What to do with underhood insulation

**velobard** · 12-19-2006, 11:39 PM

The underhood insulation on my car is driving me batty. I can clean everything else, but this stuff is "uncleanable". It`s a luxury car so I`m not sure I want to totally lose it, but I don`t know how much actual sound dampening it does. It`s picked up stuff that`s splashed through the engine compartment, compound splatter from it`s last trip to the body shop, and just general gunk. What can be done with this stupid material??? It seems way to fragile to do any meaningful cleaning. Cover it with something? Replace it with something better? Any ideas at all?

**Setec Astronomy** · 12-19-2006, 11:44 PM

Have you priced a new blanket? Usually they are for thermal insulation as much or more than sound, BTW.

**fdizzle** · 12-20-2006, 02:33 AM

i agree. that pad might be saving your paint . . or it is just there for sounds supression. i think it would serve a little of both . . .

i just got a new beater neon, and that engine hood pad is just finished. i tried to remove ont of the 20 clips holding it in and it just broke. i dusted it with the air compressor - that got most of the dust out. then took a terry towel and dampened it with hot water and simple green. just rubbed it across the entire surface lightly . . made it look a little better.

might not kill ya to go price a new one at the dealer, at least then you will know all your options . . .

**ZoranC** · 12-20-2006, 04:29 AM

I`ve taken it off my turbo Supra for reasons that are too long to type now. In my case it did not change sound level. But long term wise you could see heat of engine bay making faster impact on hood`s paint. Good news is there is number of materials out there you can use as heat shield, including ceramic paint. Bad news is that I see an ongoing debate wheter that also serves as fire retardant or not.

**Heathenbrewing** · 12-20-2006, 09:50 AM

You could fiberglass it. That would make it easier to clean.

Search some `Tuner` sights...I know a lot of guys wrap it in vinyl, but you do need some sort of high temp glue.

**velobard** · 12-20-2006, 10:46 AM

I took a quick peak at one of the OEM parts places, it looks like this thing retails for about $50. The price where I looked was discounted to about $40, but you know shipping would suck that up. The aggrevating part of buying a new one is that I know it would likely be a short matter of time before it was messed up again.

Fiberglass, huh? I`ve never played with that myself, but it`s something to consider. As for vinyl, finding glue that would work shouldn`t be a big deal, but I`d be nervous about the vinyl itself being exposed to those temps. This isn`t a show car, it`s my DD. It`s parked outside and exposed to the elements 24/7.

**Setec Astronomy** · 12-20-2006, 10:58 AM

There is foil-faced thermal insulation material, if you can live with the aluminum foil look.

**Guy** · 12-20-2006, 11:33 AM

I took mine off my Twin Turbo Stealth with no ill effects on sound or paint damage. I did raise the hood bubbles 1/16" to allow hot air to escape though. If you order a new one shipping is a killer because they can`t fold these.

**Accumulator** · 12-20-2006, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by velobard

The aggrevating part of buying a new one is that I know it would likely be a short matter of time before it was messed up again..

Nah, if you give it a gentle cleaning at each wash it`ll stay nice for a *long* time. The one on my wife`s `00 A8 looks fine and I`m only now replacing the one on the `85 Jag (cooked from the engine heat but still looks clean).

I use the regular shampoo mix and either a BHB or a cloth and I only wash maybe the front 20% or even less. A very gentle rinsing follows using as little water as possible (don`t satuate it). The rinsing gets most of the mat a bit damp and that water is enough to clean the rest of it. I dry it with cotton towels (which always end up dirty). The little bit of shampoo/water that gets into the engine compartment wipes up easily enough and provides a little cleaning too. Cleaning around/under the front edge of the mat with a paintbrush-shaped BHB will clean out a *lot* of stuff that`d otherwise be trapped there.

If winter driving is in the picture, doing this regular light cleaning will also help keep the salt residue from getting to the point where you have to take drastic measures (e.g., vinegar).

**velobard** · 12-20-2006, 05:21 PM

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Nah, if you give it a gentle cleaning at each wash it`ll stay nice for a *long* time. The one on my wife`s `00 A8 looks fine and I`m only now replacing the one on the `85 Jag (cooked from the engine heat but still looks clean).

Thanks! I admit, I was curious how you dealt with this because it`s hard to picture you settling for grungy insulation.

I guess I`ll give a shot at gently cleaning it, then go from there. It definitely doesn`t seem worth replacing it in the middle of winter, given that salt-laden slush or who-know-what might get up there.

**imported_Totoland Mach** · 12-20-2006, 06:06 PM

I`ve had some funny staining on my Mach 1`s underhood blanket. I took a tip from a fellow car show entrant and used Kiwi Black Shoe DYE (not polish). I used the dauber that comes with the bottle and it took about 1 hour to completely cover the blanket. The dye lasts about 2 years and is a nice, matte black.

Toto

**velobard** · 12-20-2006, 06:44 PM

Originally Posted by Totoland Mach

I`ve had some funny staining on my Mach 1`s underhood blanket. I took a tip from a fellow car show entrant and used Kiwi Black Shoe DYE (not polish). I used the dauber that comes with the bottle and it took about 1 hour to completely cover the blanket. The dye lasts about 2 years and is a nice, matte black.

Toto

That definitely sounds worth trying. I`ll clean a little of the gunk first, then give that a shot. It`s not like I have much to lose.

**imported_Totoland Mach** · 12-20-2006, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by velobard

That definitely sounds worth trying. I`ll clean a little of the gunk first, then give that a shot. It`s not like I have much to lose.

Plus, you`ll have enough dye left over to do most of the neighborhood`s black shoes LOL.

BTW...you guy`s get all your electricity back in the St. Louis area? Tuff stuff with a summer storm and a winter ice storm.

See you

Toto

**imported_Bence** · 12-20-2006, 07:01 PM

Other methods? Maybe carpet foam or mild extraction? Or a carpet-impregating protection? I need to find a good solution too because these flat ```````s are sensitive and ungrateful.

**imported_Devilsown** · 12-20-2006, 09:31 PM

my 93 rx7 twin turbo, is more that likely one of the hottest runnging engines out there and I have yet to have and issue with my paint and it dont have the protector thingy under it