D Car — November 2003
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About this issue
250 available scans from D Car — November 2003, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 89 — English draft translation
Polishing a broad surface such as a cam cover to a mirror finish would take many days and a great deal of effort by hand, but power tools make the job much more efficient. This time we used a disc sander and a drill. A disc sander spins a cutter or grinding wheel about 10 centimeters in diameter at around 10,000 rpm to cut or grind metal. Its drawback is that it is very noisy, but it can polish extremely quickly. Because it spins at high speed, using it incorrectly can cause the tool to kick back and injure you or damage the workpiece…
You need to take great care, because the tool can damage the workpiece. When you press the disc against it, the rotational kick is transmitted to your hand; as a basic rule, use it in the pulling direction (with the sander moving away from your body) for safety. An electric drill is normally used for drilling, but you can also attach sandpaper or a cotton buff and use it for polishing. If it has no speed control, pairing it with a speed controller makes the work easier. For more detailed work, you can also use a rotary tool.
Captions and page details
Where there are manufacturing burrs at the corners, switch to a sandpaper disc and sand them down.
Tools cannot reach the narrow corners, so finish them by hand. Keep working patiently with grit 320 through about 800.
The inside has also been finished, progressing from sandpaper to sisal, and it is beginning to shine. Do not polish directly above the spark-plug holes.
Mirror finish
Complete!!
Lesson 1
Sport Compact Academy
Menu
File
Tools you will need
11
Replace the sisal disc with a new one, apply white polishing compound, and begin polishing to a high shine.
Person
Polishing gets slower, but in return the surface develops a gloss so bright that you can see your face in it.
113
Polished aluminum will become cloudy. If you are meticulous, apply wax; if you are less fussy, protect it with clear coat.
DOHC IG-VALVE
Mazda
There is still so much more…
I want to polish it, but…
Finish in one day only the areas that are easy to reach with power tools…
This is what it looks like finished. The areas around the bolt holes and in the corners are not completely polished, but they should not stand out once it is in the engine bay. The best balance of effort and appearance is probably to give a mirror finish to the lettered top surface and the flat front section.
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