used cam shaft blemishes- will a engineers polish it

[steveo3002]

ive picked up a slightly hard to find used cam at a fair price , its got a couple of tiny blemishes on it id rather werent there

is this something engineering shops will polish out ? any ideas what it might cost me

[tapkaJohnD]

Are these small patches of corrosion that you can feeel with the finger tip?
In which case very fine Wet&Dry (1500 grit), wetted with WD40, polish them off yourself.
May leave slight staining in the surface, but if the finger tip can't feel it, that's OK.
This study found that the fingertip can feel half a thou of imperfection: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/1309...

If they are damage/wear, is this on the cam lobes? In which case, yes, they can be ground back to restore the surface. Then the valve gaps adjusted as usual
Ground cam bearings would need thicker bearing shells, if they are available.

Anywhere else on the shaft, doesn't matter.
John

[Steve_D]

just to expand on Johns answer if I may.
Wet and dry as said but being most critical on the tips of the cam lobes and the cam bearing surfaces. All other surfaces (sides and back of cam lobes included) you will want to clean up but do not matter if they fail the finger tip test.

Steve

[steveo3002]

one small pit is right on the peak of the lobe...id imagine theyre hard to have any effect with wet n dry ?

[stevesingo]

Pictures might help!

[GreenV8S]

I wouldn't worry about a few small pits - just make sure it isn't proud anywhere.

[E-bmw]

As above your cam followers will be fairly wide & not just in contact with one single point on the cam, so unless the pits are across a wide band on the cam lobes I am sure you will be fine.