In response to the PM matey, thought I'd post it here for everyone to see.
Nick wants to get the engine bay on his Bimmer Bimmer to be Bling Blingin' for the Retro Cars Show.
Before you start you will need:
An empty Fairy washing up liquid bottle
Assorted Crayons
PVA glue
Cotton wool
...curse word wrong class...
Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Protectant
Gunk/oven cleaner/degreaser
Autoglym Engine and Machine Cleaner
Car shampoo
Assorted rags and towels
Assorted brushes
Wire wool
Autosol
Satin black spray paint
Baking soda
Toothbrush
This is how I do it, some people may say different, and I’ve tried to make it entertaining as it can be without images, but it is a guide after all…<br>
Before you start
Right, first thing first, is your engine completely covered in curse word? If so move it off the drive! Park on next doors or put something beneath the motor to catch the debris you are about to tackle. You might want to protect your wings whilst cleaning the engine; damp towels will stick better as dry ones tend to slide off. The inner wings if painted can be cleaned with normal car shampoo; don’t forget to apply some polish afterwards.
Step by step
1. Allow the engine to warm up slightly; the grease etc will shift a lot easier from a warm surface. Bag up any areas that would react badly to water, dizzy, filter housing and so on. (Be careful if you've got a blower though, the cold water from step 3 could dent your wallet!)
2. Tackle the hardest part first. Buy some 'Gunk' or use conventional over cleaner, my local pound shop where I buy all my going out clothes from also sells 500ml cans of degreaser for £1.50 and it works really well, whatever you opt for allow it to soak into the block and head and if need be lads and ladies (?) use a brush to remove the more stubborn areas of grease or a wooden spoon and scoop it out, the spark plug region accumulates a lot of grime so don’t miss that. Avoid sharp objects like screwdrivers to remove any grease; they can make a mess of the engine paint. Don’t allow the degreaser to dry totally, top up any areas up with degreaser if you can see them evaporating.
3. Once you are happy with that next up is the garden hose, this should float away the Gunk and grease, you could use a jet wash but they can be animal in the wrong hands, taking off engine decals etc in the process. Once you’ve finished dry the remaining water up with old rags or towels, you will be able to spot any areas you’ve missed easier.
3b. Battery – baking soda in water and a brush, rinse then dry, the finishing touch is coming up.
4. I'd recommend Autoglym's 'Engine & Machine Cleaner' to do the upper half of the engine, spray it all over and use a brush or bit of rag to work it in to any areas that are dirty, rocker cover especially, you can get away with doing a ‘waterless’ clean in most cases as the majority of curse word accumulates on the block, just mop it up with a rag and repeat the process until it is clean. Toothbrushes are also good for getting in those hard to reach areas, just be sure to clean it before the missus uses it again.
5. By now you should have a grease free engine bay, but there are other neglected areas that remain untouched, for any rubber or vinyl parts, an obvious one would be radiator hoses, buy Autoglyms ‘Vinyl and rubber’ cleaner/protectant, this would have them looking like new with minimal effort, simply rubbed in with a rag. Make sure you get those HT leads clean!
6. A combination of wire wool (for the corroded bits), Autosol and polishing cloth should bring up any untreated metal to a noticeable shine, e.g. carbs come up really well. Satin Black paint is always a winner for revitalising rusty nuts and bolts; gloss can look tacky in most cases. High temperature paint can be applied to the manifold, as it is a highly visible part of the engine.
7. Are you happy with your bay? Now its time to finish it with some final bling, Autoglym’s Vinyl and Rubber protectant should do the trick, spray the air filter housing, washer bottle dizzy cap and any other likely candidates and buff then to a shine, the battery also likes the same treatment.
So that’s a basic run down on how to do it the Tait way, I hope some of you will get some sort of use out of it because its taken me a f*cking hour to write!
This guide is off the top of my head so I may have missed some information out, plus its 2:00am and I have to be up in the morning.
I will do an exterior guide when I get a chance, but with pictures, not solely text.
Anything else you want to know in relation to motorsport or car cleaning PM me.
