Wife's Toyota Aygo gets little use and I opened up the engine bay to see that the alloy block was looking quite corroded - I know it is only cosmetic, but it looks neglected. It is typical sort of dusty gritty layer.
I can't be bothered to try to clean it but wondered about spraying it with something (WD40 type stuff) to make it look a bit better.
Any suggestions?
If you can't be bothered to try to clean it, then just close the bonnet and forget about it. Why just do something superficial if it's hidden from view 99% of the time?
OTOH a vigorous scrub with an almost dead paintbrush and a good de-greaser, followed by a hose down or a pressure wash will bring it up nicely.
It certainly isn't greasy!
Then forget the de-greaser, just hose it or pressure wash it.
I'd be careful pressure-washing a modern car engine. There's a lot of electrical wiring, and the rubber seals around the connectors might not prevent high-pressure water getting in.
Besides, the fact is that the oxidisation is the natural state of most things with aluminium content. If you clean it off then it will just come back again. Brian
Wd40 leaves oil which will make it messy. The engine cleaner of choice is paraffin.
NT
The thin underlying solvent gets the oil into the oxide. The remaining oil left will stop any further corrosion.
There is no need to clean, in fact a thick oxide layer and absorbed oil is perhaps the best barrier to further oxidation.
Dinitrol Corroheat 4010 (aerosol)
Datasheet:
Beware of getting the 1 litre packs as they need a schutz gun or decanting into a wax treatment sprayer.
It's best applied in thin coats on a warmish day (but not baking hot)
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