OK so i got a new rebuilt 3.8 cammed ported and polished as the old engine at 142k gave up on me. The previous owners dident know where the latch was to open the hood by the looks of the old engine. Anyways the intake and valve covers were reused. im trying to get the nice finished look back to them but everything i have tried so far has not worked. ive used simple green, 4 types of degreaser and at 1 point naval jelly. none of these are really working no matter how much elbow grease im using. does anyone know of a cleaner that will actually work? I dont want a high shine just the orignal new look back. I know most people dont care about the engine bay but im abit obsessive about cleanliness. I wish i would have spent more time detailing while the engine was out but I was on a time frame crunch so time to do it the hard way. Any suggestions

 

When I cleaned Sarah's engine durring my swap I cleaned everything with Wesley's Beach White. Yes I know that is tire cleaner but it is also the best degreaser I have ever used. I got the inside completely clean and the outside looks really good too. My covers didnt have any paint left on them and they were a little oxidised so I used some res scotch bright to scuff the surface and repainted them black. The intake was harder to clean since it had the rough casting surface but I cleaned that really good and just painted it (again black) and it has been fine so far.

Oh the factory didn't paint the intake and the valve covers where a meduim grey color.

Massey

 

Tire cleaner is awesome for cleaning. When I wash my car i use tire cleaner because it's stronger then most cleaners out there. I'll take almost all oil stains and grease residue away. The other thing would be sand it with some ultra fine grit sand paper then a coat of polish to shine it up.

 

Powder coat FTW. To bad my over was not big enough for the intake



http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/d...nt=Mockup2.jpg

 

that looks amazing gorn. im going to try out the degreasser massey talked about first but how do you powercoat def something iwant to look into.

i gotta work this weekend but i should get at least 5 -6 hours worth of detailing done regardless if the weather will work with me for once.

 

i use awesome its an industrial cleaner/degreaser you get it from the dollar store its the best cleans everything even blood from a white shirt never use the bleach white on anything but tires tho as for powdercoating just type powdercoat and the zip the the closest big city near you into google and you should find something

 

If the part will fit in your oven you can powder coat at home. Yes get permission from the head cook first since it is car parts in the kitchen. Usually you need a compressor and a powder gun once the powder is applied you bake it and it creates a very hard shell.

Massey

 

Once you use a over for powder coating it should never be used for food again.

https://camaroforums.com/forum/showt...d=1#post284485

 

I didnt say bake a cake right after... I imagine it would be pretty noxious after doing that. Maybe buy an oven from a used appliance store for this job.

Massey

 

I use WD40 to degrease my engine. Then I used a nylon pad to scrub the hard spots. Don't use steel wool. Worked great for me. Try to not get too much on the manifolds. If you do, use dish soap to remove the excess WD40. Dish soap also gives an awesome shine too!