Just tossing this gaawd forsaken word out there as i clean various compments under my car....tranny...suspesnion..heat shields..etc etc.

Ironic thing is a had a summer job one year in HS applying the crap to stoves and stove pipe at a local military base in order to preserve it all over the summer months.

You can eat off my heat shields and exhaust now!

 

Drunk?

 

Not yet

I will say that "odorless" mineral spirits in a spray bottle...a soft srub sponge, a pressure washer and some beer work very well at removing crap.

 

Looks great Tony!

 

Wow, that does look great!

Ok, so you have to spill the beans, odorless mineral spirits work that well at removing this? Sounds like it would be safe for rubber/plastic too, am I corrent in thinking this?

Did you repaint the exhaust?

 

Yeah it does actually...The scouring sponge works very well. Its one of those kitchen things with a sponge on one side and a green scrub pad on the other. Bought a bunch at HD. I used that on pretty much everything. Nice thing about the mineral spirits is that it doesnt evporate too quickley so you can pre-spray areas to soften them up, let it soak a bit...scrub a bit..then blast it with the HP hose gest the rest off.

After it was all off, i repainted the exhaust with some BBQ paint. My stock headers are ceramic coated, as is my X pipe that i will get back tomorrow.
You have to understand that the underside of my car was a flipn' mess! a leaky oil pan gsaket, a seeping PS hose and what ever oil was weeping thorugh that crack (see another thread) did a number on the underside. The car smelled nasty after i shut it off in the garage.....that hot burning oil smell. I decided a while ago if im going to do all this work im cleaning the crap out of it....even though you wont see it. The dirt grimey oil is the worse...id much rather clean the cosmoline off than caked on tranny fluid and oil mixed with dirt.
The blown SC belt started me down this path....PITA, but worth it now.

Brendan is the "KING" of cosmoline removal.

 

Very cool, thanks for the tip. I guess this would also be a safe way to clean the wheels wells? I've been searching for a cleaner which won't harm the plastic liners but yet it's strong enough to remove the cosmoline which still exists even after all these years.

I may give this a shot next summer as I prep for full concours.

 

Its probably been asked many times but why did Porsche spray cosmoline on 928s?

ps..........love the Python avatar Tony

 

I've a friend that is an automobile appearance enhancement specialist (don't ever call him a detailer) he has removed a lot of cosmoline off new cars. Claims it is there only to protect it from salt on the boat.

I've always thought Cosmoline was a brand of undercoating.

 

RKD,

What does your ne plus ultra detailer friend use to get the cosmo off... I have a concours event coming up Oct 4th and I need to get started on one of the cars...I think they all still have a bit of that $hit on them! Real PITA to get off...

 

I'll call him tomorrow and ask. I thought you were supposed to leave it on for concours because that's the way the car was delivered.

 

Well, thank you squadron leader...
I love the RAF "banter" sketch

The mineral spirits does NOT magically remove this stuff....force is involve afterwards ..."elbow grease" and the pressure washer.

My heat shields will actually reflect heat now rather than absorb it!

 

Looking good Tony...can't wait to see the end product (hopefully in person)

 

Fantastic job on the clean up, Tony. Looks great! I'll try the Oderless Mineral Spirits too - I have some but have not tried it yet. I've been using Turtle Wax Bug and Tar Remover (Wal-Mart) with a terry cloth rag. Works great - although I did not use the pressure washer or scrubber pad. So now I'll have to try both cleaners and see which is easier. THANKS for the post!

 

Down with Cosmoline!