detail engine weird question

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Jul 14, 2020
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522
So here is the deal. I have this 98 mustang base model with the 3.8 v/6 engine. It is a very clean relatively low mileage car. I am using it to show at car shows, all stock, of course. I do not want it to fall into the modified class. The thing is, the engine and engine bay are all very clean as it should be, but I would like to add, shall I say a little "bling" to the engine, but not with chrome accessories etc. To me the parts that make it look "dull" are the cast aluminum parts. Is there any suggestions what I could do to those parts to spice them up a little, to draw attention????
 
Darn, I guess I am getting absent minded in my old age, as I see I already asked this a while back. So, unless somebody has a new idea I guess just ignore me. I wonder about just plain paint? would it need to be high temp, or just any enamel, like rustoleum? And if that would work ok, what color would look best? The car is Lazer red. I am thinking white, or black, or a close match red, or maybe gold or brass????
 
Let's see pics of it!!!

Clean them up and scrub well. Clear coat things that aren't high-heat. Re-paint anything that has gotten dull, just back to black or silver. If your rules do allow some color and you like it, maybe some "Ford Blue" on some parts. They make that in engine paint so you can do some high-heat parts, too.

I do this on my cars as I am working on things. I take off small parts, hardware, etc. that are worn looking and do this on the side while I replace the radiator, etc.

Here is a car I'm cleaning up now. This is a 00 Volvo turbo wagon. As a joke to myself I paint parts I modify "Swedish Racing Green," (joke name for their traditional racing color - basically Ford Blue). It's all invisible with the hood down. A simple thing I did that was surprisingly quick and effective was spray foaming degreaser on the cast intake header, scrub it after 5 minutes with a little wire brush. Gleams now, nothing else. I'm going to thoroughly do the visible head parts next time I'm messing around in the engine bay.

Besides scrubbing cast parts, another "bling" thing is to clean and coat the black plastic. I wipe them down with a ~60/40 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits (same as I use on exterior plastic/body cladding). You have to let it sit and cure but then it provides a very long lasting "like new" appearance to the plastic. Resistant to lint and dirt once cured - unlike lots of plastic dressing.

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Small hardware that gets bad I refinish, simple process of wire wheel on the bench grinder, de-grease, let dry, prime and paint. Takes a few minutes each step and makes a nice little break between steps in bigger projects. I did this PS hose bracket in the Swedish blue, but could do it in the black of course to not make it stand out so much (did that on my step-son's S60).

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There's a interesting video from "Chris Fixx" on engine bay clean up, sounds like you don't need it but it's worth viewing if you haven't seen it. I do have to 2nd his opinion about those vertical-handled brushes. My dad had some in his shop and they really simplify detail cleaning. like this is what I mean:



CF video:



None of what I do above is designed to be "show quality" but it could be by just being more thorough.
 
Let's see pics of it!!!

Clean them up and scrub well. Clear coat things that aren't high-heat. Re-paint anything that has gotten dull, just back to black or silver. If your rules do allow some color and you like it, maybe some "Ford Blue" on some parts. They make that in engine paint so you can do some high-heat parts, too.

I do this on my cars as I am working on things. I take off small parts, hardware, etc. that are worn looking and do this on the side while I replace the radiator, etc.

Here is a car I'm cleaning up now. This is a 00 Volvo turbo wagon. As a joke to myself I paint parts I modify "Swedish Racing Green," (joke name for their traditional racing color - basically Ford Blue). It's all invisible with the hood down. A simple thing I did that was surprisingly quick and effective was spray foaming degreaser on the cast intake header, scrub it after 5 minutes with a little wire brush. Gleams now, nothing else. I'm going to thoroughly do the visible head parts next time I'm messing around in the engine bay.

Besides scrubbing cast parts, another "bling" thing is to clean and coat the black plastic. I wipe them down with a ~60/40 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits (same as I use on exterior plastic/body cladding). You have to let it sit and cure but then it provides a very long lasting "like new" appearance to the plastic. Resistant to lint and dirt once cured - unlike lots of plastic dressing.

