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ANSA Cosmetic Restoration - August 3, 2007
The main enemy of the factory ANSA Mufflers as used on the Mangusta is, yep, you guessed it, RUST ! In order to prepare for an upcoming Concourse show, we removed our previously installed DTM Stainless “Tuner” mufflers and dug the factory mufflers out of storage. Unfortunately two different ANSA tips were broken, with one completely separated from the muffler entirely. STEP 1, WELDING: We had the broken tips welded by Brent at our weld-shop who was able to build up enough material at the base of where the tip was originally located in order to create an area to weld the tip back to. One of the tricky parts of this process was maintaining both the spacing between the two tips as well as maintaining the angle the tips exit the muffler (They must match perfectly). STEP 2, CLEANING: The mufflers had been painted in the past with Silver heat paint, and had deteriorated considerably over time. We began the cleaning process, first de-greasing using an all-purpose de-greasing product. After drying, we then used a steel toothed brush and a brass toothed brush, which are typically found in a tri-pack (Which included a Black plastic toothed brush in this case). Using the steel bristles, we were able to remove most of the flaking paint from the muffler body. Using the Brass bristles, we were able to carefully remove the paint from the tips themselves without scratching them excessively. The most thorough restoration process is media blasting, which removes all previous coatings and exposes the original material for re-coating. This is highly recommended for the best long-term restoration. We intend to use this more permanent method over the winter. STEP 3: TAPING: The next step is to tape off the chrome tips so only the area to be coated is exposed. This process will be handled differently if the decision is chosen to powder coat instead of using spray paint. STEP 4: PAINTING: Being the home-grown do-it-yourselfer that we are, we opted to use 1,200 degree High Heat Ceramic Dupli-Color Flat Black (rattle can) paint for this project. Typically the life of this paint is short-lived compared to powder coating, but is sufficient for our purposes this time. Once the surface has been prepped, the painting process begins. STEP 5: TIP POLISHING: In order to remove lots of surface gunk and return the original chrome finish, we chose to use the favorite “Never Dull Wadding Polish” which is a cotton material imbedded with a magic solution. After lots of “Elbow Grease”, the tips started to look much better. STEP 6: PINSTRIPING: The factory ANSA tips came with a neat Red pinstriping, located between the painted area of the muffler and the chrome ANSA tip area. We elected to use ¼” wide pinstriping tape from the local auto parts store for this project. Please be aware that this is only a temporary solution, and that taping off the appropriate area and painting with Red paint is a better long-term solution. STEP 7: DECALS: The factory ANSA tips cam with Marmitte ANSA decals, which are one of our absolute favorite designs from the time. The placement of the decal should be in the general area and at the same general angle as shown in the final images at the end. For convenience, these decals are available through our online store. STEP 8: INSTALLATION: The factory mufflers are now ready to re-install using the original hangers. There are two factory hangers on each side of the rear box frame of the Mangusta engine bay, and two mating hangers located on each of the mufflers. STEP 9: FINAL POLISH: After all of the handling of the mufflers during installation, they can now be gently cleaned and the chrome tips polished for a final shine. The end result is just great and will last for a while. Please realize that even the factory ANSA decals and pinstriping will discolor, shrink, and eventually burn off, so expect touch-ups to be part of the overall process of keeping your Mangusta looking factory correct. GOOD LUCK ! UPDATE: July 2008: Replacement Stainless Mufflers now available through the MI Online Store.           |
