[ANTHONYD]

Here are some tips for under the hood.

(these are old pics by the way....the engine still looks as clean as ever.

Grab a can of compressed air from grand and toy. The kind you use to blow out your computer hardware and keyboard./

Go around the engine and blow out all the sand and grit. Once you do this, you'll notice dirt won't collect as much anymore.

Cover the intake, coil, MAF, stereo fuse, fuse box etc...with bags., Spray down the engine with (watered down) simplegreen. DON'T LET THIS s*** SIT TOO LONG...it rubs off all your logos and stickers etc... My engine is completely unbranded :P

Take a small brush (like the kind you use to clean your golf clubs) and scrub out all the dirty areas, the grooves in the coolant tank, power steering resivoir etc... spraying your simplegreen as you go.

Hose off the engine (while it's cold) with the mist setting on your garden hose. Don't EVER blast the engine.

Completly dry the engine best you can with towels. remove the bags and start the motor to dry the rest of it off. Apply a SMALL amount of armour all to a clean rag. Go around to all the black stuff and shine it all up.

I like to take a piece of cardboard and a can of BBQ paint and go around and paint all the rusty parts (engine lift loops, mounts, nuts and bolts etc...)

Get some black wire wraps. Canadian tire (about 10.00)

These work wonders in hiding ugly stuff. I wrapped all my hoses and some wires, with these. Ithey work well because you can cut them to length and cover the rusty hose clamps etc... Just use some black zipties to fasten them to the car.

Take another dry rag and wipe off all armour all residue.

Leave hood up to bake in the sun.

What you have done is remved all the dirt and baked in a nice slippery grease free coating of protection that helps dirt wipe right off.

I also took the liberty of removing the mouldy black fire-wall sound dampner stuff off the fire wall. It;s held in with about 3 bolts and some wacky metal fasteners. This leaves the firwall with only a nice black plastic cove that shines up really nice with some armour all.

One piece of advice...don;t use tire gel to shine your plastic pieces. The tire gel is a magnet for dirt and dust. (Beacuae it's sticky.)

My car is a 2002, driven all year around in all weather and is NEVER kept in a garage and my enginle looks like this.











Hope this helps.

If you need any other tips... I have a few up my sleeve.

A.