Cheers.
Nick wants to get the engine bay on his Bimmer Bimmer to be Bling Blingin' for the Retro Cars Show.
Before you start you will need:
An empty Fairy washing up liquid bottle
Assorted Crayons
PVA glue
Cotton wool
...curse word wrong class...
Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Protectant
Gunk/oven cleaner/degreaser
Autoglym Engine and Machine Cleaner
Car shampoo
Assorted rags and towels
Assorted brushes
Wire wool
Autosol
Satin black spray paint
Baking soda
Toothbrush
This is how I do it, some people may say different, and I’ve tried to make it entertaining as it can be without images, but it is a guide after all…<br>
Before you start
Right, first thing first, is your engine completely covered in curse word? If so move it off the drive! Park on next doors or put something beneath the motor to catch the debris you are about to tackle. You might want to protect your wings whilst cleaning the engine; damp towels will stick better as dry ones tend to slide off. The inner wings if painted can be cleaned with normal car shampoo; don’t forget to apply some polish afterwards.
Step by step
1. Allow the engine to warm up slightly; the grease etc will shift a lot easier from a warm surface. Bag up any areas that would react badly to water, dizzy, filter housing and so on. (Be careful if you've got a blower though, the cold water from step 3 could dent your wallet!)
2. Tackle the hardest part first. Buy some 'Gunk' or use conventional over cleaner, my local pound shop where I buy all my going out clothes from also sells 500ml cans of degreaser for £1.50 and it works really well, whatever you opt for allow it to soak into the block and head and if need be lads and ladies (?) use a brush to remove the more stubborn areas of grease or a wooden spoon and scoop it out, the spark plug region accumulates a lot of grime so don’t miss that. Avoid sharp objects like screwdrivers to remove any grease; they can make a mess of the engine paint. Don’t allow the degreaser to dry totally, top up any areas up with degreaser if you can see them evaporating.
3. Once you are happy with that next up is the garden hose, this should float away the Gunk and grease, you could use a jet wash but they can be animal in the wrong hands, taking off engine decals etc in the process. Once you’ve finished dry the remaining water up with old rags or towels, you will be able to spot any areas you’ve missed easier.
3b. Battery – baking soda in water and a brush, rinse then dry, the finishing touch is coming up.
4. I'd recommend Autoglym's 'Engine & Machine Cleaner' to do the upper half of the engine, spray it all over and use a brush or bit of rag to work it in to any areas that are dirty, rocker cover especially, you can get away with doing a ‘waterless’ clean in most cases as the majority of curse word accumulates on the block, just mop it up with a rag and repeat the process until it is clean. Toothbrushes are also good for getting in those hard to reach areas, just be sure to clean it before the missus uses it again.
5. By now you should have a grease free engine bay, but there are other neglected areas that remain untouched, for any rubber or vinyl parts, an obvious one would be radiator hoses, buy Autoglyms ‘Vinyl and rubber’ cleaner/protectant, this would have them looking like new with minimal effort, simply rubbed in with a rag. Make sure you get those HT leads clean!
6. A combination of wire wool (for the corroded bits), Autosol and polishing cloth should bring up any untreated metal to a noticeable shine, e.g. carbs come up really well. Satin Black paint is always a winner for revitalising rusty nuts and bolts; gloss can look tacky in most cases. High temperature paint can be applied to the manifold, as it is a highly visible part of the engine.
7. Are you happy with your bay? Now its time to finish it with some final bling, Autoglym’s Vinyl and Rubber protectant should do the trick, spray the air filter housing, washer bottle dizzy cap and any other likely candidates and buff then to a shine, the battery also likes the same treatment.
So that’s a basic run down on how to do it the Tait way, I hope some of you will get some sort of use out of it because its taken me a f*cking hour to write!
This guide is off the top of my head so I may have missed some information out, plus its 2:00am and I have to be up in the morning.
I will do an exterior guide when I get a chance, but with pictures, not solely text.
Anything else you want to know in relation to motorsport or car cleaning PM me.
Cheers.