Shiny Fan in 15 minutes

[Daviboy]

I was busy waiting on the primer on my lug nuts to dry so took the drill and a brass wire brush and attacked my nasty fan, amazing what 15 mins can do.....

[88911coupe]

get something on there fast so it stays nice and shiny.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Get a Dremel.

[Daviboy]

I will get a dremel and I will get something on fast. But first I am inspired to remove it and finish the job properly. Cant drive anyway rear wheels still at the shop being polished and painted.....

[Cobalt]

The fan and housing is cast in magnesium alloy. Without a proper paint or coating it will corrode and eventually fall apart from exposure. You will need to remove the entire fan assembly to properly coat or paint it. I would make sure it is covered inside and out without any exposed surfaces otherwise you will have issues down the line.

magnesium will polish as nicely as aluminum but won't handle the elements the same way. A proper finish would require a acid etch or what they call a chemical conversion prior to painting but some claim they have had good luck with just paint or powder coating.

[cashflyer]

Any problem with bits of wire from the brush getting into the alternator?

[Daviboy]

Cashflyer no was even anal enough to stuff rags in behind fan blades before I started

[wowzer911]

Cobalt, how many decades before it corrodes and falls apart?

[Daviboy]

Cobalt I know it is magnesium and as wowzer911 says how many decades before it corrodes and falls apart. I am removing the fan and housing now actually plan on just polishing it up and hitting it with clear lacquer its not in that great shape anyway, will buy a replacement if it gets too bad...

[Daviboy]

Got my dremel tool and a bunch of attachments today popped out to buy rolls and came back with it ho hum. So tomorrow I am going to start polishing, might hit the shroud with matt black or red and leave fan polished not sure yet.

[slow&rusty]

I am sorry to say that is not the way to get these fans shiny, the wire brush spinning at over 3,000rpm gouges the soft magnesium leaving lots of surface damage, this is NOT the way to approach this procedure..I am actually a little shocked. Plus like all mentioned it will corrode quickly. Your car..so have at it.

Yasin

[Daviboy]

Yasin, whatever you can be shocked if you want. Try reading what I said, the surface damage is minimal as it was a very soft BRASS brush I used. In fact damage was so minimal about 5 minutes with a 180 grit paper got me back to a gouge free surface. And as for quick corrosion please it will not corrode that fast and as I said again will be hitting it with clear lacquer when done.....

[autobonrun]

I've posted this before but here's a reprint. I contacted a magnesium manufacturer several years ago and corresponded to the head of their technical department asking them what could I use to maintain the shine after polishing.

Here's their response.

+++++++++++++

The short answer to your inquiry is that there is nothing I know that will give you that “polished look” on magnesium for the long term. This is the same issue people have for polished magnesium wheels. If you “polish” magnesium and simply apply a clear coat, the clear coat will delaminate (turn milky) from the magnesium at sharp edges and stone damage sites in even quite mild (humid/wet) conditions. This is because of the following factors –

Polishing with certain abrasives can contaminate a magnesium surface with cathodic (iron containing) impurities. This has the effect of further increasing the corrosion rate of magnesium alloys and aggravates the situation. Safe polishing media for magnesium would be high purity aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, glass or diamond. Do not use emery powder. Never use a wire brush to “clean” magnesium components.
Magnesium is an alkali metal and requires a conversion coating to be applied before painting. The conversion coating will passivate the magnesium surface and improve paint adhesion. This will slow or prevent delamination of the paint under corrosive conditions. All the best conversion coatings for magnesium are colored and most contain chromates. The “best” available conversion coating that would maintain a “shinny” finish is known as the # 21 Chemical Treatment (If you send me a fax number I can copy you with the chemical formulation which does contain hexavalent chrome compounds).
Magnesium is an alkali metal and epoxy based paints are preferred. Epoxy based paints suffer from UV degradation so should not be used as a top coat. Its probable best to apply a clear epoxy primer followed by a clear polyurethane for the look you are after. Cellulose paints on magnesium behave poorly.
Don’t know if this will help you – why not chromate the fan assembly using one of the better chromate treatments, rinse, dry the chromate film between 110 to 120 C, then apply a silver base/clear coat system.

[e p slick]

I personally do not care for the lowrider bling look of a polished fan but, if I did, would apply a high quality clearcoat - brush or spray on. I use it on outdoor metal sculpture and have found one application lasts for years. Do a fine Scotchbrite finish first. I would consider whether or not I thought the balance of the fan might be affected. Everbrite Company in Phoenix is the source. Get on the internet and find something local.

Remember - use high quality ($35.00/quart US Dollars is average).

EP Slick - NOBama Territory

[Daviboy]

Why the ***** is everyone so concerned it is MY fan, and am not suggesting anyone follow my advise. I chose to do this it is my car my responsibility and ultimately my cash, and unfortunately for me I decided to share this on the forum. I dont know maybe I should have asked for pictures of duck tailed fat ass 911 wannabe RSR conversions or some other such crap.....

[e p slick]

Originally Posted by Daviboy

Why the ***** is everyone so concerned it is MY fan, and am not suggesting anyone follow my advise. I chose to do this it is my car my responsibility and ultimately my cash, and unfortunately for me I decided to share this on the forum. I dont know maybe I should have asked for pictures of duck tailed fat ass 911 wannabe RSR conversions or some other such crap.....

Because it looks like some crappy-assed Puerto Rican lowrider piece of **** - Since you asked.

EPS

[tmctguer]

i have successfully polished a 911 fan housing to a matte finish with steel wool and metal polish. i did it on my 911 Speedster and it lasted a reasonable amount of time. I liked the way it looked, and concourse judges didn't seem to mind the work I did either.

I think the "chromed" look versus "painted look" versus the "matte look" is a matter of personal preference.

Daviboy: thanks for posting your work. don't take the opinions too personally to the point of not posting. regardless of what others think of your work, there may be someone out there who will learn what to do or not to do on the basis of you taking the initiative to post your project and opening up the discussion topic.

e p slick: I am not the forum moderator, but i really don't think slinging ethnic slurs is needed. a simple disagreement was all that was required.

So on behalf of all Pelicanites from Puerto Rico, I apologize for the negative reference to your country.

[the]

Originally Posted by Daviboy

amazing what 15 mins can do.....

yes, it is.

that's all I'll say about that.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Oh, c'mon, you guys. You know "polishing the fan" is one of the most frequent and popular threads on this forum. So all of a sudden it's bling, after thousands and thousands of posted words on polishing techniques and how to retain the sleek finish? Make up your minds.

As I wrote in my book, "Porsche owners are like magpies. They can't resist shiny objects." (Okay, maybe I wrote "like seagulls..." Can't remember.

And hey, slick probably wears one of those bolo ties. Look where he's from.

[kidrock]

Originally Posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson

As I wrote in my book, "Porsche owners are like magpies. They can't resist shiny objects." (Okay, maybe I wrote "like seagulls..." Can't remember.

I haven't read the book, but I'm inclined to say that many are like Seagulls....some tend to fly in, $#!T on other people and fly away.