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Underhood detail question

vee93

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 15, 2002
Messages
585
Location
Mississippi
Corvette
1993 Medium Quasar Blue Metallic Coupe
Besides a multitude of cotton swabs, rags, etc., what do y'all use to shine the goodies under the hood?
I ask because the bit of Armor All I used to shine everything up seems to be degrading a coupla hoses after the heat builds up under there--at least I think its the Armor All. The hoses are just under a year old. What else do you guys use to make everything nice and shiny under there?
:w
 
I’ve found this to add a subtle sheen on rubber items under the hood:
http://www.meguiars.com/?home-vinyl-rubber-care/Natural-Shine-Vinyl-Rubber-Protectant

I spray it in a rag, then dab an appropriate sized soft paint brush (as if it’s paint on an artists palette) and apply it to hoses. I’ve also been finding it useful on some metal and hard plastic pieces under the hood. I learned of it from a local guy that has an Admiral Blue ’94 coupe that wins show after show. I’ve seen his results and have been pretty impressed...

...let it soak in for a few moments, remove any excess product, otherwise it will leave a high gloss shine. Gently buff the gloss down so it looks more like “as delivered” than high shine.

For metal/aluminium pieces, you could use this:
http://www.meguiars.com/?chrome-aluminum-care/NXT-Generation-All-Metal-Polysh

Can be applied to your exhaust pipes (pipes before the mufflers at the back of your car). It can also be used for any aluminium/brass pieces under the hood. Works well on the A-arms and such. Learned of this from Rob, our Site Administrator. THANKS ROB!

I use this to clean the heads of steel bolts (aluminium colored bolts): http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(a.../ProductDetails.aspx?SKU=86537&Source=froogle

Spray it into a rag and either dab a Q-Tip or paint brush depending on size of bolt in product, then clean, wipe away any grim/excess. After that, I clean/polish with Meguires Aluminium polish.

For the black plastic fuel rail covers:
http://www.303products.com/tech/ind...&Product_ID=428&CFID=2484686&CFTOKEN=72925414

I remove them and clean with a very small amount of dish detergent. Rinse thoroughly and apply 303 AeroSpace Protectant. Learned of this from Elaine (GS Diva) a while back. THANKS ELAINE!

As soon as it cools down around here, I can’t wait to get back in the garage and keep on detailing!

B17Crew
:w
 
Thanks for the great detaining info
Do you use the 303 Aerospace Protectant on your door and glass rubber too?
Thanks
Mike
 
Have you tried these products in reverse order from your posting? The reason I ask is that seem to be basically the same product.

303 though claims to work on weather seals. I wonder if it will keep them from drying out?

b17crew said:
I’ve found this to add a subtle sheen on rubber items under the hood:
http://www.meguiars.com/?home-vinyl-...ber-Protectant

I spray it in a rag, then dab an appropriate sized soft paint brush (as if it’s paint on an artists palette) and apply it to hoses. I’ve also been finding it useful on some metal and hard plastic pieces under the hood. I learned of it from a local guy that has an Admiral Blue ’94 coupe that wins show after show. I’ve seen his results and have been pretty impressed...

...let it soak in for a few moments, remove any excess product, otherwise it will leave a high gloss shine. Gently buff the gloss down so it looks more like “as delivered” than high shine.

For the black plastic fuel rail covers:
http://www.303products.com/tech/inde...TOKEN=72925414

I remove them and clean with a very small amount of dish detergent. Rinse thoroughly and apply 303 AeroSpace Protectant. Learned of this from Elaine (GS Diva) a while back. THANKS ELAINE!
 
PG-LT4 said:
Thanks for the great detaining info
Do you use the 303 Aerospace Protectant on your door and glass rubber too?
Thanks
Mike

You’re welcome, Mike.
I’ve been using the Meguires Natural Shine Vinyl & Rubber Protectant on my weather-stripping. So far, I’ve been happy with the results. I’m sure the 303 works great on the weather-strip also. For window glass I use Stoners Invisible Glass:
http://www.invisibleglass.com/

Again, I learned of the Stoners window cleaner from GS Diva. Thanks again Elaine!

B17Crew
:w
 
Pseudomind said:
Have you tried these products in reverse order from your posting? The reason I ask is that seem to be basically the same product.

