Sanding & polishing Alternator

[TomoHawk]

While you're at it cleaning & polishing everything under the hood, what about the alternator? It starts out as a rough-cast shell, but what would it look like with some sanding? You probably wouldn't have to polish it to mirrorness, but a smooth sanded shell ( 600 grit, then steel wool) might look nicer.

Would it be difficultto extract the alternator to sand it?

thoughts?

thx

[LanceM]

My thought would be that it would have to be completely disassembled, which would turn it into a lot more work. You wouldn't want any of the residue from the sanding to get in the works!

[george71z]

I dis-assembled mine and took the housings to a professional polisher. It can be done at home, if you have the proper materials and tools. LanceM is absolutely right. You don't want any debris getting into the works.

[billcapp]

:beard: Taking the alternator out is a piece of cake. After mine was rebuilt ($35.00) I just used polishing rouge and a drill with a buffing wheel being careful not to aim it to the inside. It came out like chrome. Don't even sand it with any grit unless it's totally disassembled and cleaned thoroughly. It really doesn't need sand paper anyway.