View attachment 58779


Small hardware that gets bad I refinish, simple process of wire wheel on the bench grinder, de-grease, let dry, prime and paint. Takes a few minutes each step and makes a nice little break between steps in bigger projects. I did this PS hose bracket in the Swedish blue, but could do it in the black of course to not make it stand out so much (did that on my step-son's S60).

View attachment 58780

There's a interesting video from "Chris Fixx" on engine bay clean up, sounds like you don't need it but it's worth viewing if you haven't seen it. I do have to 2nd his opinion about those vertical-handled brushes. My dad had some in his shop and they really simplify detail cleaning. like this is what I mean:



CF video:



None of what I do above is designed to be "show quality" but it could be by just being more thorough.


More info, please, on that “home brew” of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits!

How long do you have to let it cure? And wouldn’t the mineral spirits “gray out” the black trim?
 
The mineral spirits is just to cut the BLO a little to make it more liquid/spreadable. The BLO is pretty thick on its own. This trick has been around a while and you can google it. It does take a while to cure so ideally you garage it over night. The mineral spirits make it cure a lot quicker vs. pure BLO from the can. Here's a pic of a car (truly excellent Volvo XC70, same as my avatar) with a lot of plastic I bought a year ago, before/after. Plastic cladding looked just the same as the "after" pic this past January when a semi driver forgot how to drive and rear-ended me, destroyed the car. And my back. :(

Under the hood or interior (steering wheel plastic, etc.) it lasts for years. On the exterior, you touch it up once a year and it looks new forever.

before.jpg


After treatment.jpg
 
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Nice, Oro!

Thanks for the reply. And I’m sorry to hear about the demise of the XC.

The biggest trim challenge is on my Santa Fe, with what looks like an equal amount of trim as your XC70. Under the hood I’ve been happy with Sonos Motor-Kote.

As long as I use an air compressor and/or shop vac under the hood every few months, the Sonos gives me one year.
 
Under the hood I’ve been happy with Sonos Motor-Kote.

As long as I use an air compressor and/or shop vac under the hood every few months, the Sonos gives me one year.

Interesting, haven't heard of that. It has great reviews I see and isn't pricey. I maypick some of that up. Sounds like it's a great more a shield than a cleaner, you get it clean then seal it with this? Is that correct?
 
Interesting, haven't heard of that. It has great reviews I see and isn't pricey. I maypick some of that up. Sounds like it's a great more a shield than a cleaner, you get it clean then seal it with this? Is that correct?
Yes, you will need to clean any plastic trim, whether exterior or under the hood.

The directions say to spray directly onto the trim and do not wipe.

Not! I normally follow application directions but when simply spraying it on, it streaks. Everywhere.

I spray it onto a microfiber pad and apply it to the trim.
 
I looked for some of that yesterday when I was out. Apparently not shelved commonly anywhere. I did get something else very similar that I used last night and looks dang impressive:


I went over to the southside of Tacoma for some auto errands - have some paint mixed to touch up the car above, some batteries for cars that had them weakened over Covid, etc. Had looked on line for that Sonax stuff but didn't find it in a b&m store. Griot's Garage - the high-end detail supplier, is over there in that area. I stopped in and they had that dressing above. It was about $10.50 or so before tax in the store (maybe it was discounted there).

Cleaned the bay a little more thoroughly, but by no means obsessisively, last night and sprayed it on - SUPER easy to apply. The engine pictures is, btw, 21 years old and never been truly "detailed." It doesn't really have any effect at all on metal or paint, but it sure pops on plastic and especially rubber. Being aerosol, it is effortless to apply.

Today it was really sharp looking, even, and dried "hard" so it's not waxy feeling or soft. Things look amazing and it will be interesting to see how long it lasts. The car was parked in a shaded area so the pics aren't greet, but I'd already had a very long morning and big lunch and was too lazy in the heat to fire it up and move it into the sun. ;)

Griot's also has a stunning rotating collection of cars on display in the showroom. I think they get some from the LeMay collection in Tacoma and some from local enthusiasts/owners who just loan them. He said the Carrera GT was from a local collector, for example.

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