how to: supercharger bling - *pics

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

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mannysc dont bling anymore. i painted it with stanless steel paint , have to polish it again but for now its stock looking . hey I used aircraft stripper, coated it with it and wraped it in foil. let it sit over night and washed it off with a water nozle came right off down to the bare alluminum .

the second one I did it took a toll on me some come off easy some are like yours break out the torch and wire wheels and maybe sand plast it .

hey if flame gets to hot you can turn case into a mail box.
 
mannysc said:
hey I used aircraft stripper, coated it with it and wraped it in foil. let it sit over night and washed it off with a water nozle came right off down to the bare alluminum .
I figured oven cleaner and aircraft stripper were illegal in the state of California by now.

mannysc said:
hey if flame gets to hot you can turn case into a mail box.
Been hoarding air silencers, I was thinkin' of a new line of porta-potties.

'bird
 
tbird88 said:
I figured oven cleaner and aircraft stripper were illegal in the state of California by now.

Been hoarding air silencers, I was thinkin' of a new line of porta-potties.

'bird
no they are still legal as long as you donate to the arnold for prez fund and vote to legalize none natve born prez . porta potties lol

just build em into the seat then when you pass a chevy or ricer drain the holding tank.

just call it a blow off valve. :D
 
can we keep it Blingilingin easyforshezee like

Would Putting a few coats of Clear enamel engine paint preserve the Polished aluminum or does it still oxidize, rust, and get ugly with the paint?
 
strokedsc said:
Would Putting a few coats of Clear enamel engine paint preserve the Polished aluminum or does it still oxidize, rust, and get ugly with the paint?
I did it but it turns yellowish and hazy after a while.

you have to keep on buffing it out ask Gdiii he will tell ya break out the dremmel and small buffing wheels to do the fins and grooves.
 

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mannysc said:
I did it but it turns yellowish and hazy after a while.

you have to keep on buffing it out ask Gdiii he will tell ya break out the dremmel and small buffing wheels to do the fins and grooves.

When companies sell polished intakes, Alt, blowers and Such is it the same thing as where talking about or do they just chrome it and call it polished?
 
Chrome plating means the part is "coated" with an outer layer. When something gets chrome plated, it is first polished and then plated.

Polished means polished. You polish the surface to a shine and that's that.

After polishing, you can keep the part waxed or use a rag with talcum powder or corn starch to restore the dazzle.
You can also use Zoopseal. Zoopseal is a product with a great reputation that keeps polished items lookin' sweet. It's sort've expensive but that's the price ya pay for everlasting blingness.

http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp

and a Zoop FAQ: http://www.rodgear.com/zoopseal_FAQs.htm

'bird
 
Drnaline said:
Heah Manny? From your pick of your inverted fab work. Looks like cromed steel?
polished alluminum 3inch tube on the top one .bottom was a prototype intake was steel.
 
DamonSlowpokeBaumann said:
I'd clear powdercoat it :O)
Thought crossed my mind but when ya run yer fingers across those bare polished surfaces...mmmmmmmmm.

Gonna get some more pics done & posted of the prep stages, some of the sanding and touchups with a grinder etc etc etc.

'bird
 
hey tbird88 i got the top it came out good a little rough around the edge but not to bad what would i clean it up with so it looks better, anyway thanks for getting out to me.
 
tbird88 said:
Thought crossed my mind but when ya run yer fingers across those bare polished surfaces...mmmmmmmmm.

Gonna get some more pics done & posted of the prep stages, some of the sanding and touchups with a grinder etc etc etc.

'bird
oooh bare polished surfaces. ahhhh yes thats it talk dirty to me big texas cowboy man.

hey Wynn do you turn black when buffing it out I was so black when doing my stuff hands arms face . I used metal mania on my alluminum.

looks good for a texans work. think Ill move to texas and become yer next door pain in the arse.
 
mannysc said:
oooh bare polished surfaces. ahhhh yes thats it talk dirty to me big texas cowboy man.

hey Wynn do you turn black when buffing it out I was so black when doing my stuff hands arms face . I used metal mania on my alluminum.

looks good for a texans work. think Ill move to texas and become yer next door pain in the arse.

Oh yeah you're gonna get black buffing Aluminum. I look like a coal miner after a buffing session. :eek:
 
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