: too much money. Number #2 complaint: it's a waste of money to buy a polished part that is barely visible when installed. Number #3 complaint: it's a waste of money to buy a polished part that will wear out. I tried to counter the "part wearing out" argument by suggesting that I could offer this:



There were some who liked the idea, but most went over to the "too much money" side.

As far as intakes, I took the feedback I got on water pumps and figured an intake would have better chances of selling since it doesn't wear out and it's the most visible part of the engine. Put this on Ebay with a reserve price of $300:



I had 36 watchers on this auction, and ONE guy bid the starting bid price of $250. So apparently, nobody thinks a polished LT1 intake sold outright is worth more than $250. The going rate for used intakes seems to be in the neighborhood of $75-$125. If you took the median of that and just said it costs $100 for a core, then subtracted the cost of the supplies to polish it, @ $250 you're making about $130 profit for 40 hours of labor.

I could go work at McDonald's for that kind've money and not work half as hard...

Pampered-Z

It was a mojor PITA. I used the diegrinder to take most of it off, then a big alum. flat file to finish smoothing it. Just removing the ribs took a full day. I did the timing cover and W.P. as well, but when I had to pull the motor apart I ended up painting then black. They were way too much trouble to keep clean, I ended up with cuts everywhere, and no one could see them anyway.

Boodyrider

iTrader: (2)

No interested. All the reasons posted previously, and this: I don't especially like the polished look. For about 25 bucks I can beadblast and paint, whether with high temp clear as I did mine or with powder for another 75 bucks. I LIKE the cast look, seems more aggressive to me. I just preferred the 'clean' look of beadblasting. If ANYTHING should be polished, it's the top of the ribs. Clear keeps it from oxidizing. Note too that beadblasting helps a LOT to hide porosity issues.