Re: Engine Cleaning
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dylan@Adams
Typically most newer engine bays are fairly safe to take a very light mist with the hose, but I have heard the early 90-ish vettes don't like water too much.
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Dylan, you need to do some research so you know what's up with C4 Corvette engines. Any kind of washing on an LT5 or LT1 will be detrimental to engine componets. The LT5 had a problematic paint finish applied to it that requires special attention or you can end up making it worse looking than just some dirt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by QB93Z
When I bought my yellow 1994 ZR-1 last May the engine was very stained with splotches of water or cleaner staining, and streaks on the cam covers from seepage of oil or water . The car has 94,000 miles on it and the stains could be just age but they were a major appearance distractor.
I was afraid that the only way to make it look better was to remove the plenum, throttle body, coolant tubes, and cam covers and get they powder coated.
Since I had nothing to lose, I decided to try to clean the engine and see what happened. I figured that since the engine is painted, I would treat it as if it was a stained hood or fender. My plan was to try car polish and then try wet sanding.
I started with Simple Green cleaner and it didn't remove any stains.
Next I used Adams Swirl and Haze Remover with a micro-fiber cloth. I put a few drops of the Swirl and Haze Remover on a cloth and with one finger I rubbed the painted portions of the engine working on a small area at a time. When the cloth became black from removing grime, I "rinsed" the area with Simple Green and polished with a clean micro-fiber cloth. And repeat as necessary. And repeat! And repeat!!!!!!
It took me six hours to do the whole engine.
The results were very satisfying. I removed almost all of the staining and the surfaces have a nice shiney, well care-for look.
The finish color may be slightly darker than original, but it is not too bad.
Jim
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Jim, That is outstanding. Makes sense since paint is paint! Added this to my to do list 
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Last edited by Rex Ruby; 10-25-2009 at 08:54 PM.
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