Detailing an engine bay with Flitz metal polish

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick owners seeking to give their cars a little bit of extra shine,

Believe it or not, many years ago I purchased a tube of Flitz metal polish to improve the electrical conductivity of the rails of my model railroad.  Here is the stuff on the Flitz website:

https://www.flitz.com/flitz-polish-paste/

Before the Orinda car show, I was cleaning the engine bay and finding that "clean" wasn't enough.  The chrome on parts like the A/C compressor was dull and needed some perking up.  So I decided to see what Flitz could do.  I was impressed!



It didn't simply make the parts look shiner, it changed their appearance, giving them a warmer hue.  Once I got started, I decided to try Flitz all over the place.  I was particularly pleased at how it improved the appearance of the valve covers:



The valve covers are painted with standard engine paint and the oil filler cap is a "run of the mill" steel part, but both have a shine you wouldn't expect of stock materials.

I don't think the brand is particularly important, but you want a metal polish that is nonabrasive and can be used on materials like fiberglass.  That way you won't damage any paint with it.

Unfortunately, the effect is very difficult to document.  However, I tried to come up with some before and after pictures.   Here is the passenger side of the engine bay in 2015:



Here is the same general region today:



The shine on the valve covers, compressor, and alternator is clearly stronger.  This technique clearly could be used on an engine that is 100% stock to give it nonetheless a shine that you would never find coming off of a Buick factory in 1965.

Here is a front view in 2015:



Here is the equivalent view today:



This example also shows what detailing the hoses can do to improve the appearance of the engine bay.  I cleaned the hoses with Griot's Garage rubber prep, but perhaps any degreaser would due.  I then put tire dressing to provide some gloss.  Finally, here is the driver's side in 2015:



Here is the same view today:



I think the comparison shows how much nicer the valve cover turned out with Flitz.

Detailing with Flitz does take a fair amount of time, and I only detailed a small fraction of the engine bay!  Nonetheless, I honestly thought my wagon had the nicest engine bay of any car at the Orinda show and the difference was just that additional shine and warmth that Flitz provided.  So if you really want da' look,  here is one recipe you can try!

Cheers, Edouard   

[Weldar]

Very, very nice Edouard. Flitz works wonders but still takes some elbow grease. Here is my before and after using Flitz. Was going to also try it out on my chrome at some point.

Dwaine

[mdkd]

Edouard

Looking really sharp.

Do you also have a magical mix to make your wire harness look so good?

I have always been concerned about using something that may deteriorate the coatings.

As a kid it was always interesting to open up the hood on older cars to watch the electricity escaping after dark.

Milton

[TrunkMonkey]

Very, very nice Edouard. Flitz works wonders but still takes some elbow grease. Here is my before and after using Flitz. Was going to also try it out on my chrome at some point.

Dwaine

Man, that Flitz is brutal on wood!   

Looking good Edouard. How is the Pesky Billy Goat running?

[elagache]

Dear Dwaine, Milton, Michael, and mid-60s Buick fans of shine!

Very, very nice Edouard. Flitz works wonders but still takes some elbow grease. Here is my before and after using Flitz. Was going to also try it out on my chrome at some point.

Yes using Flitz requires some effort and technique.  It is very important not to put too much Flitz.  Excess material is particularly hard to remove.  When I was buffing the rails of my model railroad I would use a Dremel tool and a cloth buffing wheel.  I was able to do the engine bay by hand with micro fiber, but now I have the problem of keeping the contaminated engine bay micro fiber separate.

Do you also have a magical mix to make your wire harness look so good?

Unfortunately no.  Those are simply new cables and I didn't detail them at all.  I do have some rubber conditioners, but I don't know how they would take the heat of the engine bay.  Even the tire dressing on the main hoses doesn't remain nearly as long as it does on the tires themselves.  It would be nice if one of the companies battling each other for the auto detail market would try to formulate a high-temperature rubber protectant and dressing.

Looking good Edouard. How is the Pesky Billy Goat running?

