50 yr old engine bay

[Rapewta]

I have a 50 yr unrestored car with a engine bay that has dirt, dust, oil and some grease that has slowly found a place to live.

Because of the freezing weather, I am watching TV. The Mecam Auction shows cars with real clean engine bays. I would like to get my car as close to what I see in those cars as possible.

I have used Gunk, 409 and simple green but the results are not so good.

What brushes should I get and what cleaner works best?
The Ads for the auction talk about 303 and I have never heard of it.

Thanks.

[Zeke]

I'm cleaning up a WWII metal lathe and I think it's a virgin as I see no disassembly marks anywhere (especially the slotted filister screws) so you know it's very oily, dirty and stained. This new Dawn Powerwash spray is cutting the crud petty well.

303 makes a lot of products and I haven't used any of them. So no comment there.

I used to use SG almost exclusively but there are more choices now. Some of the 'orange oil' based cleaners are quite good. The actual chemical they extract from any citrus fruit is really nasty in concentrated form. The hype is all from the fact that they use oranges (the citrus with the highest concentration) and they want us to believe this is all for the environment.

Again, no comment.

[jrj3rd]

Make it easy on yourself. Find someone who does dry-ice blasting. Will look like new.

[Ctopher]

Start with the EZ Detail Brush Little & Big brushes. The EZ Detail Brush Go brush might come in handy but I honestly use it more with wheels. Also grab some 5 Pcs Premium Natural Boar Hair Detail Brush Set off Amazon, just the cheap ones that will only be used for engine bay use in the future(once you get grease and oil you should not use for anything else).
Grab some SimpleGreen (get the aircraft version if you have aluminum under the hood) and throw it in a foam cannon. I would literally foam the whole engine bay and let it sit, once the foam dies off power wash it. Then foam again and that’s where the brushes come in, just start hitting everything you see, foam some more and brush, rinse and repeat as many times until it’s spotless.
Now once it’s spotless this will take it to the next level, spray it liberally with something like Meguiar's D17001 Hyper Dressing diluted 4:1 or CarPro PERL diluted 3:1. And when I say spray it I mean spray it, the whole engine bay, everything, just go crazy. You can then close the hood and let it dry or go for a drive. These two will give you a low sheen on all the black plastic, hoses, etc. I have not personally used 303 Aerospace Protectant in the engine bay but just on interior. The other two are water based and I’m not sure about the 303.
Once you do this the next time is so so much easier, spray some degreaser and use a smaller brush to hit the little corners, etc. I honestly just use a spray bottle for touch up, spray and brush, spray and brush moving around the whole engine bay. Power rinse and while still wet just go crazy again with the Meguiar’s or PERL and you are done.

CTopher

[porsche tech]

Zep engine degreaser.

[Rapewta]

CTopher

Good enough. Will do. Thanks for all the responses.

[RANDY P]

Pressure washer, brushes and paint.

rjp

[tabs]

Without a pix...this Thread is boring.. We are simple folk here who like pix...we want pix, we want pix!!!

[sugarwood]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=engine+bay+detail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRSoRkM8GcM

[Danimal16]

Which car is it???? I can attest to the superb results I have achieved with P21 Total Auto Wash. I used it to degrease a couple of engines (flat sixes). Use it in various dilutions for cleaning just about everything. Great on tile grout at 1:10 dilution.




The don't seem to have it here at Pelican anymore (or the new catalog fails to show it). I get it at auto geek.

[HobieMarty]

https://youtu.be/UxlMAxQy-Ao

Wow, I never thought about this before. I've seen highly polished molds cleaned with dry ice, never thought to use it this way. Hmmm, business opportunity!!!!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[asphaltgambler]

Spray nine makes a product called Greez-off. It's designed to break down anything oil, grease related. It will etch the paint if left too long. Not sold in stores but available online. Start there with stiff brushes knock all the crap off, hose off then try Tide detergent / water mix with brushes, rinse off again. All this is safe, quick, easy and effective to use for something like that. It's how I do it.

[911_Dude]

A can of spray Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner (the regular kind) works wonders. Spray on a cold engine and let it set for 5-10 min. Rinse off. Leaves a Armor-All look to it. Take normal precautions on getting electronics wet.

[Rapewta]

Lot of good suggestions. Thanks.

The old car is a 1971 Corvette ragtop 4 speed 350. I have upgraded, swapped out and just making it a reliable street cruiser. Enjoy wrenching on the old car but it needs to be detailed and I want to do it myself. Still have all the original parts I have replaced. The number matching engine, differential,
shift linkage, snorkel air cleaner, distributer and some other stuff.
Someday, if I decide to sell it the new owner might want to bring it back to original.
Anyway, going to get the cleaning products and turn the space heater on in the garage and
clean, clean and clean.

[HobieMarty]

Sounds nice, need pics!!!!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[aigel]

The dry ice blasting is all the rage on BaT now. All the dealers do it, taking off the protective factory wax coating on the engine case and transmission and all the aluminum suspension parts, and the uninformed are just gobbling it up. No way to tell if there are long term leaks, such as a slow oil or transmission leak. Oh well ... I am all for making an engine look good from the side you see, but if you have to get it on the lift to see your car's bits be clean, that's taking it a step too far.

Reminds me a little of bleached teeth nowadays. My kids think their teeth are yellow (perfectly white), but everyone else is bleaching theirs, especially anyone on the news or the instagram!

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by Rapewta

The old car is a 1971 Corvette ragtop 4 speed 350. .

Awesome car. Back story? Pictures?

[LWJ]

1) more info needed about the vette.

2) Purple Power is pretty amazing. Used it on a dirt bike the other day. Caution is needed. I am sure it will destroy aluminum if not rinsed off at a reasonable time.