Those finned valve covers you have would polish up nicely, and look almost chromed. I like those valve covers, polished or as cast...I think they look nice on a small block in any car, but...that's just me. 😁
Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"
Hello, I totally agree with Mr Apple. A little grease on the elbow, and some #4 steel wool, you'll be proud to lift the hood at any venue!
Me three. Polish them up.
Thank you all for the advice, I'll try and polish them up.
I'm a rubbing! Rub Rub Rub!
Haven't rubbed this much since i was a teenager! lol
Any cleaner that might help?
Hand polishing those things will be a chore! A buffing wheel on a grinder would make quick work of them, but of course not everyone has a bench grinder that could be used for polishing, so...
I would suggest a metal polish such as Flitz, or Mother's Aluminum polish. Either will require a lot of elbow grease, and will turn your fingers black. A quick rub-down with some Scotchbrite pads before buffing will also help clean, and smooth the surface for buffing.
Here's some of my last polishing job...'81 Goldwing 1100 engine stuff. Set up one of my grinders on my rear deck railing, and mounted a buffing wheel to one side. I bought some buffing compounds to use for this since it would work better for my set-up. Did pretty much all of the exposed aluminum stuff, and it all took me several weekend days to get it done. Even using a buffing wheel, my hands got nasty! I would highly recommend using latex/rubber gloves! 😁
Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56
My Link
(click for Texas-sized view!) NCRS
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"
Well, this is ther best I could do!
I'd say overall they came out nice. For the spaces in between the fins, you could paint that area, and make them stand out even more. It's really hard to get down in the to polish, so putting some color in there makes the polishing effort on the areas you can get to worth it.
Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56
My Link
(click for Texas-sized view!) NCRS
"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"
Thank you..This is all new to me..What type of dressing coat do you recommend for the exhaust manifold?
I used Calyx Exhaust Manifold Dressing on my factory manifolds. I thought it worked really good. Kinda messy but so far it has lasted several months. Sorry, not sure where I picked it up.