tbird88
Registered User
Saw another thread where someone asked about polishing their supercharger and posted on it, then thought why not a "how to" thread so here it is. Be happy to expand on anything if ya got a question, gonna keep it sorta basic here so it don't turn into a romance novel.
Take the blower off the car, dissassemble it, keep everything located/orderly and all that. Sand the easy-to-get-to areas such as the flat panels on the sides and lightly buff the not-so-easy-to-get-to areas with a SOFT wire wheel. You can then use a 4" grinder with a stainless wire wheel or better yet use a wire wheel on a bench grinder to get to some of the harder to reach places.
Berryman carb cleaner also works well at stripping but leaves a rough odor. Seems the pores in the aluminum get stuffed with the smell. I use an Acetone bath to soak parts in afterwards to get the smell out but it doesn't always work very well at leaching the Berryman out.
Those are the easy ways...
If ya wanna get dangerous though, do it the manly way. Grab the oxy/ac rig and put a small brazing tip on it. Use a flame that you can "hear" to graze the fins with.
Start on the bottom side of the housing. As they say, experiment on an inconspicuous area before movin' on to sections that are in plain sight when the blower is installed. Do the edges of the fins first instead of down in between them, this will keep from heating up the entire fin too soon.
Remember one thing throughout all of this...Your mission is to only destroy the integrity of the original powdercoating, not the aluminum underneath. Pass the flame along the edges keepin' the bright blue tip of the flame 1/4"-3/8" away from the metal. You'll get the hang of it in no time, just watch the as the powdercoating starts to glow and then it's pretty much ready to be brushed off. By "glow" I mean sorta like how wood in your BBQ pit glows on the edges when it starts to cook. Keep a wire brush handy and scrub a little as you go. Pass the flame along a fin, hit it with the brush.
If ya feel you've got the touch by now, then move on to burning the coating down between the fins. Patience is your best friend right now, keep it handy!
Got a few pics posted below. First shows the fins have been toasted and brushed and now passin' the flame along in between the fins.
Second pic shows what happens if you dwell in one spot too long or get too close with the hot part of the flame. The sparks shootin' out to the lower right means there's some extra sanding & touchup work in store because I just goobered up that spot.
Second pic also shows the blower case sittin' in a plastic box. The box is filled about halfway with cold water, plenty of that around here lately LOL! The water acts as a heat-sink to draw heat away from the blower.
Why? Remember, you're only tryin' to get the powdercoat hot enuff to destroy it and then scrub it off with a brush. No need to get the blower itself hot at all now is there?
Anyways, no matter how nasty the supercharger looks in the first few pics, 3rd and 4th pics show that we're gettin' in the ballpark.
note: let's invent a word for Manny.
BLINGPARK - looks like a blingpark under Manny's hood...
'bird
Take the blower off the car, dissassemble it, keep everything located/orderly and all that. Sand the easy-to-get-to areas such as the flat panels on the sides and lightly buff the not-so-easy-to-get-to areas with a SOFT wire wheel. You can then use a 4" grinder with a stainless wire wheel or better yet use a wire wheel on a bench grinder to get to some of the harder to reach places.
Berryman carb cleaner also works well at stripping but leaves a rough odor. Seems the pores in the aluminum get stuffed with the smell. I use an Acetone bath to soak parts in afterwards to get the smell out but it doesn't always work very well at leaching the Berryman out.
Those are the easy ways...
If ya wanna get dangerous though, do it the manly way. Grab the oxy/ac rig and put a small brazing tip on it. Use a flame that you can "hear" to graze the fins with.
Start on the bottom side of the housing. As they say, experiment on an inconspicuous area before movin' on to sections that are in plain sight when the blower is installed. Do the edges of the fins first instead of down in between them, this will keep from heating up the entire fin too soon.
Remember one thing throughout all of this...Your mission is to only destroy the integrity of the original powdercoating, not the aluminum underneath. Pass the flame along the edges keepin' the bright blue tip of the flame 1/4"-3/8" away from the metal. You'll get the hang of it in no time, just watch the as the powdercoating starts to glow and then it's pretty much ready to be brushed off. By "glow" I mean sorta like how wood in your BBQ pit glows on the edges when it starts to cook. Keep a wire brush handy and scrub a little as you go. Pass the flame along a fin, hit it with the brush.
If ya feel you've got the touch by now, then move on to burning the coating down between the fins. Patience is your best friend right now, keep it handy!
Got a few pics posted below. First shows the fins have been toasted and brushed and now passin' the flame along in between the fins.
Second pic shows what happens if you dwell in one spot too long or get too close with the hot part of the flame. The sparks shootin' out to the lower right means there's some extra sanding & touchup work in store because I just goobered up that spot.
Second pic also shows the blower case sittin' in a plastic box. The box is filled about halfway with cold water, plenty of that around here lately LOL! The water acts as a heat-sink to draw heat away from the blower.
Why? Remember, you're only tryin' to get the powdercoat hot enuff to destroy it and then scrub it off with a brush. No need to get the blower itself hot at all now is there?
Anyways, no matter how nasty the supercharger looks in the first few pics, 3rd and 4th pics show that we're gettin' in the ballpark.
note: let's invent a word for Manny.
BLINGPARK - looks like a blingpark under Manny's hood...
'bird
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