Mazda Rotary Club

Cars by Model Type => 2nd generation RX-7's => Topic started by: grinder on August 04, 2012, 01:41:51 PM

Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on August 04, 2012, 01:41:51 PM
Hiya chaps

Do you know when you start something and then wish you never had .. well i have had one of these moments !!

Last week decided to swap the cars round on the drive/garden

The UK cab has been living on the lawn for a while now ( nearly 12 months ) so thought it was about time i got it on the driveway , just so its easier to use

So put the JDM on the lawn ( had to tow it off the drive with the girlfriends car and then push it on ) and put the UK one on the drive

Took the UK one to work last week , and when i brought it home i always "pop" the bonnet , just incase i need to charge the battery or check the levels etc..

So i did that , then after tea decided to have a nosey under the bonnet .. and thats when it all started

Managed to make a clean spot .. you always know that this is bad , as then you have to keep going :(

This is in its very early stages at the mo .. and you know that im cheap as chips , so did some shopping in the £1 shop

1 bottle of polish later i was good to go

So started cleaning and polishing around the front drivers shock tower

Now there are a lot of stuff around that area that you bang you knuckles on .. i wasnt impressed with this , so then started taking off the odd bracket etc..

It was then i decided well if im taking them off , might aswell clean them up a bit , so , back to the £1 shop the next day for some primer and .. ohh you will like this .. and some "appliance white" spray paint

Managed to spray up the bracket that holds the pressure sensor , and it doesnt look THAT bad .. but its a bracket .. who cares ..

And then i didnt like the bolts that held stuff in place , so a quick look around the garage and i found some nice allen key bolts that fit .. here are the pics so far ...

Like i said , its that feeling of "should i really have started this " .. LOL

Stu / Grinder
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: TiddlesRX7 on August 04, 2012, 01:46:29 PM
Well if your enjoying it that much you can do mine when your done with yours. Infact I\'ll book it in with you for 2 weeks time at RS if thats okay!

Ade
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on August 04, 2012, 01:57:31 PM
Cheers Ade

Unfortunatly i wont be making RS this year ( this is 2 yrs in a row now :( ) as the better half as a unkanny ability to book our holidays exactly when its being held :(

And at the mo - yeah im enjoying it .. but i can see it getting a pain to be honest

i keep spotting brackets and thinking "Hmmm your next" then suddenly there is a huge space in the engine bay :D

Got quite a few to do at the mo

1 - pressure sensor holder ( off and white at the mo )
2 - big relay behind drives head light ( in primer )
3 - AFM bracket ( in primer )
4 - a bracket that holds the cone filter ( in primer )

then there are ones that hold all the BIG fuses in and there is prob some more around the battery area .. i was looking at the power steering pump bracket ( BIG ally thing ) but that COULD be a pain to remove ?!?!?

I just hope it looks OK when i put it back together .. although as the girl friend keeps telling me "why are you doing this , no one can see it" .. yeah but thats not the point :D
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: m1tch on August 04, 2012, 02:59:53 PM
If you are wanting your washer bottles/coolent bottles really clean I have seen someone put them in the dishwasher lol :D
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on August 04, 2012, 06:35:46 PM
only downside there mate .. i dont have a dishwasher :(

Well i do , but she wouldnt be impressed if i called her that to her face !!
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Kodiak on August 04, 2012, 10:11:35 PM
Love it Stu.

Keep up the good work :god :wiggle
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on August 04, 2012, 11:09:58 PM
i will try and keep the pics up as i do more to it

got a couple coats of paint on some bits - but located correct white gloss in the £1 shop - the the pressure sensor bracket is getting a respray :D
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on August 04, 2012, 11:13:05 PM
just been looking at the pics .. might have to invest in some blue hose\'s to dress it up a bit more :D

Any one know what lenghs and sizes i would need ?
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Brett on August 05, 2012, 10:46:44 AM
Good work Stu :D

Blue or red woud work I think... Samco used to sell a set of hoses for the TII?
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on October 30, 2012, 06:20:06 PM
not managed to do any more on this :(

