yellow wax crud coating in engine compartment

[toast27]

I have a question for everyone.My stock 95 ti has a yellow wax like crud coating everything under the hood. No joke . It looks like some sort of protective spray applied to anything aluminum and on a lot of other surfaces as well.

Is this a factory thing?
I have had the car for years and I am the second owner. It has been there since before I bought the car. I have gunked the motor twice since I have had the car and each time I do more of it comes off.
Just wondering if anyone knows if the factory does this.

[stormos]

yeah, they do, its a case of lots of wire wool and drill brush attachments.....

[1996 328ti]

That is cosmoline.
A google search found loads of websites.
And if you just want a light reading.
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/car...body_care.html
http://member.rivernet.com.au/btaylo...neRemoval.html

[toast27]

thanks for the info, i will check out the links steven posted.i just wish the factory could spray the stuff without big runs like they did on my car.

[aceyx]

a lot of these cars sit in shipping containers for a few weeks, then on the lot for a few months. although aluminum won't rust, it will oxidize.

since my ti isn't a summer-only car, i've decided to just leave the cosmoline on. it's not pretty, but i don't drive around with the hood open either.

[Juni]

Yeah, I always wondered what that crap was. I've been wanting to remove it so I can remove the head and give a nice new paint job with high temp paint.

[toast27]

i havent tried to remove the stuff per say, i like to gunk the motor once a year so my mechanic wont have to work on a dirty motor.i have noticed where it came off the intake the aluminum has tarnished and looks as bad in a diffrent way.
i figured it was a factory thing due to how well it has protected the aluminum over the years,i have a hard time keeping the sand cast bare aluminum clean on my dirt bikes so the last thing i need to to have worry what the car motor looks like.
i have found mothers brand bare aluminum cast mag cleaner is the only thing that works on my bikes. problem is that it is basicly adic and etches a layer off each time i use it.when i do i have to protect the parts i dont want acid etched by coating them with a thick paste of baking soda and a little water and work quick to rinse the whole thing down, what a pain just clean some parts. i can only picture what damage the mag cleaner would do under the hood.
mabey i will clean the engine off and re-coat it right after, with out the runs i hope.
thanks for the replies, you guys are the best.

[aceyx]

toast; i usually spray wd40 on the motor on dirtbikes. it's actually the only time i ever use the stuff, but it makes rinsing dirt, bugs, pieces of your leg off pretty easy.

i DO NOT suggest this for engines.

[Tyler]

Yeah i have some of this on my engine but didn't want to put any chemicals on it.

[pdxmotorhead]

If for some reason you cleaned the cosmoline off the engine.

Honda (Motorcycles) sells a product called Hondabright or Honda shine something like that. (They may have two products ...Hmm) any-way the stuff is fabulous on al engines. Its a siliconeish stuff that you spray on and let dry. It prevents dirt oil etc from sticking to the engine and it allows you to lightly hose off stuff that does stick. I used to use it on my dirt bike, one product you sprayed on and then hosed off to clean then 1 product to coat the engine to let it clean up easy the next time. It also added just a bit of shine to anything you sprayed it on. rubber bits turned semi gloss black.

Dave

[aceyx]

Honda Pro Polish.

Easy-Off (yes, the oven cleaner) works pretty well too, especially if you've neglected it for a long time. again, keep this stuff away from your engine bay! (and rubber hoses, plastics, etc if you use it on your bike).

[EarthwormJim]

What about painting the engine with heat tolerant paint?

[aceyx]

that's one way to do it, but you still need to prep the surface, and probably remove the motor to do a nice job.

the thing is with aluminum, if you allow the outer surface to oxidize, it protects the underlying material, kind of like copper and patina. steel on the other hand, will rust through and through.


if you want a shiny engine the only way to accomplish this is to not drive the car.