Getting rid of "engine clearcoat" ?

A

Agarwal

New member
Hi guys,

Around the beginning of last year's summer, I cleaned the engine of my car using some Gunk degreaser. I tried to find some good old CD-2 kit, but it was nowhere to be found up here (Canada). The degreaser wasn't bothering me, but I was missing the "Engine Detailer" from the kit alot.

So I bought a can of Motomaster's "Engine Finish". BIG MISTAKE!!! It's nice for the first month or so, then the clear starts to crack and everything gets ugly. Contrary to what I remember about the CD-2, the Motomaster crap dries hard, just like a "true" clearcoat. So when a hose moves, the clear actually cracks, and it gets ugly.

Now I found some CD-2 (had to buy it from a US distributor), but I need to get my engine bay rid of that Motomaster crap! :angry

On hoses, I can "scratch" it off with my nail, but it doesn't work that good on hard plastics (ie, on the fan box, or the valve cover). Besides, I can't scratch all my bay with my nails :(

Do you have any idea on how I could proceed to get rid of that crap? I tried a toothbrush with a bit of thinner, and it somehow worked; but it seems I would need 5 full days to do it that way. I had to rub for a LONG time to get a very small area clean of the clear. Maybe my thinner is not "powerful" enough?

If you have any idea, please tell me. Thanks.
 
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Possibly, run a pressure washer with some degreaser over the engine, then a little agitation action.

I wouldn't go putting paint thinner anywhere in your bay. Something about flamable materials on (potentially) hot surfaces...
 
Yeah, I could try a pressure washer to "scratch" off the clearcoat.

Damn, how I wish I never used that stuff :(

Any other idea?
 
A steamer like Shark, Scunci, Steam Buggy,etc. might help. I'd only dress plastic and hoses with a water based dressing like 303 once you get the mess cleaned up.
 
Simple Green maybe or some Gunk degreaser. like Bill D said I like to use water based dressing for my bay . meguires is my favorite right now , #40 with a little water dilution. works great and last about a month before I dfo it again.
 
Already tried with some Gunk degreaser; it won't touch it, does absolutely nothing. This stuff is nasty!!

I was able to find a can of the stuff to read the label; it says to remove it using mineral spirits. I'll try to get some this week-end, and brush the hell out of the bay :(

What do you guys think about the CD-2 "Engine Detailing Kit"? IIRC (been a while since I've used it) it's pretty good, but how does it compare to a water-based solution? Will the CD-2 clog my bay the way the motocrap product did? :angry

I'd follow your advice right away and buy (and use) a water-based product, but I now have 4 kits of the CD-2 stuff. So if it's not too bad I'll use it. If it's crap, well, we'll see ;)

/Edit: just read that Jngrbrdman thinks that "The best product I've ever used to bring back that factory shine is CD2 Engine Detailer". I guess I can safely use my bottles of CD2 then ;)
 
I will second Jngr's opinion of the CD2 kit. Works extrememly well and leaves the bay looking very nice. :bigups
 
Agarwal said:
Already tried with some Gunk degreaser; it won't touch it, does absolutely nothing. This stuff is nasty!!

I was able to find a can of the stuff to read the label; it says to remove it using mineral spirits. I'll try to get some this week-end, and brush the hell out of the bay :(
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I have an idea that might speed things up for your clean up. If you decide to try this, please try this on an area you can clean easily in case it doesn't work!

I've had success gettting non-drywipe ink off dry wipe boards with this method. And success in encouraging contact cement to let go when it was holding something I didn't intend it to hold. (like my fingers! :lmfao)
Whether it works in this case? :dunno

Sometimes products dissolve themselves and can be wiped up when wet. If you still have some product. Apply it on a easy to clean area like the air box and try to wipe it off. Maybe you get lucky. If not, at least the second coat you just applied is on a place you can get at with mineral spirits. ;)

FWIW
 
I have no need for such a specialized engine dressing kit because I have 303 ( substitue for other weater based dressing as well) in large quantities and use it on the interior, weatherstripping and dash. I also alternate it with another product on tires as well. Nothing like a high quality product that can protect all vinyl and rubber surfaces.
 
dalmore: hehe... I'll try that, on a tiny area. I still have some of that crap around. I'll let you know ;)

I tried with mineral spirits today; works better than with thinner, but it's still far from instant off. I have to rub A LOT in order to clean a small area. It seems a lot worse on hard plastics, like the valve cover, where I wasn't able to completely remove it from the area I tried. Works pretty good on rubber hose though.

Next try is with a pressure washer; I'll "soften" the clear with the mineral spirits, rub it a little, then try to pressurewash the hell outta it! ;)
 
hey ararwal , yes the CD-2 kit is safe and great . I use simple green and a water based dressing because of the price and product availability..Good Luck..get some pics.
 
:ranton Lousy stuff... why do they make such crap!!!

I started today again with just the mineral spirits, some rags and brushes, and damn... it won't come off at all. Maybe it's because last time the engine was still warm.

I tried a little of the CD-2 degreaser, and it seems to soften the stuff a bit. So, I guess my last chance is to spray the degreaser, let it do it's job for a good while, then try to scrape the stuff with a pressure washer.

It only seems to come semi-easily off when being scraped off (like with my nails); so I'm hoping the pressure washer would do the same.

:wall
 
Agarwal - that really bites that you have to go through this but I for one am glad you are sharing your experience. :bigups my man for the object lesson for the rest of us!
 
Did you try claying? Give that shot.


Otherwise,this might be a job for a steamer. It's certainly a pain to have to go out and buy this specialized tool but the blasting heat of the steam,along with scraping may just do the trick.
 
It's most likely a plastic material and a solvent will most likely be needed to remove it. I though would not use a solvent cleaner on your engine so your best bet is to let the stuff wear off naturally.
 
dalmore: thanks for the heads up :) Hopefully, I'll be able to recover a clean engine!

Bill D: hmm... didn't think about the clay. It would be pretty hard to go in all the small places with it, though. I'll give it a try. If nothing I have in hand works, I'll consider acquiring a steamer; maybe someone I know has one ;) I'll have to check that.

Bell: I already tried with thinner and mineral spirits (per the directions on the can itself). So I guess a solvant can't really do it :( As for letting it there... well, I will if I truly have no choice, but it's been there for 1 year, and it shows no sign of letting go. It looks bad, yes, but it's still sticking very good to the whole engine bay, unfortunately.

I'll try tomorrow with the cd-2 degreaser + pressure washer. I'll let you guys know how it turns out!
 
I spent some time today with the CD-2 degreaser and a pressure washer; I was quite happy to see that at least some of the stuff was scraped away; about 70% of it I'd say. I'll have to use the pressure washer 2-3 times to get it truly clean, and use the mineral spirits, rags, and brush too :(

Here's how it looks now:

denis%20004.jpg_s.jpg

denis%20005.jpg_s.jpg


The shiny or dirty spots are what remains of the stuff. I can assure you that the engine bay would be clean without the stuff, as I used the degreaser 2 times only today :(

The stuff has yellowed and dirt is sticking to it.

When I'm done with the engine bay, I'll buy the PC and get on the car's paint.
denis%20027.jpg_s.jpg

denis%20028.jpg_s.jpg
 
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