But tempted to repaint the brackets in blue or something

They look OK in white , but then you cant see what i have done , as it "might" have come out the factory like this

so not sure if to resand down what i have done , and the do them in blue ( smooth hammerite ) or something like that , just so that the stand out a but more

not sure yet ... need to spend another few months thinking about it !! LOL
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Brett on October 30, 2012, 07:02:01 PM
Put the poor thing back together and use some petrol!
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on October 30, 2012, 08:22:38 PM
i know , i know :D
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: jimmydanny on November 12, 2012, 04:21:58 PM
I would like to see how clean you could get a stock TII bay. I mean, there are so many wires, so many vacuum hoses, so much crap, basically. Just want to see a prime example of a clean bay (that is not a stock bay, they are not clean, they are just stock!)
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on November 12, 2012, 06:50:54 PM
its work in SLOW progess :D
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: shaunwil on November 12, 2012, 07:05:27 PM
Looking on with interest :D

Shaun
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on November 12, 2012, 08:02:51 PM
Its really not the weather for stuff like this

I dont think i have even looked at it im 2-3 months to be honest :(
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on February 05, 2013, 04:27:09 PM
OK , i have a week off work , so done a littel bit more

Took the TMIC off and the bov and got them fitted correctly , the TMIC was only one with 2 bolts on one side and wasnt sat sqaure , so removed it all and squared it up

Replaced the bolts with allen key bolts so that it looks neater and that fact that i couldnt find 2 that would fit , so it would have looked odd with 2 bolts on one side and 2 allen key ones on the other , so it has 4 now

Sprayed a bracked blue ( well in the process ) , i might give it another coat just to see what it looks like

Bought some blue smooth-rite pain , going to paint the other brackets and see if brushed paint is better than the £1 shop spray paint

Here is the sprayed test bracket

Its not the best of pics as it was swinging on the wire when i tried to take it ! LOL

This is the bracket that holds the air filter on , you can see it in the pics in the first post , its the last pic and the bracket is near the tiny K&N filter
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: jimmydanny on February 09, 2013, 05:01:36 AM
Pics of it all!
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on February 09, 2013, 09:47:50 AM
well the paint on hammerite didnt really go as expected to be honest

spraying the brackets is clearly the way forward , but im going thru rattle cans like they are going out of fashion ( cheapo £1 shop must not be as good as the decent stuff ! LOL )

I have a compressor , and spray gun , but wouldnt know where to start ...

I would post pics if my PC would pick up my phone .. grrrrr
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on February 09, 2013, 10:24:47 AM
here are some brackets that i resanded and then painted with hammerite ( but didnt take a pic of the "after" )
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on February 09, 2013, 10:27:47 AM
this is one of the engine with the bits fitted

I didnt have the pressure sensor on at this point , so its not in the pic

I have some blue boost pipe on its way , so when thats on i will grab another pic ..
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on February 09, 2013, 10:32:10 AM
These are the new bolts for the TMIC
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on February 09, 2013, 02:08:12 PM
New peice of blue hose fitted to the pressure sensor
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Brett on February 09, 2013, 03:17:09 PM
Did you get some wheel nuts sorted?
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on February 09, 2013, 04:36:35 PM
errrr not yet no :(
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on March 02, 2013, 09:39:08 AM
Just to keep brett happy , got the 17\'s fitted and gave her a wash :
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on March 02, 2013, 09:41:42 AM
decided to see what else i had in the garage that needed fitting ....

rubbed them all down with some 800 graded wet and dry

Had to re-primer some of the bits dues to crap primer

They need another quick rub down and god knows how many coats of white paint next
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on March 02, 2013, 09:43:40 AM
ive had the US spec mirrors for prob the best part of 7-8 years , so might aswell try and get them fitted ! LOL
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Brett on March 02, 2013, 09:51:12 AM
Get the vent on! :Giggle

The work you\'ve done has made the car look so much better/meaner :D
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on March 02, 2013, 10:14:47 AM
next your gonna be harrassing me to get the GP Sports front bumper on .. sheesh ! LOL
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Brett on March 02, 2013, 10:42:00 AM
.......about that... :Giggle
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: TiddlesRX7 on March 02, 2013, 11:07:58 AM
My car will look after it for you if need be mate ;)
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on March 03, 2013, 11:47:22 AM
im sure it would mate !

