Engine bay coated with yellow ???

[Jparkr]

ok i did a search but couldnt come up with anything...
heres the deal, my engine bay is in good shape but its under some thick grim in one area and a yellowish coat in other places. i heard the yellow coat was applied to prevent rusting when sent overseas??? but it comes off with my fingernail.

I havnt pressure washed yet cause i want to get most of that yellow coat off, is there a quick way? because honestly i dont want to scratch it with my nail fingernail for weeks...

Also the grim is in a hard to reach area, but away from vital parts, so should i just soke it with a heavy penitrating degreaser/cleaner then pressure wash it.

Thanks alot cause i know your guys have alot of great experience with this stuff.

[skatefreak]

I think it's called "cosmoline" and it comes off good with brake cleaner.

[NC325iC]

yeah so does paint...

[Jparkr]

haha yea... i dont think i wanna be that agressive unless i have to, id rather use carb cleaner if thats what if somes down to.
Anyother suggestions? what has worked for you?

[Jparkr]

ok i found alot on search now that i learned it was called cosmoline.
Thanks for the help though

[Axxe]

Try Castrol Super Clean

[Dave]

My car is the cosmoline poster child - its so ugly I am ashamed . . .

Ask Will, or Scott, or anyone who saw it 11-5 at alex's place.

[arsevader]

yeah so does paint...

Since when does brake cleaner remove paint? I think you are thinking of Brake "Fluid".

[Jparkr]

hmmmm break cleaner eh? i was gonna go with gasoline like jordan did but thats worth a try first. thanks

[Jparkr]

Sorry i forgot, its only on the strut towers and paint... i took care of the intake and valve cov. already. does that change the chemicals?

[arsevader]

Sorry i forgot, its only on the strut towers and paint... i took care of the intake and valve cov. already. does that change the chemicals?

Not really.

I'd try something like simple green or castrol super clean rather than brake cleaner though. Less toxic and cheaper.

[nando]

castrol super clean didn't do much of anything to the cosmoline in my car - it also screwed up the color of my intake manifold. I tried EVERYTHING, including the stuff zymol sells specifically for cosmoline removal. The only thing that worked was simple green - I got some 100% strength stuff from costco.

Get the engine bay warm, soak it liberally with undiluted simple green, and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. You will see it start to peel off most surfaces, I was able to get huge chunks off with my fingernails. use high pressure water to spray it off, and scrub the areas where it's really thick. it took a few repeats but 90% of it is now gone. of course the paint underneath is now dull from never being polished, but at least it's not so brown anymore.

before:

after:

[nando]

had a custom downpipe made, and it turns out that the collectors are the same as small block chevy headers, so they happend to have a set that bolted right up.

[nando]

Awesome. Did you have them mated to the stock cats and downpipes?

there's a 2.5" pipe all the way to the cat. not the best setup but it works for now. I wanted to do dual 2" with new cats but shops around here don't like doing custom exhaust work for some reason, especially on a BMW. :(

[Jparkr]

Damn it! i tried to get that shit off with gasoline and it got alot of dirt i didnt know about haha, but the cosmoline didnt come off, ok im gonna try the sokin the green method tomorrow...