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MG TD TF 1500 - Polished Valve Cover

Hi Everyone,

What do you all use to polish up the valve cover to be so shiny?

Of course my PO had painted mine yellow, so I stripped the paint and sanded it smooth, but it's not really shiny, like it could be.

Do you spray some clear coat on it when it's done?

/dan
Dan Gill

A buffing wheel and jeweler's rouge are really the best, then either clear-coat or use Simichrome from time to time. I wax mine sometimes.

Tom Lange
MGT Repair
t lange

Yes. Automotive clear coat. You can get it at the automotive paint store in spray cans. You can also cheapen out and use the Rustoleum spray clear lacquer at the big box store but it does not hold up very well.
Chris Couper

Mother's metal polish to polish anything metal is awesome!
Rich King TD 8732

Dan,
Hope you are talking about a cast aluminum cover,,,,
You've got to get it really smooooth by sanding,, Then working up to something like 800 grit,, then some very fine steel wool, and as Tom indicates, a buffing wheel and jewelers rouge, or polishing compound,, IMHO, I would stay away from coating it with any spray,,, that just makes it more difficult to get back to a shiny finish when it get discolored!!

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

Hmm. I thought when he said sanded he was talking about the original steel one and just went with it unpainted.

And for aluminum I agree with Rich. Its Mothers all the way after you give it a serious first pass over the buffing machine.
Chris Couper

I use two wheels, one with an 8" spiral and another with a fluffy flannel. Red-brown compound on the heavy spiral sewn and white on the flannel. I use 1 hp motors with arbor attachments. One motor came from a surplus house and the other I rescued from the transfer station with a stuck centrifugal switch for the starting capacitor.

The absolute best I've ever used for hand polishing is Flitz. It's expensive, $20+ for a tube the size of a large tube of toothpaste. I got turned onto it because the guys polishing the leading edges of business jets use it as a machine polish. It leaves an absolute mirror finish but is too fine for something that's been sanded, even with 1200. It might work on something that's been sanded with 2000 or finer. I think it's abrasive is about 6000. I think the chemical composition begins to work on the oxide first. It's also good for taking the blue off chrome exhaust pipes and I used it on plastic headlights as well.

Ok, sales job over but they sell very small tubes if you want to just try it.

Clear is good for a while and may be fine on an engine where it's getting a little oil spilled on it or misting around it. Clear powder coat works as well but nothing will shine like bare aluminum.
JE Carroll

This thread was discussed on 20/04/2014

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