303 though claims to work on weather seals. I wonder if it will keep them from drying out?

Pseudomind,
Very true, the products are similar. I go this route because each product produces a different level of sheen. The Meguires Natural Shine Vinyl & Rubber Protectant has a higher sheen after application than the 303. After a few days, the Meguires, becomes a nice, light coating that seems factory fresh. The 303 has a lower level of sheen immediately upon application. The Meguires seems to leave me just enough of a light sheen that makes things look new... not a greasy detail job.

The 303 is nice, especially when used on interior plastic trim pieces. In the interior is where I think the 303 shows its quality. The results are clean and crisp, non-greasy and factory fresh.

Not sure how the 303 or Meguires effect longevity of weather-seals. C4 seals are notorious for cracking. The C5’s seemed to have received a more reliable material for their weather-stripping.

This is all subjective of course, I know we Corvette owners like to experiment with different products.

B17Crew
:w
 
Why, Thanks.

I believe I am going to use the Turtle Wax Ice Polish on my CE stripes (stripes are vinyl and regular wax cannot be used) and the rest of he car and try the 303 on the interior and the weatherstripping.

Ice Polish

IMG_0192.jpg
 
Pseudomind said:

OMG :eek that is a cool Z06!

I have yet to try the TW Ice Polish, I checked it out on their website. Let us know what you think of it after you use it.

The 303 is nice to use, I had been looking for a interior dressing for quite some time, I’ve been pretty happy with the results.

B17Crew
:w
 
I found a product from Adams. It is a spray product that I have used for a few years on the hoses, and plastic parts and it does a very good job. Stay away from Armor all on rubber of any kind. Adams has a Web site.
 
JimVette said:
I found a product from Adams. It is a spray product that I have used for a few years on the hoses, and plastic parts and it does a very good job. Stay away from Armor all on rubber of any kind. Adams has a Web site.

Adams is a fabulous company!

Besides having great products, they also have an instructional DVD which is the best one I have seen. If you buy something from them, they will throw the DVD in.

I have been around cars a long, long time. I even learned a couple of things from watching the DVD.

SAVE THE WAVE! :w
 
Thanks alot for the info Vetters!!! :w
 
Great info and someday I will find time to Detail the C4 engine bay
 
Rain said:
someday I will find time to Detail the C4 engine bay

I can relate to that...
Probably the hardest part is trying to find the time!

B17Crew
:w
 
Under Hood Detailing

Any body have a source for under the hood decals? Like the one for the serpintine belt and others. Heat has cause these factory decals to begin to peal away.;) Thanks!
 
ZQQM said:
Any body have a source for under the hood decals? Like the one for the serpintine belt and others. Heat has cause these factory decals to begin to peal away.;) Thanks!

I had luck recording the part numbers that are on the decals and taking the part numbers into my local Chevy parts department. Look closely and you will see a part number printed on just about every decal under your hood. You may get lucky and find them still available. Did this for a C4 I had owned and was surprised how much was still available. The only label they could not obtain for me was for the Harrison air conditioning component labels as they were a specific Harrison part number. I would’ve had to contact Harrison to obtain the labels. I sold that C4 to get a newer one, so I never did speak with anyone at Harrison.

Hope you find what you are looking for!

B17Crew
:w

P.S. Nice thing about the labels... low cost. Probably the least expensive Corvette part you could ever hope to buy over the counter at your local Bowtie dealer.
 
Thanks B17 Crew I'll check those lables for a part number.
 
i found that the little mini swiffers work good for dusting off under the hood and i use stoner trime cleaner and trim shine on all the hoses and plastic
 
Well well well... We have none of the good stuff you folks have in the USA. I have used all sorts of things to shine the parts including but not limited to fork (yeah "fork" like what we use to eat with), tooth pick, cotton ear cleaners, scotch bright, steel wool, and WD40. :) The results? Not too bad really...
 
lt4man,
i am a new member in the chgo area. your car looks great. i just puchased a 96 ce convert. i can use some advice on detailing. there are some fine scratches i want to get out and i need to clean the alum under the hood. i also need to get info for parts and acc.
any help is appreciated
firstvet
 

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