If the surface was prepared well the first time you polished the intercooler (or anything else aluminum for that matter), then it will be very easy to touch up the finish by just buffing with a mild abrasive metal polish. Aluminum will oxidize just like raw steel when exposed to the elements, so you have to protect the finish to delay this process.

There are websites that detail how to better prepare and protect the finish, and they recommend some polishes that are intended for cleaning aluminum airplanes and tractor trailers. These may add more life to the mirror finish. Some even boast that you will only need to buff with water and a clean rag to restore the shine, but I would have to see that to believe it.

Again, the finish on my intercooler did tarnish, but it still looks better than stock. You can clearly see that it is polished, but it just does not appear "chrome" unless you touch it up periodically.

 

nice

 

now thats shiney!

 

That looks nice, but will weather and tarnish fast andget dull again. Especially here in florida as it has been raining practically every damn day .

 

I think I may try this mod. If it looks that nice, I may well endure pulling off the bummper every now and again.

 

FYI, there are a number of sources that speak highly of Nuvite products. In particular the Nuvite-S polish found here:

http://nuvitechemical.com/cgi-bin/me...tegory_Code=MP

This appears to be the product of choice for airplane collectors, but it seems a bit pricey.

 

I'll definitely check that out... do you think it would be possible to use any of those products on my HKS exhaust to keep it shiney??

 

where did you buy the polishing compound?

 

thats turnout real good!

 

mothers mag polish can be found at any auto store

 

I also used Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish on my intercooler and it shined up nicely. I only did the end tanks and side pipes. But I can tell that Audio18 results are much better because of the amount of work he put into his polishing job.

 

sweet...

 

Excellent job