She is doing fine once warmed up.  She made another grocery run yesterday and it was fun to out run cars at a stop light.  However, I need to continue adjusting the cold start parameters.  The new valve train appears to need additional gas to warm up.  I increased the settings 5% after about 80? coolant temperature and the engine is idling smoother at that point.  I now need to see how to tweak the parameters just after the engine has started.

Cheers, Edouard 

[TrunkMonkey]

Good to hear she is behaving well, other than getting up on cold mornings.

As for the storage, if you have a glass jar to keep the Flitz cloth in for storage, that will keep it form being used with/on anything you do not intend and keep it from picking up stuff you do not want, like grease/oil or abrasives.

BTW, I use WD-40 to "quick shine" for shows. It will evaporate so it does not seem to attract dust or cause it to adhere to objects applied.
But, I tried washing the microfiber cloth with Dawn and it became a slimy mess, so I wished it away to the cornfield.

Next time I will use an old t-shirt, as I have in the past. WD-40 washes out well from them.

[Super65lark]

Now that engine bay looks like someone who loves their machine!
An old trick my neighbor taught me: hand cleaner for the hoses. Massage it in, then use a shop towel to wipe off the excess. It cleans, and then moisturizes (especially the ones with lanolin)
But, to each their own!

[elagache]

Dear Milton, Michael, Iain, and mid-60s Buick owners seeking engine bay harmony,

An old trick my neighbor taught me: hand cleaner for the hoses. Massage it in, then use a shop towel to wipe off the excess. It cleans, and then moisturizes (especially the ones with lanolin)
But, to each their own!

Hmm, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea, but I think I would prefer to use products actually intended to preserve rubber.

Do you also have a magical mix to make your wire harness look so good?

On second thought I remembered a trick that I haven't tried in a while: 303 protectant. 

https://www.goldeagle.com/product/303-aerospace-protectant/

There is a blog posting suggesting that you use it around the engine bay:

https://www.coolridesonline.net/news-blog/protecting-your-veichles-tires-and-engine-using-303-aerospace-protectant/

So it should be able to withstand the heat of the engine bay.  I decided to treat the spark plugs on the driver's side to see.  Here is the distributor area before the treatment:



Here is the after photo:



In this case there is very little difference, which is what I expected.  303 Protectant doesn't provide much in the way of shine it is more of a rubber and plastic protection product.

I also photographed the wire loom on at the front of the engine.  Here is the before picture:



Here is the after picture:



Again it is subtle but there is a hint of additional shine.  Also the black is darker and more intense because the parts are clean.  You see the same effect on the before and after photos of the distributor.

I'll keep an eye on it and see if there is any difference in the driver and passenger side spark plug cables over time.

Cheers, Edouard 

[GS66]

I really like 303!

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick owners,

Sorry if I'm "spamming" the forum, but these little snippets came up and if I don't post them now - I'll most certainly forget to do so! 

I was research Flitz for an email and came across these two documents.  The first is the instructions that come with the package:

https://www.flitz.com/content/sheet_PolishPaste.pdf

Nothing too exciting here except that it confirms that Flitz is safe for painted surfaces (certainly engine paint) and that they claim it will last 6 months.  We'll see about the 6 month claim!

The other is the Material Safety Data Sheet:

https://www.flitz.com/content/MSDS-MetalPlasticFiberglassPolish-Paste_16pt.pdf

Sadly my college chemistry is completely overwhelmed by this product, but it is clear that it should be handled with care.  Definitely only used this stuff in a reasonably well-ventilated location.

For the curious, here is more information than most of us can easily digest.

Cheers, Edouard

[TrunkMonkey]

I look forward to your spammity calamity. 

[vinnie]

What more can be said about Flitz that has not been said. Great Product...

[elagache]

Dear Michael, Glenn, and mid-60s Buick owners without a PhD in Chemistry,

*Sigh*, all this was to try to answer a very basic question: "So exactly HOW does Flitz actually protect for 6 months???"  Since these guys don't give away the secret, I'll just have to try and see if the stuff actually lives up to billing . . . .

Oh well, . . . . Edouard