Engine degreaser caused this

[stangyellow]

I used an engine degreaser in hopes of removing some engine grime, but was left with a bunch of residue and damage I cannot get rid of. The valve covers appear to be ruined, and I'm not sure if I can bring them back to life. All the aluminum appears to be oxidized and there is a strange residue on everything. I know some of the stainless pieces can be buffed with metal polish but I'm unsure about the rest. Please help!

[Mazda.Mark]

Maybe it is just me but I do not use greaser on bare aluminum in the engine bay considering how hot it may get.

I used a designated metal polish on those areas. That may be able to help you bring your metal back.

Try Mothers MAG if you want something quick OTC. I know there are plenty of nice metal polishes in the AG store.

Sorry it didn't come out well :/

[Pureshine]

I use P21s all the time and have never had this happen what degreaser did you use? Did you leave it on for a long time?

[AutowerxDetailing]

I'm wondering, was the engine hot when the product was applied to the engine bay? That's the only thing I can think of that might cause this.

Sent from my LG-VM701 using AG Online

[stangyellow]

I believe I used Purple Power. The car was backed out of the garage and parked outside, so it was not hot when the engine was sprayed. It wasn't sitting on the engine for a long amount of time either.

[VroomVroom]

Ouch. FWIW, my first step would be a reasonably stiff nylon brush, along with some APC (Megs, Poorboy's Bio...something "known good") diluted at a reasonably strong (i.e. 4:1) ratio. From there, you'll have an idea of what is simply nasty residue, versus damage that needs to be polished or otherwise corrected. Good luck.

[Mike Phillips]

I believe I used Purple Power. The car was backed out of the garage and parked outside, so it was not hot when the engine was sprayed. It wasn't sitting on the engine for a long amount of time either.

This isn't the first time I've seen and heard about Purple Power causing issues to aluminum, same for Simple Green. People will tend to use these products because they are easily available at any local hardware or department store or they're already under the kitchen sink.

I've owned a lot of polished aluminum in my life including my artificial leg and polished aluminum can and will stain easily.

If all the bright work in your pictures is un-coated, polished aluminum you can undo the damage with enough polishing. Aluminum is porous and how much polishing you're going to have to do and how aggressive you're going to have to get depends upon how deep the staining has penetrated.

Sorry to see what happened to your beautiful engine compartment.


Ouch...

[2BlackChevys]

Sometimes a light coating of machine oil will make it look better. You can also try never dull to clean it up some. If you have lots of residue sometimes a strong solution of dawn and water will remove it. They key with degreasers is really rinse them well.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

You never want to use a degreaser on un-coated metals. I'm stating the obvious. Tough lesson to learn. Sorry about the damage.

[997911]

You will have to just re polish it. I've had that happen before. But look on the bright side. After you polish it you will have a very nice and clean engine bay.