Detailing the engine compartment-- good list of tips

[GN SBS]

I'm about to put my motor back in the GN and am looking for good engine compartment cleanup tips. You know, the cheap and easy items that really finish the job. Which paint is preferred, how to clean those wheel wells, items to polish or repaint, nooks and crannies that are all to easy to miss, preferred general cleaning solvent, etc....

There weren't many good posts out there on this topic and I thought I'd start a list here. Let me start:

* Adding new washer fluid and coolant overflow reservoirs is cheap and makes things look great-- I did so a year or two back at a friend's advice and the difference was unbelievable.

I've seen some absolutely beautiful engine compartments, so let's hear your secrets.

Scott

 

[TurboJim]

Good topic, how bout it guys??

 

[Little6pack]

A fresh hood liner works well or a chrome intake pipe from Huffeman looks nice.

As for paint I am sure most any gloss black would look nice.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Originally posted by littlesixsteve
chrome intake pipe from Huffeman looks nice.

God I hate my last name! Never saw it butchered like that before. Going to change it to Jones.

 

[Little6pack]

Originally posted by BuickGn Boosted
God I hate my last name! Never saw it butchered like that before. Going to change it to Jones.

OK a good chrome pipe from JONES would look good.

Spell checker doesn't work on your last name

 

[turbocody]

get some Armor All and go to town. only on the painted black pieces and all plastic ones of course.

Cody

 

[Steve Petro]

Little trick called "WD40" works great!!!! Let it soak in and wipe it down.

 

[Gary Wells]

FWIW & IMHO:
I know that this is a very subjective matter, but I prefer cleanliness over repaint unless it is going to be a professional repaint, and it is hard to get a paint shop to prep a motor compartment for a reasonable price. I also prefer the looks of Jet hot/epoxy paint/powder coating in leiu of chrome to cut down on the bling/bling effect. One of the other boards, either the one that ends in S, or the new one, t6p, had pictures posted about 2 weeks ago on motors, and both installed and non-installed motor/motor compartments might shed some light on this subject. Proper deburring or deflashing of the sheet metal and plastic fender well areas will help you keep it clean without cutting your hands and rags. The factory really did a crappy job of deflashing/deburring the motor compartment on these things.
I think that the power steering box is a Saginaw Aluminum box and wire brushing would definitely clean that up. Cadium plating with iridite dip, (somewhat gold/brass in color) would look nice if you have a plating shop in your area. Anodizing would be a plus for some of the aluminum parts on the motor/motor compartment.

 

[Reaper]

one touch tire foam... the poor mans detail!


i like to get the motor good and hot... spray it with windex then start it and let that evaparate then wipe the rest off, then spray the hell out of the pay with tire foam and let stand then wipe off....


looks great!


Dathan

 

[GN SBS]

Thanks for the tire foam suggestion for the general engine bay.

Other cleaners to try-- I've always liked simple green for general cleanup, perhaps pre-foam?

Anyone have a link to the post mentioned above-- I can't locate it.

Other tips? We need Flyin GN to post here-- his engine compartment is beautiful.

Scott

 

[GN SBS]

Thanks for the tire foam suggestion for the general engine bay.

Other cleaners to try-- I've always liked simple green for general cleanup, perhaps pre-foam?

Anyone have a link to the post mentioned above-- I can't locate it.

Other tips? We need Flyin GN to post here-- his engine compartment is beautiful.

Scott

 

[bishir]

Tire foam works good if sprayed into a rag I've used that.

My inner fenders recently got painted flat black. Looks real nice! Then again, I already had them off the car

I think a set of valve covers from HRParts looks good too.

James

 

[GN One Day...]

I like Eimann Fabrik's citrus engine degreaser. Works GREAT. Get 2 bottles. The first leave at full strength and go to town. When empty, pour half of the other bottle into it and water them both down, 2:1 degreaser to water. Still works great and that way it'll last for weekend treatments. It's plant safe so it won't kill your grass when it runs off. Doesn't burn your lungs like Simple Green, but IMO works a lot better.

http://www.properautocare.com/engine.html

Then for anything black, rubber and similar I use 303 protectant. Great for tires and interior too. Spray and wipe, it'll stay dust free pretty well for a while. It isn't glossy, very matte finish. Makes things look very black since there is no greasy reflection. Great stuff. I have come CD2 dressing that's supposed to be good, but I haven't used it yet. You can find that at Auto Zone.

Get a set of detailing brushes. That with the watered down engine degreaser, plus time, will help out a lot.

 

[GN ERGY]

If your hood liner looks old, take it out and repaint the logo and letters first with any spray paint. I used metallic burgundy. After the paint is dry coat it with vaseline and then spray the rest of the liner with a gloss black or flat if you want it dull and it will look like new. Cheaper than buying a new one.
Tarey D.

 

[TurboSlacker]

Mark,

Just simplify your name like mine and make it "Huffman" instead. Of course I regularly get people saying "Hoffman" right after I emphasized the "U"

 

[deezdad]

I did this last night, use a spray bottle containing only water, spray down an area to be cleaned, then spray over that with full strenght simple green wipe down with towel. On same area spray down with just water again and wipe down area again with a separate towel... basically your just cleanig away the S.G.reidue with this step... did the whole compartment this way and everything just looks clean, not greasy or chaulky.

 

[bishir]

I just learned from a friend that if you wirebrush the rust off your compressor and then rub it down with some never dull it doesn't come back! Cool!!!

 

[72firebird]

I regularly clean and show my TTA. Over the few months I have owned it I have learned many little small things to do, I'll try to list everything that will work on GNs also.

1.Go out and buy some steel wool like the 1, 00, and maybe 000 if you really want to get serious about it. Then just do the steps on any hard lines and I used it on my AC compressor and made it shiny when I used the 0000 at the end.

2.Take some purple power and wipe down your inner fenders and frame rails (on the TTA they're both painted white) to get all the dirt off, then use a heavy paste wax (I chose Mequires gold paste) and apply a coat over them. This will help them stand out more.

3.Around things like on my TTA the headlight bracket you can see on the top. Well there's always a small little area you can't get but you may not notice it also but if you remove the bracket and then wax it and put it back on there's a big difference.

4.When showing the car I learned this last year take all of your hose clamps and face them the same direction at the same angle, it makes a world of difference especially on Tbolt clamps.

5.Have those nasty water spots that'll never go away? Don't worry just use some tooth paste and it'll look better than any window cleaner you'll try.

6.On the TTAs there's wrtiing on the center capsof the wheels well if you go around and turn the center caps so you can read them it's a small detail that you don't really notice but it overall makes the car look better.

7. COTTON SWABS!!! you can never own enough. Those little cracks and seams you can't get a towel into use a cotton swab with water or purple power or whatever your preference is.

8.I'm not sure if the GN has them but the little rubber things on the side that keep the hood from hitting metal to metal, if you take those out and clean that area it helps also.

I'm sure there's more I'm just worn out right now and can't think correctly.