1982 El Camino

[ss nimrod]

Mike,

It’s a 1982 El Camino, my Dad bought it new. Starting 1993 we built what you see here. LT-1 Long Block, Roller Cam, Ported & Polished Head, T-700, Ford 9” Rear end, repainted, air brushed, pin stripped, etc., etc., etc. I had young kids at the time, the El Camino wasn’t practical for a family of 4…. So, I covered the car for 25 years. The paint had a lot of scratches from the cover, I got most of them out last year compounding and polishing.

So its back on the road (kids are grown), I'm going to polish out the rest of the scratches in the next couple of weeks.

Asking for your expert recommendation for cleaning all the shiny stuff in the engine, then a wax (?) to really make the paint pop at car shows.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Wow! Awesome Elky! I love El Caminos. I'm jealous!

When it comes to getting that engine compartment clean and shiny, it's really a matter of taking your time and matching the right cleaner, or in some cases, the right polish to the surface you're trying to clean and polish. I see an MSD ignition system, you want to be careful not to force any water into any of the electrical connections for this ignition system or any of the electrical connectors.

I would remove as much of anything that can be removed and clean and polish on a workbench or work table.

Also - in my classes, I always teach people to do the cleaning aspect using a quality degreaser and a collection of brushes. Use ELBOW GREASE and the degreaser to loosen and remove any grime and then you can use a SAFE water sprayer with a SHOWER setting to rinse instead of using a JET setting or a presser washer.

The problem with the JET setting on a sprayer or a pressure washer is they FORCE water into places you don't want it and while the damage might not occur immediately, you will get corrosion down the road. I just purchased a water sprayer at my local ACE Hardware and it was around $20.00 - but you can get a similar one at Lowe's for around $10.00 - worth their weight in gold to me.

I just made a video and wrote an article about how to correctly clean and protect a canvas fabric top on a 2016 Corvette ZO6 and you can see the spray set to the SHOWER setting in this picture from the article.

Degreasers
As for degreasers, we carry a number of great and safe product at AutoForge.net

Koch-Chemie Green Star

McKees's 37 Engine Degreaser

3D Orange Citrus Degreaser

IGL Coatings Ecoclean Multi



Brushes
Here's my favorite brushes for doing engine detailing. The Wheel Woolies Boar's Hair Wheel Face Brush is also worth it's weight in gold.

Wheel Woolies 9 Inch Boar's Hair Wheel Brush

Autoforge Detail Brush






-Mike

 

[ss nimrod]

Thanks I'll definitely pickup the Rag top Cleaner, brush and protectant.

Any recommendations for a wax for the exterior paint?

 

[Silly Rabbit]

Great car!!!
I know better advise will be given than mine, but when looking at all the amazing choices in the detailing market, always chasing the rush of getting a new product in your hands.... it gets expensive. Then you look at your collection of products... lol.
So going off trying to use up products and save some $$, and the fact your ride looks like it will be a sunny day toy, I say if you already have some wax/sealant on your shelf, throw that on.
Thats just my thoughts though. I have pulled my impulse buys back and said "maybe use up what you have". I have too many choices that would be very hard for me to use all up,

 

[Mike Phillips]

You can never go wrong with this combo,

3D SPEED
3D Bead it Up

Quick, fast, easy and always phenomenal results. I always recommend getting the SPEED by the quart, you're going to love it. And purchase a gallon of Bead It Up, you're going to love it even more.

3D Speed

3D Bead It Up 144 oz. Refill Kit

And if you just want to test the waters...

3D Bead It Up - 16 ounce bottle

Use Bead It Up as a glass cleaner, inside and outside and thank me later.


-Mike

 

[ss nimrod]

Great car!!!
I know better advise will be given than mine, but when looking at all the amazing choices in the detailing market, always chasing the rush of getting a new product in your hands.... it gets expensive. Then you look at your collection of products... lol.
So going off trying to use up products and save some $$, and the fact your ride looks like it will be a sunny day toy, I say if you already have some wax/sealant on your shelf, throw that on.
Thats just my thoughts though. I have pulled my impulse buys back and said "maybe use up what you have". I have too many choices that would be very hard for me to use all up,

Thanks! I've been good, using up my collection of detailing products.

With the Camino I'll use the latest greatest stuff, use the "old stuff" on my wife's car (which looks amazing)

 

[Mike Phillips]

use the "old stuff" on my wife's car (which looks amazing)

Ha ha...

Don't let her see this thread...

 

[ss nimrod]

You can never go wrong with this combo,

3D SPEED
3D Bead it Up

Quick, fast, easy and always phenomenal results. I always recommend getting the SPEED by the quart, you're going to love it. And purchase a gallon of Bead It Up, you're going to love it even more.

3D Speed

3D Bead It Up 144 oz. Refill Kit

And if you just want to test the waters...

3D Bead It Up - 16 ounce bottle

Use Bead It Up as a glass cleaner, inside and outside and thank me later.


-Mike

Already a Speed user / fan.

I ordered the Bead It Up.

Thanks Mike