Now thats getting a little carried away...we would have to list this thread as NSFW if you are gonna go and make it all STICKY:lol:
Ok gang..... after having my driving lights installed, I saw how dirty my engine now is rrr: Gonna put your tips here to good use this weekend weather permitting. I will let you know how it goes :rolleyes5:
Then after Artemis is all sparkly clean, you need to take some new pic's and update your avatar and sig.
Take your time, spray lots of Simple Green, be sure to cut it down from full strength and use LOTS of rags. The 303 really sparkles it up! The finished product is really worth the effort Good Luck!
Nero will work fine. If you have some real stubborn areas, a little WD40 will clean it up. Nero is water based, I mix mine 50/50 with distilled water. Works just as well, and wipes off better. Plus distilled water is cheap, Nero not so much Mark
Well, I finally got the engine cleaning done...... I didn't get it as clean as I wanted, but it still looks pretty good, and much improved. It's very hard to get to spots! Geez! Here is a bad photo: After cleaning, I realized I have more cosmoline to get rid of. I also used this engine cleaner the hubby had... it didn't spray well, so lesson learned. Next time, I will use Simple Green with a normal spray nozzle :rolleyes5:
Photo was so bad it did not want to show itself! If you haven't done the engine bay before it might take a couple times. Seems every time I do it I find another nook or cranny I did not see before. Bad place for a MINI OCD type like myself to hang out!
Oh no... it's not showing up? :crazy: Yeah, it was the first time I cleaned it with 11k on the car. The cleaner I used (it was Griots) had a hard spray, not misting, so it was hard to spray everything. I looked at the hubby's engine..... his engine bay is so big, you can get your arm down to stuff! I can hardly get a finger in places in the MINI engine bay! :mad2:
Engine cleaner.... eek:yikes: You do know that inside the engine bay area, any body color paint doesn't have the clear-coat (it's not as shiny as the exterior). This paint is very soft and can easily be removed accidentally. And I don't think MINI even uses a primer anymore. I think people typically use a diluted mix like simple green (4 parts water + 1 part SG).
LOL- it was not harsh stuff... just didn't like how it went on... and it seemed slimy. I didn't spray it on the painted parts (like the strut tower areas). But I will get Simple Green for next time
Get yourself a hardware store/walmart sprayer, do the 4:1 SG and it works like a charm, well with a fair amt of elbow grease!
Oh I need to do this to my Mini at some point. 19,000 miles and haven't cleaned the engine bay yet. It's getting a little nasty.
Procrastination! Day 2 of cleaning the engine bay. After 3yrs and 45K my procrastination bill finally came due. Thanks to everyone for the tips on how to do it, but everything's starting to smell like Simple Green, LOL. Hey, if nothing else I've improved the power to weight ratio a little!
2 days Dwight, Holy Crap! Either it was totally totally nasty or you have a even worse case if OCD than I!!! Please send pic's!
Hey, I do take a lot of breaks, but it was TOTALLY GRUNGY! Dirt, mummified bugs, feathers, fur from a small mammal (?), etc, etc. I'll post a pic when done, but no way I'm posting a before shot! Couldn't stand the thought of the humiliating laughter that would come pouring in, lol. I did find out where a mystery oil film on the cam cover was coming from. The oil filler cap. Doesn't seem to seal properly. :blush2:
Compared to Dwights? absolutely!! :ihih: Gotta admit mine's in need of some attn. I was thinking a little before and after action with some 'in process' photo's might be in order. Have a AutoX this weekend and spreading mulch the next :cryin: so gimme a couple weeks