Paint or polish?

I've been toying with the idea of polishing my intake manifold(aluminum) or just painting it. You hambers out there that have polished intakes, how hard is it to keep them clean? any other pros or cons? I had an aluminum intake once before, as cast, that was gas stained. I couldn't get the stains out of the aluminum so I figured I'd go this route. Thanks for the help. later shawn

 

If you driv it a lot, its a pain to keep clean in all the galleys.

 

Have you considered powder coating or ceramic coating?

I had my '55 Chevy's Edelbrock Performer (and some other engine parts) powdercoated- a little more $$ than polishing, but it stayed shiny forever and cleaned up with just a squirt of windex.

 

Polishing can be a pain to keep shiny unless you use Zoop's Seal on it. POR has a product that makes aluminum look like it has porcelain or ceramic on it, looks awesome. Sometimes I paint mine engine color to lend an air of stealth/sleeper to the car. There is also the option of bead blasting, changes the look a bit but seems to close the pores, a little carb spray and a rag,,,,, (unless your running Strombergs!)

 

I purchased an edelbrock 2101 sbc 4 bbl polished manifold about 4 years ago and have had no trouble with it. It cleans up real good if anything gets on it. Deucemanab