Removing original wax coating from the under bonnet area

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 1:47 pm

Has anyone found a quick & easy way of removing the original wax protection from in & around the engine bay?

It's gone all yellow & horrible on mine and nothing seems to touch it apart from scraping it off.

I have tried white spirit, degreaser etc, how about thinners?

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:06 pm

if its the same as the black stuff you get under your car forgot the name of it, waxoyl i think, just use heat gun and scrape it off i had to do it on mine other day. to get it ready for a bit of welding

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 4:42 pm

Nope, not underseal type stuff.
It's what they spray on the engine/ engine compartment when the car is new. Over time it goes all brittle and yellow and you can scratch it off with your nail...it's on the rocker cover, inlet manifold etc, but I need to know how to get it off the inner wings etc without sanding it off.

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 5:48 pm

oh rite i think i know what you mean, not sure how to get that off

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:21 pm

I had this all over the engine bay in my merc. 'Gunk' or similar degreasant and lots of scrubbing will get rid of it

I have never seen an e30 with that stuff in the engine bay though

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:24 pm

is it the stuff this 316 has all over the cam cover

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1988-E30-BMW-316- ... dZViewItem

noticed there is no clock inside

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:30 pm

Alex wrote:is it the stuff this 316 has all over the cam cover

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1988-E30-BMW-316- ... dZViewItem

noticed there is no clock inside

Yeah thats the stuff he's on about. The only stuff I found that would shift it was thinners on the inlet manifold and cam cover and carb cleaner on the paintwork. It takes shed loads though and is time consuming.

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:54 pm

That will be the stuff that dealers spray on rocker covers etc to make them shine!! it,s great for a while but then it gets hot and burns on!! its a lacquer of some sort i think. As for the old wax oil , sounds like some one had it done during it,s life! i used to have this job at a ford dealership when i was 17!! Thinners and patience is the answer! clean off, exess with a plastic scrapper then remove the rest with thinners make sure your wareing a mask and that the engine is not hot

Hope this helps

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 7:14 pm

Steam cleaner should shift it.
U can usually hire them from a local tool hire place for a couple of hours

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:13 pm

Cheers for all the replies guys.

Yep it is the same as the stuff shown on the piccy of the 316 cam cover.
I have had this on several of the beemers I have owned, so it is common place.

Can be wire brushed off engine parts, but I'm not going to do that with my inner wings

Looks absolutely terrible, I guess thinners and a stiff brush is the answer then

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:13 pm

Cheers for all the replies guys.

Yep it is the same as the stuff shown on the piccy of the 316 cam cover.
I have had this on several of the beemers I have owned, so it is common place.

Can be wire brushed off engine parts, but I'm not going to do that with my inner wings

Looks absolutely terrible, I guess thinners and a stiff brush is the answer then

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:22 pm

steve325i wrote:
Looks absolutely terrible, I guess thinners and a stiff brush is the answer then

Not on the innerwings or painted parts it's not

Only use thinners on the aluminium engine setions. I used carb clealer on the inner wings.

Post Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:34 pm

Hi.
Been there and done that.The yellow stuff is called cosmolene and it's put on at the factory.There's only one thing I found would shift it and that's good old T-Cut.I also used a Mequiars detailing brush to get into the tricky bit's.

Good luck and don't wear thoses fingers out.

Post Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:27 pm

B7, That is one clean engine bay mate. I did think about carb cleaner, will give it a go then

Funnily enough I used to live in Redhill, just down the road from you, before I moved up here. If you ever saw a very noisy red Transam or a red Camaro around that was me

Bigee, yep thats the stuff, didn't know it had a name! Think I will try carb cleaner and then T-cut on the painted parts..Glad it's not just me thats had to get this stuff off....

Thanks for all the replies guys

Post Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:37 am

leave it on i did, it was put there for a reason, my god some of you guys do get house proud under the bonnet, leave it on and, have extra hour in bed with the wife or girfriend, only kidding, it will come off just patients

Post Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:13 am

I used compound on the paintwork, requires a lot of elbow grease though