Engine appearance

While I have the bonnet off and some time I’m wondering if there are some low tech steps I can take to spiff up the appearance of my engine and engine Bay area. I happened to see an add for white diamond mettle cleaner that got me thinking about this.

Walter

in

Walter- A good cleanup with a mild detergent and microfiber rags/nylon brush can go a long way to spiffing up the engine bay. You can bag all the electrical items and the carbs/air cleaner and use a pressure washer, but be careful as to where the water gets. It’s been my experience that to really spiff it up requires removing parts to adequately clean and polish. But it can be worth the effort (if you have to disassemble anyway)… sure can be purdy…

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The White Diamond polish is very good. It’s a liquid, use it sparingly, a little dab goes a long way. Works best if you clean the surface to be polished, I use dishwashing detergent and water.

Actually - your engine bay looks pretty darn good to me… but your car color does not present a stark contrast to engine parts’ colors (vs a bright red engine bay that sets off the detail work) so that make your task a bit harder.

Certainly a couple of easily removed parts can be dolled up - the cam covers are pretty simple to refinish and the bare aluminum flats can be brightened even with a satin finish. That oil fill cap can be polished to a near-chrome shine.

The alternator can also be a bright spot and can be partially disassembled for the work.

New rubber splash seals are a quick replacement (unpainted rivets as I recall) that will make a difference. The top sides of the intake manifold can be polished to a nice shine even while in situ. Maas or other aluminum polishes can be used by hand in tight places.

A clean up of the coil and an original style label on it will make it look fresh.

The problem is not one of knowing where to start - but where to stop.

Wow. That looks great. I hadn’t thought of using my pressure washer. I think I will start by removing the cam covers and buffing them up. Thanks for the motivation.

So, what about steam cleaning? Covering the distributor, of course - maybe other parts. My 1971 V12 is greasy and definitely needs cleaning all over. Many parts need repainting, which I’m looking forwarding to doing. I’m not looking to be concours but just a clean, spiffy look.