It took THREE days (some starting at 1 am), but the Camaro is DONE - In & Out

[Don M]

[Tasmania]

Really look's refreshed Don both the interior and exterior, What would be your thoughts on a engine bay clean?

[Don M]

Really look's refreshed Don both the interior and exterior, What would be your thoughts on a engine bay clean?

On my OLDER cars, I wouldn't think twice and would keep them cleaned / clean them often. I had an older Toyota pick up that when my mechanic popped the hood, he instantly stopped talking, and you could TELL he was at a loss for words, because by looking at the rest of the truck (which WAS clean, just beat up), you NEVER would have imagined that you'd see a SPOTLESS engine bay. Of course though, that truck was an '86, with minimal electronics.

On my Camaro, and my wife's Escape (both 2013s), they have electronics and sensors EVERYWHERE, and the thought of getting water/cleaner into one (or more) of them and causing issues SCARES me. I had the Camaro professionally rustproofed right after I bought it (which included areas of the hood itself AND the engine bay). The stuff they used NEVER dries/hardens and is exceptionally gooey (even after 8 years). To clean off any overspray after rustproofing a car, they have to use kerosene, or another light 'base' oil to cut through it and remove it - it's THAT tenacious.

So since that stuff is all over my engine bay, I won't even attempt to clean it (I MIGHT be tempted at some point to spray it down with an APC, then rinse it off - free flowing water, no pressure), but I can't use tools or brushes, if they TOUCH the undercoating, they would be ruined, since you can't get this stuff off. Now the Escape WASN'T rustproofed, so a light cleaning isn't totally OUT of the question (APC spray-down, brushes and a free flow-rinse), but again, all the electronics scare me. And since BOTH cars have very high-tech engines in them, *I* don't work on them, so I just let my mechanic worry about the mess.

[hoyt66]

Solid work Don. Looks like the time well invested!!

[Don M]

Solid work Don. Looks like the time well invested!!

THANKS! I have sleep issues and often wake up around 3 am, so instead of turning lights on in the house and waking up the wife, I went out to the garage and started bringing the car 'back to life,' working until I was ready to drop. Yesterday, I started at 1 am, and FORTUNATELY, all I had left to do was the 'finishing touches,' so it only took me until 5 am to finish up.

After 3 days of that, I am STILL sore all over.

[Tasmania]

On my OLDER cars, I wouldn't think twice and would keep them cleaned / clean them often. I had an older Toyota pick up that when my mechanic popped the hood, he instantly stopped talking, and you could TELL he was at a loss for words, because by looking at the rest of the truck (which WAS clean, just beat up), you NEVER would have imagined that you'd see a SPOTLESS engine bay. Of course though, that truck was an '86, with minimal electronics.

On my Camaro, and my wife's Escape (both 2013s), they have electronics and sensors EVERYWHERE, and the thought of getting water/cleaner into one (or more) of them and causing issues SCARES me. I had the Camaro professionally rustproofed right after I bought it (which included areas of the hood itself AND the engine bay). The stuff they used NEVER dries/hardens and is exceptionally gooey (even after 8 years). To clean off any overspray after rustproofing a car, they have to use kerosene, or another light 'base' oil to cut through it and remove it - it's THAT tenacious.

So since that stuff is all over my engine bay, I won't even attempt to clean it (I MIGHT be tempted at some point to spray it down with an APC, then rinse it off - free flowing water, no pressure), but I can't use tools or brushes, if they TOUCH the undercoating, they would be ruined, since you can't get this stuff off. Now the Escape WASN'T rustproofed, so a light cleaning isn't totally OUT of the question (APC spray-down, brushes and a free flow-rinse), but again, all the electronics scare me. And since BOTH cars have very high-tech engines in them, *I* don't work on them, so I just let my mechanic worry about the mess.

Yeah that sounds fair, The mechanic that worked on my dad's ute told me off because the engine bay was too clean and he couldn't see a power steering leak.

I reckon he didn't want to fix it and it's only a bad o' ring seal he said let the engine get dirty so i can see the leak better.

[PouncingPanzer]

Nice job Don! It's a lot of work doing a top-to-bottom detail especially if it isn't something done for a living, or you have no help.

Car looks good I'm sure she thanked you afterwards.

[JDGolden]

Looks really good! Like the dirt/dust never even happened.


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[MisterSnoop]

Looking good!

[bill walsh]

Don that car of yours looks really great.