CLEAN THE ENGINE BAY

With the careful work and the right materials, even the most grimy and like new after just a few hours of graft. But there’s an art to it. It’s no good simply cleaning down the engine and daubing fresh paint around it’ll look a mess. The job has to be tackled with precision, using the correct materials and procedures. Some dismantling of parts is needed so that you have good access.

Then there’s rust and engine heat to contend with it’s essential to de rust and stop further rusting on every steel component before it’s painted. Engine heat can burn and discoulor the paint, causing it to flake off, so the painting process needed to be really well thought out. Super hot parts such as the exhaust and turbocharger will need heat resistant paint. When cleaning the engine, start at the top and work downwards. It’s worth placing a sheet of polythene under the engine bay to catch the muck as it drops down. Once the initial cleaning is finished, take a few parts off the engine to improve access to the hard to reach bits. A second clean up is needed to reach those extra areas.

When the all the engine bay has dried out again the painting can start, working from the bottom upwards so that your hands are always working clear of the new wet paint. When the paint’s dried there’ll be extra jobs such as touching in the details it’s the subtle touches that make the difference. Don’t aim for a concourse job. For that, the engine has to come out and hours invested in preparation. This is about a quick face lift for minimum expenditure in minimum time. Attention to detail will produce a smart engine bay for a working vehicle.