My hands hurt from this polish

SVT Adam

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I'm in the process of adding an intercooler and a few other parts for my vortec setup on my 2v. I had planned on powdercoating the charge pipes black and red for my headunit, but once I saw the pipes were a nice polished finish I decided to dive into a project. My wheels on my Saleen have been swapped out from chrome to polished so I wanted to keep the theme going.
parts.jpg

intercooler.jpg

It was time to pull the vortech off and give that area of the engine bay a quick wipe down. When I first got the car it had an oil leak from a loose oil feed line to the head unit, so I took care of that but was never able to fully clean certain parts until now :sick:
engine bay.jpg

v1.jpg

A full can of brake kleen later and we're back in business. Now I'm to the point of why my fingers hurt...
v2.jpg

I started at 220 which was more than enough for 70%, but the "bottom" portion of the headunit had some deep marring and scratches I wanted to try to get out. I ended up going down to 80 grit and working up to 320. This picture is after my first 220 pass which you can see the marks I was aiming to remove at the bottom.
v3.jpg

And here is after about 8 hours of sanding & polishing. I didn't spend as much time on portions that wouldn't be seen. I was questioning half way through the project why I didn't go the powdercoat route a couple of times.
v4.jpg

Then I was left with what to do with the actual unit itself and decided to just go for it
v5.jpg

v8.jpg
v9.jpg

Excited to start the re-assembly and make some cool jet noises
 

CobraBob

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Well, when I saw that first "before" photo, I didn't have high expectations for the final photo. Wow!!! That is absolutely amazing. Looks really, really good. Lots of time put into it but the result speaks for itself. Nice work sir!
 

Lambeau

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Well done, Sir. Your passion's reward, eye candy for you and everyone else to see.

Great part of our car hobby.
 

68gtscode

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Nice work and great results OP! I remember wet sanding / polishing my 03 Cobra’s cat back based on a thread here… I probably had 40-50 hours in the project and recall my hands being fatigued most of the time! Life before marriage and kids :)
 

2003RedfireVert

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Yes

I don't have a build thread, but maybe I'll start one. Anything in particular you're wanting to know? View attachment 1785915
I always loved the Saleens. The wheels they designed are perfect for the New Edge. If my cobra gets any other wheels other factory style 5 spokes it would be chrome Saleens.
 

SVT Adam

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- Just looked, this is going on your '02 Saleen?
- Can you post a pic?
- Sorry if I missed it, but do you have a build thread for this mod?
Here ya go!
 

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