engine bay

[lukewilliam1_75]

Hi Guys

Has anyone polished their rocker covers? or used any polish inside the engine bay?

If so what and what results did you get?

Cheers

 

[SydneyRoverP6B]

G'day Luke,

I have been using ArmorAll since 1985 with good results. The gloss black paint on the inner guards is the original 1974 application and even if I do say so myself, still looks in pretty good nick.. :wink:

The photo of my engine bay was taken mid 2011, I hadn't cleaned it for a few days so it is a little dusty.

Ron.

 

[quattro]

I got some 60 grit wet n dry and sanded the tops down, i.e. the top of the ribs and the bit around the 'Rover' script. Then 180 and so on until i got a nice, shiny finish.

Then painted them with a gloss engine enamel, let it tack off and wiped off the polished bit with a some solvent.

Doesn't look too shabby and a lot cheaper than buying polished ones.

Richard

 

[corazon]

Rockers shine up to mirror if you have the right compounds/buffing wheels, or upto 3000 grit wet and dry and patience!
I did do one of mine a while back, but have since polished the carb elbows and have begun on the manifold- so shiny rockers would be overkill.
The way Quattro has done his look best on this style of rocker to me, and it is the route i am taking. Although satin black in my case, i had thought of using vht wrinkle plus for that ceramic powder coated look that some mustangs and cobras have but have decided against that.
You'd need to keep them polished regularly or white surface corrosion appears.
Jim

 

[JVY]

My engine bay isn't quite as tidy as Ron's or Richard's. However, the rocker cover on my 4-pot isn't too shabby. It had been polished when I got the car. However, as it was starting to dull somewhat, I gave it a polish with Autoglym Metal Polish. This restored the shine and it has only need the occassional buff up with a soft rag to restore it over the last couple of years. So, if your going for bare polished metal look, Autoglym seems to do the trick.

I have polished up some metal parts in the past - I would remove the cover and use a polishing mop fitted to a bench grinder. Making sure the mop and polishing paste/compound is suitabe for aluminium alloy. You would probably then need a Dremmel type tool with polishing mops to get into all the nooks and crannies on the cover.

 

[JVY]

I can't vouch for the quality of what this vendor in Ebay is selling but this is the type of bench grinder conversion kit I use:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bench-Gri...57?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item45ff8cb741
If the quality of this stuff is good, it seems like a fair price as you can easily pay £30 just for a couple of polishing mops.

 

[corazon]

oh, and you can de-rubber the oil filler cap and polish that too.
I did it last week and it looks great. I would recommend using heat to remove the rubber though, unlike my knife/wrenching technique :roll:
I'll get a pic later if you like
Jim

 

[v8guy]

For the last6 years I've been using a metal polish called Briliant its a ph neutral polish that comes in a couple of different grades and can honestly say its amazing and works wonders on all metals

Once polished I just wipe the polished areas over when cleaning the car and tend to redo them every 6 months or so including my stainless exhaust and my alloys.

 

[corazon]

A diamond in the rough!
As you can see rockers are my next job

Jim

 

[rockdemon]

If you want a picture of my engine bay you'll have to search for it... it's nowhere near as nice as any on this thread

 

[So Cal V8]

Still waiting for the day they can join the rest of the engine...

 

[corazon]

They'll look awesome in the california sun

 

[JVY]

So Cal V8,

8) The pictures of your covers had me reaching for my sunglasses! That is an impressive finish. Please tell us how you got such a mirror like finish?

 

[So Cal V8]

I dropped them off at an old school chrome and polish shop, and a week later - shiney! 8)

 

[So Cal V8]

Inspired by Corazon I decided to have a go at my oil filler cap.

As the car had been in a fire just prior to me getting it the plastic/rubber stuff on the oil filler was a bit melty. I had thought I would just source a better one; then I saw what Corazon had done to his and thought it looked great. It could stand to be better and the last picture was taken in the fading light, but much better than it was before. Thanks for the inspiration!
Before
After

 

[harveyp6]

Early engines didn't have the plastic covering on the filler cap.

 

[keynsham1]

I use Pledge furniture polish on almost everything. I cleans oily fingerprints off and smells nice as well. It also has wax in so gives some very tiny added protection I hope!

 

[v8guy]

IIRC Pledge has silicones in it

so would not recommend using it

 

[corazon]

I've never noticed that before Harvey, but then i've never got up close and personal with a series one..
Nice work there So Cal, makes it feel like a much higher quality part doesn't it?!
I have mentioned it before, but Belgom Alu is my weapon of choice 8)

 

[keynsham1]

I have been using Pledge on cars and motorcycles for over 25 years on engines, chrome, interiors and paintwork with no problems. In fact it is my polish of choice for motorcycle petrol tanks. so if it does contain silicon, it doesn't seem to matter!