Chrome? We don't need no stinkin' chrome!

[rkep01]

I was sitting around waiting for the new server to come on line, and I got to thinking. How shiny could I get steel to polish up? I had some real grotty air cleaners, so I sanded one then buffed it with black emery, then finished with white rouge. After it was polished, I clear coated it. Granted, it's not quite as shiny as chrome, but it's not bad. If I go to brown Tripoli to finish, it will probably come a little brighter. Not bad for an hour and a half of work and almost $0. Photos show before and after.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Unfortunately it will probably rust under the clear.

 

[rkep01]

Then we'll buy new chromed ones. :thumbsup:

 

[Rut]

Excellent job...time for me to break out my buffer!
Rut

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately it will probably rust under the clear.

Eventually, I've done things like this before and they stayed nice for a long time. I just did the steering wheel on the 6 like this.

 

[JPSmit]

Funnily, I was using a wire wheel on my front subframe tonight and it was coming up shiny! was having the same thoughts. BTW, back in the day when I was in the reserves doing Chaplaincy, I worked with the MPs. One of the things prisoners were issued was a galvanized water bowl. It was expected to be polished to a mirror finish.

Lots of time on their hands.

 

[Sarastro]

I've experimented a bit with buffing, too. It's amazing how bright you can get things, with a little work.

Another option for the air filters is good ol' Rustoleum gray hammertone, from a spray can. It looks surprisingly good. I did mine with this, then painted the screen with aluminum paint.

 

[rkep01]

Anything to keep the costs down works for me.

 

[Guest]

While I'm and avid spray and pray kinda guy, perhaps it would be best to source these new. I would imagine sparying paint into an air filter doesn't help it's flow capabilities.

 

[Sarastro]

Actually, I didn't spray paint into the filter. I masked it off while doing the outside. Then painted the aluminum paint on the screen with a brush. (Sorry, I realize that wasn't clear!) Still, that Bugeye air filter is good only for filtering out particles the size of buffalo chips, dead squirrels, fire hydrants, and similar-sized things. I don't think you could plug it up if you tried.

When I bought it, my car came with a new, aftermarket filter and one original. The new one used a metric bolt, threaded into the filter, which is a profound offense to an LBC, in my opinion. It veritably screams, "This does not belong here!" It's like a Frenchman in the driver's seat. Also, it presents practical problems. I never used metric hardware in the Bugeye, and I don't use English in the Porsche. It means you have to carry both metric and English tools, and then try to remember which to use where.

 

[Guest]

(Sorry, I realize that wasn't clear!)

That's o.k, they look great in silver. Besides, rk has already done 'em in clear.