It needs some TLC and paint before it can go on the car, the couriers didnt exactly take the best care of it :(
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: XRMike on May 15, 2013, 10:50:35 PM
Here you go mate. Heres mine with the aero mirrors and scoop :-)
(http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g287/fiestamanmike/941733_10152802650265015_992417387_n_zps878d884e.jpg) (http://s59.photobucket.com/user/fiestamanmike/media/941733_10152802650265015_992417387_n_zps878d884e.jpg.html)
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on May 16, 2013, 07:14:19 AM
Ohhh very nice mate :D :D :D

Im struggling with the vent cover to be honest ( and the mirrors )

The paint has cracked a lot on the cover .. so its been sanded/primed/painted about 6 times now and still looks really bad close up

One of the mirrors have had a full can of paint on it and just wont go white .. not sure if its the high build primer i used :(

What did you do about the glass in the mirrors ??
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: XRMike on May 16, 2013, 04:13:08 PM
Hey. TBH it sounds like you need to build up the layers of primer very heavy to create a new level. You can then flat that but dont go through. Im going to cut my own mirror lense out of a diy kit.
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: XRMike on May 16, 2013, 04:13:48 PM
And just use normal primer. You could do with a gun tbh aerosol primer is too thin.
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on May 16, 2013, 06:36:38 PM
ive tried and tried to build it up and then sand smooth .. but just no avail

i might just fit it ! LOL

I have a compressor and srpay gun .. but it looks massive .. more like spraying a car then something this small ?!?

I think the high build primer reacted with the normal primer and it made cracks in the paint that you can see and feel with your thumb nail .. i have even tried to be vicious and rub back with 200 grade paper back to the gel coat .. and i can still see where its "bad" im going thru primer and paint like its going out of fashion :(
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: shaunwil on May 16, 2013, 09:12:55 PM
Could need plastic primer over the non flexible stuff !

Some more pictures of the results may help :D

Shaun
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Kodiak on May 17, 2013, 08:34:05 AM
My vent didn\'t fit perfectly and isn\'t quite the same colour, I got it to serve a purpose not to look pretty though.
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on May 17, 2013, 05:43:39 PM
ok , got some pics off the vent

1 - full pic of it
2 - shows how bad the paint is close up
3 - well its a lot brighter than the car is .. not impressed with that :(
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Grizzly on May 17, 2013, 07:47:05 PM
How do Stu :)

Looks like your having a bit of an Issue, you know when using Aerosols Less is More ;) if you over apply any car paint it will skin over and crack up (Never go off properly). Aerosol, 2 coats then let it go off fully (hour or so so you can\'t mark it with your nail), denib then 2 more coats, repeat if needed.

White can be a royal PITA it don\'t take allot for it to go discolored, if you over apply the extra Solvent will soften your Primer and cause Discoloration, back in the day when i was Painting cars for a living Direct gloss used to give the most problems, For example White has the Most Variations of any colour believe it or not so colour match is a pita to start with then if you over apply the colour the Tinters (the colours you use to get the correct white) start to separate so if you run it for example you get a dark line when you flat the run away..... That\'s Tinter Separation and many an Apprentice has found that out the hard way.

The Only colour i\'d expect to get a decent colour match from an Aerosol is Black any thing else you need to get it Mixed up for you in a Paint shop and spray it on with a Gun to get the edge to edge match you want, plus if you have access to a compressor etc its so much easier to apply.
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: grinder on May 17, 2013, 08:00:24 PM
Hiya Chris , long time no speak

I was applying it one coat at a time and leaving it for 30 - 45 mins , then spraying again

Im 99.999% sure that i have caused it with applying a high build primer that i found in the garage , if i had just used what i had i wouldnt have this issue

What i find annoying is that when i prime it , it looks OK , then when i put the white on , you can see the cracks , so then sand , prime , paint , sand , prime etc.. i bet i have gone thru 3 cans of primer so far ( and prob 2 cans of white )

i just dont know what to do now .. apart from just fit the thing ??

I have to admit , i have been pricing up small spray guns , as this would make it easier , but its £25 for a gun , then i need paint and thinners .. and i dont know how long you can leave it "mixed" for .. i would assume you have to use what you make pretty quick ??
Title: Engine Bay Cleaning ...
Post by: Brett on May 17, 2013, 08:37:24 PM
Sand it flat and then wrap it in carbon :D